Who are Undeclared Students? - Undeclared Student Workshop - FaCET

Presented By:

Ingrid Woods, Assistant Director of WKU Academic Advising

Who are Undeclared Students?

Typically, Undeclared students are freshman or sophomores.

Freshman & Sophomores

According the WKU "Facts at a Glance" pamphlet, there were 4,440 freshman, and 2,738 Sophomores enrolled during the fall of 2000 (1). On average, 1/3 of WKU freshman are generally undeclared, meaning they did not show an interest in a specific discipline and need help finding a major. In fall of 2001, there were 333 generally undeclared sophomores and 803 generally undeclared freshman.

There is a sharp drop in retention numbers from the freshman to sophomore year, which stems from many causes such as transfers or family issues. Good advising helps students return to WKU.

The tendency is to think of Undeclared students as traditional first-year students, but in 2000 WKU had 1,875 "other" freshmen, which could mean transfers, nontraditional, or part-time freshman students (Fact Book 21).

Juniors & Seniors

While many upper-class students have picked a major, there are those who decide to switch during their Junior or Senior semesters, and that can be a very uncertain time for them in their educational career. They also need support and solid advising to help them achieve their goal of graduating from WKU with a degree.

References
Chambless, Cheryl. telephone communication. 4 Oct. 2001.

Western Kentucky University: Facts at a Glance. Bowling Green: Office of Institutional Research, 2001.

Cobb, Robert et al. Western Kentucky University: Fact Book 2001. Bowling Green: Office of Institutional Research, 2001