A total of 19,215 students had enrolled as of April 1, vice-chancellor Prof David Skegg said at a university council meeting yesterday. The number of equivalent full-time students (efts) was 17,321, which was 13 efts, or 0.1%, more than at the corresponding date last year.
Domestic enrolments were up 230 efts on April last year, while domestic first-year enrolments were up 102, or 3%.
International enrolments had dropped 217, or 14.9% on last year, but Prof Skegg said the figure was "slightly exaggerated'' because international PhD students were now classified as domestic students.
Most of the reduction in international enrolments had been predicted, he said, and was due to the large number of Chinese students who came to Otago some years ago now graduating and leaving.
For the first time in several years, commencing enrolments from Chinese students were up this year, but their arrival had been off-set by a decline in the number of students enrolling from the United States.
Otago was not the only New Zealand university facing declining international enrolments, he said, quoting from an article in this week's Education Review newspaper, which said international enrolments had declined by 7% to 19% across five of the country's eight universities, with declines also expected at the other three.
The number of postgraduate research students at Otago continued to grow strongly, Prof Skegg said.
In September last year, the university hosted a ball to celebrate for the first time enrolling more than 1000 PhD students in a single year.
As of April this year, postgraduate enrolments stood at 1175 efts, an increase of 49 on last year, he said.
The number of efts enrolments will grow as the year progresses. Actual efts enrolments reached 18,287 by the end of last year, a total which was also the highest in the university's 139-year history.
The figure was 838 efts higher than 2006 and 548 more than the previous record year of 2005.
After the meeting Prof Skegg said this year's April roll figures were "very satisfactory'', even though the overall increase was only 13 efts.
