January 5, 1998 For Immediate Release

Classes in UNBC's Winter 1998 semester begin tomorrow, January 6th. Enrolment figures for the new semester won't be known for a few weeks, but the following is a statistical breakdown from the Fall 1997 semester:

• There were 2752 students enrolled at the undergraduate level, and 316 at the graduate level for a grand total of 3068.

• The most popular programs were Natural Resources Management, Business Administration, Psychology, Computer Science, and English. Nearly half of all UNBC undergraduates intend to graduate with a degree in one of those five programs.

• UNBC has a strong science focus. About 47% of UNBC students are pursuing a bachelors degree in a science discipline, compared to 31% at UBC, 25% at UVic, and 19% at SFU. The national average is only about 20%.

• 35.7% of UNBC students came directly from high school, 27.6% transferred from a college, and 16.4% transferred to UNBC from another university.

• 241 students took courses last semester in UNBC's regional centres. Terrace was the most popular location, followed by Williams Lake and Quesnel.

• 75% of UNBC's students are under the age of 30.