New Advisory Board Member Orientation October 12, 2006

Lance Schachterle Associate Provost

WPI – 1865 Third Oldest U.S. Technological University (“Polytechnic institute”)

“Two Towers” Tradition Boynton Hall – Academic Washburn Shops – Practical 73% of graduates in August poll indicated “Two Towers” is WPI’s distinctive tradition

WPI’s Motto “Lehr und Kunst” Theory and Practice Learning and Art

Who We Are Now A university with a core focus on science, engineering, and the management of technology that grants bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in 30+ disciplines.

Accreditation

• NEASC • AACSB • ABET/CAC/EAC

Undergraduate Program Overview

The WPI Plan – key points • Flexible Curriculum • Four Term Academic Calendar • Non-Punitive Grading Policy • Project-Enriched Academic Plan

Humanities and Arts Project • In-depth study OUTSIDE your major • 5 thematically-related courses – American Studies, Art History/Architecture, English, Foreign Languages, Global Studies, International Studies, History, Music, Philosophy, Religion, Theater, and Writing

• Independent project (= 1 Class) – Performance, portfolio, musical composition, final paper, – study abroad

Interactive and Major Projects • Typically team projects • Each equivalent to 3 classes of academic credit • Most are sponsored by outside companies, non-profits, government agencies • Completed in one term, or part-time over 3 terms • Can be done on or OFF-campus…

…..Global Opportunities!!

Major Programs

Interactive Projects

Humanities Projects

Budapest, Hungary E & J Gallo Wineries Limerick, Ireland WPI-MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MA) Nancy, France NASA Glenn Research Center Silicon Valley (CA) Wall Street, NY

Bangkok, Thailand Boston, Massachusetts Copenhagen, Denmark Hong Kong, PRC London, England Melbourne, Australia San José, Costa Rica San Juan, Puerto Rico Venice, Italy Washington, D.C. Windhoek, Namibia Worcester, Massachusetts

London, England Darmstadt, Germany Madrid, Spain Exchange Programs Darmstadt, Germany Monterrey, Mexico Montréal, Canada Munich, Germany Stockholm, Sweden Zurich, Switzerland

Interactive Project • Interdisciplinary team project • Looks at the impact of science and technology on society • 13 different themes to choose from including: Historic Preservation, Economic Development, Health Care and Technology, Energy and Resources, Social and Human Services, Education

Major Project • Substantial research project in major field of study • Typically a team project • Students have received patents, published articles, and presented at conferences

Undergraduate Student Profile • 2,825 undergraduates • 42 states and 70 countries • 25% female • 6% underrepresented minorities • 6% international

Class of 2010 Profile

Kristin Tichenor Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management October 12, 2006

Meet the Class of 2010! • 780 incoming first year students • 200 women; 580 men • 54 domestic students of color • 72 international students

Noteworthy • • • • •

3.7 GPA Top 13% Rank in Class 1290 SAT Average (1887 with Writing) 210 students with 4.0 GPA’s 26 valedictorians; 15 salutatorians

Domestic Students by State

International Citizens ▪ Albania ▪ Guatemala ▪ Russia ▪ Australia ▪ India ▪ Singapore ▪ Bangladesh ▪ Israel ▪ Sri Lanka ▪ Brazil ▪ Kazakhstan ▪ Turkey ▪ Bulgaria ▪ Myanmar ▪ Taiwan ▪ Cameroon ▪ Mexico ▪ Vietnam ▪ Chile ▪ Malaysia ▪ China ▪ Nepal ▪ Costa Rica ▪ Pakistan ▪ Cyprus ▪ Romania

Intended Majors 2006 Other, 1% Management, 1% Undecided, 9% Engineering, 32%

Math & Sciences, 17%

Computer Science, 14%

Engineering Undecided, 26%

Average SAT Scores 1300 1295

1294

1290

1290

1285

1284 1281

1280 1275 1270 1265 1260

1262

1255 1250 2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

350

Class Rank - Enrolling Students 314

300

250

200 145

150

100 54

50

44 16

5

1

6th

7th

0 1st

2nd

3rd

4th Decile

5th

Women as Percent of Class 30%

28% 26%

25%

26%

24%

23%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0% 2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Students of Color by Ethnicity 30

29

28

28

25

27

25

23

20

20

15

13 10

10

6 5

5

4

4

3

3

2004

2005

1

3

3

0 2002

2003

African Am

Hispanic

Am Indian

Multi-racial*

2006

First Year Applications Discount Rate 5500 5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

The Admissions Funnel 18,000 inquiries 27%

4,930 applications 66% 3,270 admits 24%

780 enrollees

Declines Enrolled at Other College Rensselaer

Grand Total 148

Enrolled at Other College

Grand Total

Tufts University

21

RIT

62

University of Maine

19

Northeastern University

59

Lehigh University

18

UMass Amherst

50

Clarkson University

17

Boston University

49

Georgia Tech

17

MIT

32

UMass Lowell

15

Carnegie Mellon

29

Syracuse University

13

UCONN

29

Johns Hopkins

12

Cornell University

28

Franklin W Olin C Engineering

12

UNH

28

University of Rhode Island

12