ALAMOSA — On Jan. 21, David Tandberg, president of Adams State University, delivered his annual 'State of the University,” address. This address is a significant event in the university's calendar, providing an opportunity for the president to reflect on the past year and outline the institution's future direction.

"Tandberg said, “We are in a strong position, despite a state budget that is a bit tighter than normal, our lobbying has been working effectively. We have a lot to celebrate; that is something that has been important to me since I came back to Adams in 2022. Celebrating who we are, celebrating our victories, having pride in the University in the Valley.

“We are up in enrollments, which is not the norm nationally, and it is a reversal in a downward trend in enrollments that Adams State has been experiencing for a long time. The challenge now is to make this uptick not just an uptick, but a trend. It will be a fight every year and never come easily. We know that and we embrace that and it is a 365-day fight. We never have an off-season.

"We have achieved record high in San Luis Valley Students, we have never had this many students ever," exclaimed Tandberg. "So that's pretty cool. We had a 73% increase in Valley student enrollments from 2022 to now. Graduate student enrollment of 11,660 is also a record high."

The proud university president said, "We're really proud of that; it took a lot of work. Valley students make the largest percentage of our total enrollment that they have ever made up. And that is our commitment, which is why we are here. I feel strongly that we are achieving our primary mission.

“Providing economic mobility is part of our mission, and we are the best at that. I am really proud when I say we are the best. There is a measure by economists who look at the percentage of the student body that comes from the first income quintile. This is the lowest income group, about a household income of $16,000. We enroll the largest share of students who come from that quintile of any university in the state.

“What we are really proud of is we do better than any other university in taking those students and moving them up two or more income quintiles,. That is an increase of over $50,000 in household income from where they started to where they end up by going to Adams State. That is life changing, that is generation changing. We like to say; we make the American dream a reality for students for whom it otherwise would have been a lie.”

Tandberg highlighted that the undergraduate enrollment of students from the Valley is up 12.5% to 647 students, which is a record. Total undergraduate enrollment is 1,644.

The university has positive acceptance rates of undergraduate students into graduate programs said Tandberg, "our medical school, graduate school, and law school admittance rates are as good or better than any other university in the state. Adams provides a, Quality education with a personalized touch, that's been our secret sauce."

Adams is the most affordable university in Colorado, according to Tandberg, with a total cost of $23,797, compared to $30,721 at Metro State and $32,351 at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Adams will be expanding the Adams Promise Scholarship to allow students from the entire state to attend the school tuition and fee-free for those that come from households with income below $70,000 a year. This scholarship covers tuition and fees for eligible students, making Adams State University one of the most affordable options in Colorado. Currently, the program is available to students south of Denver.