Enrollment Up for New First-Time Students, Graduate Students, Career-Preparation Students, International Students, Veteran and Military-Affiliated Students, Dual Enrollment Students
Indiana University of Pennsylvania has increased its overall enrollment by nearly 5 percent for fall 2023 and its enrollment of new, first-time students by 16 percent.
This is the first time in 11 years that overall enrollment has increased at the university.
Total student enrollment across all programs and at all levels is 9,254 students, an increase of nearly 4.8 percent from fall 2022.
New, first-time student enrollment is at 2,002, up 16 percent from fall 2022, building on a 4 percent increase from fall 2021 to fall 2022. This is the highest number of new, first-time students at IUP since 2018.
Fall enrollment also includes 361 students in IUP’s career-preparation programs, a 12 percent increase over last fall. These programs include the Academy of Culinary Arts (127 students), the paramedic program (32 students), the Criminal Justice Training Center (46 students), the Emergency Medical Program (47 students), and the school resource officer training program (40 students). This year’s increase follows a 14 percent increase in enrollment of these students from fall 2021 to fall 2022.
Enrollment in graduate programs also increased by more than 2 percent for a total of 1,814 graduate students. Of these students, 1,134 are in IUP’s 40 master’s programs and 680 are enrolled in IUP’s 12 doctoral programs.
“Our fall enrollment is good news, and it reflects the hard work of our IUP community and the university-wide commitment to changing the culture to more fully focus on the needs of our students and families, including prospective students,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said.
“This student-centered approach to our work, including our Student Success Infrastructure, is making a difference. Streamlining our work, including breaking down silos and processes that create barriers for our students, has created a new spirit of collaboration, with very positive results,” he said.
“For example, students and families have told us that finances remain a challenge, and we listened. We reduced the cost of attendance through our Tuition Affordability Plan; we’ve kept fees, housing costs, and meal costs steady; and we’ve raised funds for scholarships, thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends.
“We will continue to take an honest, hard look at how we can help our students succeed, including a continued focus on the issues of retention and persistence,” he said.
“While we are extremely pleased with these enrollment increases, the academic quality of our new students and the diversity, including geographic diversity, of our student body are equally impressive,” President Driscoll said.
IUP’s new, first-time students have an average high school grade point average of 3.42, up from the 3.4 for new, first-time students entering in fall 2022.
Of these new, first-time students, 1,478—almost 74 percent—graduated from high school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, compared to 70 percent of new, first-time students in fall 2022.
“These increases across the enrollment spectrum are a strong indication that virtually everyone who works at IUP recognizes the importance of putting our students first,” IUP Council of Trustees Chairman Sam Smith said. “From the students’ first visit to the day they graduate, encouraging students (and parents) that IUP is the best place to go to college is part of everyone’s job. The Council of Trustees started talking about this change in our culture a few years ago, and we are pleased to see everyone’s hard work show positive results.”
“This year’s new, first-time students are inquisitive, energetic, and excited to become involved in university life,” IUP Vice President for Student Affairs Thomas Segar said. “Students are all in. They took part in Welcome Week with an enthusiasm that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic, and this year’s IUP Day, when students had the opportunity to join clubs and organizations, was one of our biggest and most successful. It’s a wonderful start to the new year.”
International student enrollment is up by 23 percent, for a total of 494 international students from 60 countries. This follows a 2 percent increase in international enrollment from fall 2021 to fall 2022. This enrollment is at its highest point since 2019.
Enrollment in the American Language Institute is up by more than 72 percent, with a total of 69 students. For the past 40 years, IUP’s ALI has provided intensive English programs for students from all over the world who want to improve their language proficiency and cultural understanding of the United States.
There are 841 veteran and military-affiliated students enrolled for fall 2023, up by 4.6 percent. Of this number, 805 students are in undergraduate or graduate programs, with an additional 36 in career-preparation programs.
Since fall 2014, IUP has increased its enrollment of veteran and military-affiliated students by 54 percent. IUP opened its Military Resource Center (now the Military and Veterans Resource Center) in spring 2014, working collaboratively with IUP programs and services to provide one-stop information to help these students transition to college life and achieve their academic goals.
Almost 1,800 students—or 20 percent of total fall enrollment—identify as minority, comparable with fall 2020, fall 2021, and fall 2022 figures. Overall, 25 percent of the IUP student body identifies as international or minority.
“Creating an IUP community that reflects a global perspective makes IUP a more interesting and thoughtful place, and it better prepares our students for a global workforce. Many of our students do not have the opportunity to study abroad or travel, so having a diverse university community is very important,” President Driscoll said.
Fall enrollment also includes 570 domestic, out-of-state students from 48 states, up from 559 students from 47 states in fall 2022.
However, IUP is also committed to meeting the needs of students from its home community. A total of 172 new, first-time students for fall 2023 are from Indiana County.
Dual enrollment students (high school students enrolled in IUP courses) are up by 13 percent from fall 2022. Those 103 students—from high schools throughout the commonwealth—make up the highest number of dual enrollment students ever at IUP.
IUP discounts dual enrollment classes by 75 percent. The Punxsutawney Area College Trust (PACT), a longtime supporter of IUP and its students, funds the remaining cost for students from Punxsutawney Area High School, which permits them to enroll in classes at IUP Punxsutawney for free. Ten students from Punxsutawney High School are in IUP dual enrollment classes this fall, a 400 percent increase from fall 2021.
“On behalf of the IUP Council of Trustees, I want to thank PACT for its financial support for students who want to take advantage of dual enrollment,” Trustee Smith said. “As a member of PACT, I want to share our appreciation to IUP for its ongoing presence in Punxsutawney and for IUP’s commitment to the region and to the Academy of Culinary Arts.”
“While IUP—like many colleges and universities throughout the nation—continues to face challenges, this upward trend in our enrollment is a well-deserved recognition of IUP’s strength and resilience and our commitment to educating tomorrow’s leaders, especially as we look forward to our sesquicentennial in 2025,” President Driscoll said.