The number of new freshmen at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is up for fall 2017. There are a total of 2,481 new freshmen enrolled for the fall semester, an increase of 146 students, or a 6.3 percent difference, from fall 2016 new freshmen. Total fall headcount enrollment also includes 913 military-affiliated students, an increase of 94 students from 2016 enrollment.
Overall, headcount enrollment for credit hour programs at IUP for fall 2017 includes 10,143 undergraduates (including 436 transfer students) and 2,173 graduate students. When clock hour (non-credit) program enrollment of 246 is included, total fall headcount enrollment is 12,562, which includes students in the IUP Academy of Culinary Arts in Punxsutawney and in the IUP Criminal Justice Training Center.
The university has maintained its academic quality with the new students admitted for fall 2017. The freshman class has an average high school grade-point average of 3.24 and 19 members of the class are valedictorians or salutatorians (first or second in their high school graduating class). A total of 129 students are in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. New students enrolled for fall 2017 have an average SAT score of 1011.
“We are pleased with both the increase and the continued academic quality of our new students,” IUP President Michael Driscoll said. “This tells us that we are on target with our new programs and with the outreach we are doing to prospective students and families.”
Factors like large graduating classes in the past several years impacts overall enrollment figures.
“In addition, as part of our Strategic University Comprehensive Combined Enrollment and Student Success (SUCCESS) plan, we are addressing the issue of retention and persistence of students. I have set a new goal for our retention rate and I feel confident, by working more collaboratively and effectively, IUP will provide the support that helps our students to meet their academic goals and to graduate in a timely fashion,” he said. Retention is measured as the number of students who continue from the first to second year of study; persistence is the measurement of students who graduate.
The number of veteran and military-affiliated students reflects an increase of 77 percent from fall 2013 enrollment of military-affiliated students. IUP offers a Military and Veterans Resource Center (MVRC), which works collaboratively with IUP programs and services, serving as a one-stop information and referral site to help military-affiliated students transition to college life and achieve their academic goals. IUP is routinely recognized in national publications as a “Best for Vets” and included in listings of “Military Friendly Schools.”
“IUP has been very deliberate in its intent to serve our military-affiliated students and families with innovative programs and services that they need and deserve,” Driscoll said. “We are pleased to see these numbers continue to grow. It is our honor to work with this important population to help them to meet their academic and life goals.”
Out of the total IUP enrollment for fall, 20 percent of IUP students are listed as minority and 809 students (almost seven percent of the overall student population) are international, comparable with fall 2016 enrollment. Nearly 56 countries are represented in this international student population.
A total of 9,263 undergraduate students who domicile in Pennsylvania are the second group of undergraduate students to participate in the per-credit tuition pilot program. These students are taking an average of 14.67 credits, comparable to the average credit load of full-time undergraduate students overall in past years during the flat-rate tuition model. For part-time undergraduate students, the average credit load increased by .02 credits in fall 2017 compared to fall 2016 figures: from 5.4 average credits to 5.6 average credits, a 3.7 percent increase.
The College of Health and Human Services has the largest total undergraduate and graduate enrollment: 3,598 and 511, respectively; the Eberly College of Business and Information Technology has 1,994 undergraduates and 273 graduate students; the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has 1,835 undergraduate and 148 graduate students; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences has 953 undergraduates and 453 graduate students; the College of Education and Communication s has 1,133 undergraduates and 675 graduate students; the College of Fine Arts has 424 undergraduates and 53 graduate students.