Purdue enrollment slightly up, diversity at an all-time high

Thomas B. Robinson, vice president for student services, said that enrollment at the West Lafayette campus is 39,228 this fall, compared with 38,712 a year ago. The student population includes 7,815 first-semester freshmen, up 386 from last year. When combining the West Lafayette campus' enrollment with that of Purdue's other locations, systemwide enrollment is expected to be 69,614, up 516.

The number of incoming freshmen and the increased diversity among undergraduates are in keeping with the university's enrollment goals, Robinson said.

"More than 200 additional students who identified themselves as African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic or Native American enrolled this fall," he said. "The percentage of minority students in the freshman class grew by 14.6 percent while the total undergraduate diversity grew by nearly 5 percent. The overall minority domestic percentage is 13.3, an increase from last fall."

The number of international students enrolled is 4,824, which includes a record incoming freshman class of 429 international students. There are 1,860 international undergraduates as well as 2,964 graduate and professional students.

"That success reflects the efforts of many people, starting with the entire Purdue enrollment management team, including those involved in recruitment, admissions, course planning, student registration, financial aid, billing, residence halls, and orientation and student success programs," Robinson said. "Together they have worked to allow students to succeed both personally and academically.

"We are setting records with our graduation rates, which means that there is more space in the freshman class. Of the freshmen who joined us in 2001, 39.2 percent had graduated within four years while the six-year graduation rate is expected to be at or near 70 percent. That is more than a 4 percentage point increase since the late 1990s and will be an all-time high for the university."

The freshman class this year has 205 students who were valedictorians of their graduating high school class. The class also includes 85 National Merit Scholars. Purdue will have more new National Merit Scholars than any other Indiana university this fall, and only two other Big Ten universities are expected to enroll more.

"More than half of entering freshmen had a 3.5 grade-point average or higher during high school, which speaks highly of the incoming students' academic preparation," said Mitchell Warren, senior associate director of admissions. "Purdue's average SAT score decreased eight points, which is consistent with the nationally reported drop of seven points. Purdue's average SAT score is 1142 for incoming students. The national average among all students taking the SAT was 1021, and the Indiana average was 1007, which places the average of incoming Purdue students above both the national and state averages."

Purdue is among the largest enrollers of Twenty-first Century Scholars in the state with 296. The program provides low-income students with tuition to attend a higher education institution in exchange for earning good grades and keeping a good citizenship pledge.

In addition, the freshman class includes 94 new Purdue Opportunity Awards recipients — the largest Purdue Opportunity Awards class to date. The program furnishes scholarship money and support to academically talented students in each of Indiana's 92 counties from low-income and hardship-filled backgrounds.

"The increased numbers of Twenty-first Century Scholars and Purdue Opportunity Awards program recipients show that Purdue is strongly committed to expanding educational opportunities for all the people of Indiana," Robinson said.

Purdue's Graduate School of 7,023 students and professional programs, pharmacy and veterinary medicine with 915 students, added 7,938 students to the overall enrollment. Both showed increases over last fall.

Other statewide campus totals include:

• Purdue Calumet — estimated at 9,400, compared with last fall's 9,302.

• Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne — estimated at 11,672, compared to 11,795 a year ago.

• Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis — estimated at 4,211 enrolled in Purdue programs, compared with 4,232 last year.

• Purdue North Central — estimated at 3,724 students, compared with 3,519 a year ago.

• Statewide Technology — estimated at 760 equivalent full-time students, compared with 792 a year ago. College of Technology degrees are offered in South Bend/Elkhart, Indianapolis, Lafayette/Kokomo, Anderson/Muncie, New Albany, Columbus/Southeast Indiana, Greensburg and Richmond.

The undergraduate enrollment breakdown at the West Lafayette campus by academic area is:

• Agriculture, 2,448.

• Consumer and Family Sciences, 2,004.

• Education, 969.

• Engineering, 6,139.

• Liberal Arts, 6,403.

• Management, 2,692.

• Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences, 1,942.

• Science, 2,736.

• Technology, 4,077.

• Veterinary Medicine, 359.

• Undergraduate Studies (programs for students who have not decided on a major), 1,280.

• Non-degree students, 241.

The graduate-level enrollment breakdown at West Lafayette by academic area is:

• Agriculture, 536.

• Consumer and Family Sciences, 173.

• Education, 472.

• Engineering, 2,211.

• Liberal Arts, 1,154.

• Management, 633.

• Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences, 226.

• Science, 1,064.

• Technology, 269.

• Veterinary Medicine, 96.

• Interdisciplinary, 189.

Sources: Thomas B. Robinson, (765) 494-5776, trobinson@purdue.edu

Mitchell Warren, (765) 494-1776, mitchw@purdue.edu

Thomas Atkinson, associate dean of the Graduate School, (765) 494-0245, tatkinson@purdue.edu

Michael Brzezinski, assistant dean of international programs, (765) 494-7550, mbrzezinski@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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