University Park, Pa. -- Penn State continues to educate more students than any university in the northeastern United States, and minorities are enrolling at the University in record numbers, according to official enrollment data for the 2004-05 academic year.
Overall, the University enrolls 81,664 students at 24 campus locations, reaching its target for this year and the second-largest enrollment in Penn State history. At University Park, enrollment stands at 41,289, consistent with the plan to limit capacity to between 40,000 and 42,000 students at Penn State's largest campus.
The official University enrollment figures represent a one-day snapshot of the student body, typically taken several weeks into the fall semester.
"After 10 consecutive years of setting record enrollments University-wide, the leveling off of that growth has finally occurred, consistent with the commonwealth's demographic projections," said John Romano, vice provost and dean for enrollment management.
In 1993-94, Penn State enrolled a total of 73,373 students. In 1996, Penn State restructured its statewide system to provide increased opportunities to upper-division students so that they could complete their degrees at a campus other than University Park. Last year, the University reached a peak enrollment of 83,177, with most of the growth in that time span occurring at campus locations other than University Park.
"We continue to see more students completing their baccalaureate degrees at their home campuses, although thousands of students still choose to change their campus assignment to University Park during their academic career," said Romano.
Minority students comprise a growing portion of Penn State's student body -- now 12 percent. This year, the University enrolls a record 9,827 minority students, an increase of 2 percent over last year's total of 9,658 students. African-Americans comprise the largest ethnic group among minorities with 3,948 students -- an increase of 3 percent over the 2003-04 enrollment and also a record.
Over the past 10 years, enrollment increases have reached 38 percent for minority students and 41 percent for African-Americans.
Last fall Penn State President Graham B. Spanier acknowledged that changing demographic trends in Pennsylvania and a continuing erosion of state support of public higher education will create new challenges for the University in its recruitment of students over the next several years.
"Pennsylvania colleges and universities will face a new round of enrollment challenges after 2008, when the modern-day peak year for college-bound high school graduates will pass," said Spanier in his September 2003 report, "The Challenges of Demography for Pennsylvania Higher Education." (See http://live.psu.edu/story/4032 for details.)
The University continues to be a popular destination for high school students nationwide. Penn State receives more than 80,000 applications for admission each year.