For the sixth straight year, IUP’s enrollment numbers decline.
In a news release, IUP announced that their total enrollment for the 2018-2019 school year is 11,325 students, which is a reduction of 991 students. Out of the total number of students, 9,215 are undergraduates, including 2,528 first-year and transfer students. There are also 2,110 graduate students enrolled this year. IUP Vice President for Enrollment Management Patricia McCarthy said that the big challenge is the decreasing number of high school graduates in the state, especially in Western Pennsylvania.
McCarthy added that IUP is trying to find innovative ways to reach prospective students and their families that are the right fit for IUP. It should also be noted that IUP has not lowered their enrollment standards, and said that of incoming first-year students, the average GPA is 3.27, and 23 of the new first-year students are valedictorians or salutatorians, which represent the highest grade point averages in a school district. It was also noted that 102 students were in the top 10% of their high school’s graduating class.
Out of the total IUP enrollment, 20% of all the students are listed as minorities, and 711 students (roughly 6% of the student population) are international students. The number of military and military-affiliated students increased to 1009, an increase from 935 last year.
