Records set for enrollment and credit hours at six IU campuses including Bloomington and Indianapolis

Sept. 6, 2001

NOTE: A full report will be available on the Web at http://www.indiana.edu/~rrlilly/.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Myles Brand today (Sept. 6) announced that records have been set this fall for enrollment and credit hours at its Bloomington, Indianapolis, East, Fort Wayne and Southeast campuses. The IU South Bend campus also reached an all-time high for credit hours enrolled.

Overall, IU set records for the number of students and credit hours taken on all eight campuses. The 96,219 students enrolled this fall are taking 1,060,729.5 credit hours.

"Our continued strong enrollments are good news for Indiana University and for our state as a whole," Brand said. "Today's students have more higher education options than ever before. That so many continue to choose to attend the different campuses of IU is a clear indication that they are convinced that the university offers an excellent educational value.

"We recognize that Indiana needs more college graduates," Brand added. "We are continuing to attract qualified students, and providing them with the tools they need to reach their educational goals. This enrollment effort represents another step toward building the workforce the state will need for the 21st-century economy."

For the third straight year, enrollment at the IU Bloomington campus set a record. Enrollment has grown to 37,963 students, an increase of 2.4 percent or 887 students over the first semester of the 2000-01 academic year. Within its overall enrollment, the campus has the largest undergraduate enrollment in its history. The number of credit hours being taken at IU Bloomington also hit a record, increasing by 2.7 percent to 503,460.5 hours, a change of 13,473.5 hours.

At Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, the number of students enrolled grew by 3 percent and 814 students to an all-time high of 28,339. Likewise, the number of credit hours taken increased by 2.8 percent to a record of 284,406 hours.

At IU East, enrollment reached 2,469 students and the number of credit hours rose to 22,378 -- both records in the campus' 30-year history. The campus' 5.7 percent increase in enrollment and 9 percent rise in credit hours reflect interest from residents of two neighboring Ohio counties who are enrolling at IU East under a special tuition program for the first time this fall.

Similarly, IU Southeast enrollment grew by 2 percent to reach 6,557 students -- the most in its 60-year history -- and the number of credit hours also reached a new milestone, 59,119 hours. At Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, enrollment rose by 4.5 percent to 6,094 students and the number of credit hours increased to 59,115 -- both new records. IU South Bend set a record for credit hours enrolled, 65,894, an increase of 4.7 percent over last fall.

Another campus experiencing an increase was IU Kokomo, where enrollment grew by 2.2 percent to 2,741. In contrast to last fall, when three campuses reported smaller enrollments, only one campus experienced such a decline, IU Northwest, by 0.2 percent. Growth on seven of IU's eight campuses reflects a continued increase in the number of enrollees who are electing to attend as full-time students.

Other highlights about IU Fall 2001 enrollment:

• For the third straight year, IU Bloomington set records for headcount and credit hour enrollment. Undergraduate enrollment increased by 833 or 2.9 percent. The number of undergraduate credit hours taken rose by 12,214.5 or 3 percent.

The number of full-time students rose by 825 or 3.1 percent, while the number of incoming beginners dropped by 1.7 percent to 6,815 students. Graduate enrollment increased by 167 students or 2.7 percent. Again, full-time students were responsible for the gain.

Enrollment by African American students increased by 5 percent or 72 students. Foreign student enrollments grew by 229 or 7.7 percent.

Along with record enrollment comes a concern, Brand noted. "A recent study has concluded that the Bloomington campus enrollment is approaching capacity. We will take this factor into account as we set admission goals for next year," he said.

• While IUPUI has been setting records with its credit hour enrollments, this fall the campus also set a record for the number of students enrolled. Undergraduate enrollment increased by 457 persons or 2.3 percent. Credit hours taken increased by 5,430 or 2.6 percent. The increases can be attributed to both full- and part-time students. Graduate enrollment also witnessed significant increases: 8.6 percent in students and 8.3 percent in credit hours.

Minority student enrollments also increased at IUPUI. Asian American enrollment was up by 3.5 percent, African American enrollment increased by 3.2 percent and Hispanic enrollment increased by 4.6 percent. Non-resident enrollment at IUPUI increased by 18.6 percent or 290 students.

• At IU East, total enrollments eclipsed records set in the early 1990s. Undergraduate enrollment increased by 8 percent and the number of credit hours increased by 9.2 percent over a year ago. Underclass students are credited with this increase, with freshmen enrollments up by 9.8 percent and sophomores up 14.2 percent. Enrollment by women increased by 7.8 percent. Non-resident enrollment increased by 127 students or 77.4 percent over a year ago. This reflects the effects of a new special tuition program for residents of two Ohio counties and enhanced customer service. The incoming cohort of beginners rose by 12.3 percent.

• At IPFW, IU students enrolled in record numbers. Undergraduate enrollment in IU programs increased by 151 persons or 3 percent, and the number of credit hours taken by IU students grew by 2,788 or 5.3 percent. Freshman enrollment grew by 22 percent. African American enrollment grew by 13.3 percent.

• Undergraduate enrollment at IU Kokomo increased by 3.2 percent in heads and 3.8 percent in credit hours. These increases are attributed to the freshman, sophomore and junior class levels. Hispanic enrollment increased by 34.3 percent. The campus passed a milestone -- more than 50 percent of its undergraduate students are enrolled full-time.

• Undergraduate enrollment at IU Northwest decreased by 4.2 percent, but graduate enrollment increased by 5.1 percent. Non-degree-seeking students increased in numbers. Undergraduate non-degree-seekers increased by 17.3 percent and graduate non-degree-seekers grew by 25.6 percent. Minority enrollments as a percent of the total enrollment grew from 36.7 percent last fall to 37.9 percent this fall.

• The record for IU South Bend can be attributed to gains in undergraduate enrollment, and the number of both full- and part-time students increased significantly. While all undergraduate classes realized growth this fall, freshmen and juniors led the way with increases of 12.8 percent and 11.6 percent respectively. African American and Hispanic enrollments rose by 13.4 percent and 14.6 percent. The number of beginning students increased by 20.2 percent.

• Record-breaking growth continued at IU Southeast. Undergraduate enrollments grew by 2.0 percent. A reciprocity agreement with Kentucky continues to drive these enrollments as non-resident enrollment increased by 18.9 percent.

(George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu)