Pitt Enrollment Increases for Sixth Straight Year, Up 8.3 Percent Since Fall 1996

December 3, 2002

PITTSBURGH—Finalized enrollment figures, just now available, reveal that total enrollment at the University of Pittsburgh has increased for the sixth consecutive year. There are 34,003 students enrolled for the 2002 Fall Term, an increase of 459, or 1.4 percent, over Fall Term 2001.

Enrollment had been declining throughout the 1990s, until that trend was reversed in 1997. Total Pitt enrollment has increased by 2,608 students, or 8.3 percent, since the 1996 Fall Term.

Graduate and first professional enrollment accounted for much of the rise in student numbers this fall, with an increase of 368 students, or 4.1 percent. Undergraduate enrollment also rose again, increasing on the Pittsburgh campus by 112 students, or 0.6 percent.

Undergraduate enrollment at the Greensburg regional campus rose from 1,758 in the 2001 Fall Term to 1,888 in 2002, an increase of 130 students, or 7.4 percent. Undergraduate enrollment at the Johnston regional campus increased from 3,096 in the 2001 Fall Term to 3,122 in 2002. Enrollment decreased at the Bradford campus, from 1,467 in the 2001 Fall Term to 1,300 in 2002, and at the Titusville campus, from 513 in 2001 to 503 in 2001.

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students rose University-wide by 489 students, or 1.7 percent, from 29,612.8 in the 2001 Fall Term to 30,101.8 in 2002. The number of FTE students is calculated by adding the number of full-time students to 40 percent of the number of part-time students. The conversion to full-time equivalents is used for budgeting purposes.

"The University of Pittsburgh is celebrating ongoing, significant progress in student recruitment," said Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "One measure of our growth is the ever-increasing number of admissions applications we receive. This is wonderful news in itself. However, we have realized not only an increase in numbers of students, but in the caliber of those students enrolling in the University. This fall, we welcomed the best-qualified freshman class in our history. Today, and in the years ahead, the presence of increasing numbers of high-achieving students will continue to strengthen and enhance the learning environment for everyone."

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