Penn State Fayette Campus enrollment spikes upward
Penn State Fayette has a new number to add to the history books – the enrollment history books, that is. The official campus enrollment for the fall 2002 semester is 1,139 students, marking the third straight year of growth, according to campus executive officer Dr. Gregory Gray.
“The good news is this is our third consecutive year of record enrollment, and we want to continue to give this opportunity to as many students as possible,” Gray said.
He said Penn State Fayette has the high enrollment because of its surroundings, physical campus, faculty and staff that are “second to none.”
The local campus enrollment increase corresponds to university-wide figures.
The main campus reported 41,445 students enrolled there, an increase of 617 at University Park, with 83,038 students enrolled overall on the 24 campuses, 1,334 more than last year.
“These latest enrollment figures demonstrate that the high demand and value placed in a Penn State education are stronger than ever,” Penn State President Graham B. Spanier said in a prepared statement. “We continue to be one of the nation’s most popular universities, and we are pleased that the incoming class this fall was more diverse and more talented than ever.”
Penn State’s statement on the enrollment figures notes that university officials are continuing their efforts “to maintain steady enrollment at the University Park campus while fostering modest growth at other campus locations.” To that end, the statewide system of campuses was restructured in 1996 in an effort to give upper-division students more of a chance to complete degrees at locations other than the main campus.
“For the past several years, our plan to keep University Park enrollment stable while enhancing opportunities for upper division students at other campus locations to continue and complete their studies at that campus has successfully evolved,” said John Romano, vice provost and dean for enrollment management, in the statement.
Gray explained the university takes a snapshot of enrollment each fall on Oct. 1 and uses that number as the official count.
He said the local campus actually attracted 1,180 to 1,185 students who registered for this fall semester but it lost some before the official count.
He attributed that loss to finances, although he said officials plan to run a survey this week to find out exactly why those potential students changed their minds.
Penn State raised tuition this year by 13.5 percent, citing diminishing state appropriations. The state budget cut 2002-2003 funds to Penn State by 3.6 percent. The university’s trustees set tuition and fees, with the budget process taking place in the summer, after many already have registered for classes.
“What we found was many students wanting to register this year were unable to complete their financial package,” he said.
He said campus officials work with students on how they may pay for their education and have scholarships, grants and other financial aid to offer.
However, he said they are working to obtain more funding. One avenue is the Fayette County commissioners, whom Gray said included $25,000 for Penn State Fayette last year when they prepared the current budget. He said the commissioners had dropped the funding before but in previous years gave the campus a $100,000 allocation, an amount he would like to see restored.
“I stress that every penny goes for scholarship money and none is used for operational costs,” Gray said.
Gray said about 80 percent of the Fayette Campus students hail from Fayette County, while the rest come from adjacent counties. The campus even has 10 students from out of state.
About 40 percent of the students are non-traditional, adults entering college in the years after completing high school.
Calling enrollment “the lifeblood of any campus,” Gray said Penn State Fayette tracks the numbers throughout the academic year and has established goals. For example, he quoted 79 minority students at the local campus, a number he said is holding steady from last year.
“We want to get that number up to 100. We believe minority students are missing out on higher education for a variety of reasons,” Gray said.
Besides the overall jump, Penn State reported more minority students systemwide and at the University Park campus: 9,352 enrolled throughout the university, up 483 students; and 4,960 at University Park, up 271 students.
Elsewhere, seven Penn State campuses recorded enrollment decreases: DuBois, Great Valley, Hazleton, McKeesport, Mont Alto, Shenango and Worthington Scranton.
Details may be found on the Penn State Web site at www.psu.edu/ur/extra/2002/enrollment/.