Post-Tribune staff report
An economic recession helped local universities set records for enrollment this year.
According to the Indiana University Northwest, 5,560 students are enrolled for the fall semester, 766 more than last year.
Christopher Sheid, spokes-man for IUN, said that the next highest increase the university saw from year-to-year enrollment was in 1991, when they grew by 10 percent.
The students also set a record for the most credit hours enrolled, at 56,950 hours, but not the record for most students, which was set in 1992 with 5,962 students, according to the release.
Sheid said the increase exceeded expectations.
Sheid said that because the university had expected an increase, they had already made plans to accommodate all the students. That's why they were able to add extra classes or enlarge them where necessary, he said.
The increase was across the board. Undergraduate students increased by 17 percent, freshman enrollment increased by 25 percent and graduate students increased by 10 percent. As for minority students, black student enrollment went up 20 percent, Hispanic enrollment went up 9 percent and Asian-American enrollment went up 32 percent.
Diane Hodges, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in the release that the economic recession likely played a large part in the increased enrollment, with out-of-work people looking for an educational boost. She also gave credit, though, to campus recruiting officials for doing a good job.
Enrollment at the university has increased in the past few years, but not by this much. In 2008, the school saw just four more extra students than in 2007. Spring enrollment from this year compared to last year increased 5 percent.
In Westville, Purdue University North Central set all-time enrollment and credit hour records this fall. The academic year opened Aug. 24 with a record 4,463 students enrolled in a record 46,594 credit hours for the fall semester.
It represents a 5 percent increase in students and a 5 percent increase in credit hours over the fall semester of 2008.
PNC students include 2,761 full-time students, marking the seventh consecutive year that the campus has registered a record number of full-time students.
Undergraduate students are taking an average of 10.6 credit hours each. In addition, the number of first-time freshmen enrolled is 804, an 8 percent jump from fall semester 2008. The average PNC undergraduate student is 25 years old. There are 1,919 males and 2,544 females enrolled. PNC has 1,835 students from LaPorte County and 1,773 students from Porter County.
According to Lawrence Barrett, vice chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Services, PNC has seen its student population increase by 27 percent since 2005.
PNC has 68 students enrolled in its Saturday Master of Business Administration program, offered at PNC -- Porter County in Valparaiso.
Purdue Calumet University closed its enrollment the last week of August -- for the first time in 25 years -- after all its classes filled up.