Penn State releases fall 2023 enrollment numbers. Here’s where they stand, how they compare
Penn State touted its “strong” enrollment numbers in a news release Thursday and, while the university is faring better than most in a post-pandemic landscape, it did still experience a tiny enrollment decline this fall.
According to Penn State’s accountability report, which was published earlier this week, overall enrollment — which includes University Park and other campuses — stands at 87,903 students, a decline of 213 students (0.2%) from last fall. Enrollment increased at University Park by 0.7% this fall, while it fell by that same percentage at the commonwealth campuses.
Compared to national trends, Penn State remains above the curve when it comes to enrollment numbers after the pandemic — but the land-grant university still lost ground this semester, while the average institution gained enrollment.
Based on data compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, colleges and universities lost about 7% of total enrollment since the pandemic, leading up to this fall — while Penn State has so far lost just under 4%. However, this semester, schools finally began to see an uptick in enrollment compared to the previous year, while PSU mostly served as an exception.
Nationally, four-year public schools saw a 0.8% increase in undergrad enrollment this semester compared to last fall, while Penn State saw a smaller 0.1% increase. When it came to graduate student enrollment, four-year public schools experienced a 0.2% increase, while Penn State saw a 2.7% decrease.
Other findings from Penn State’s annual enrollment snapshot and accountability report:
- How enrollment compares by campus: University Park: 48,535 students (42,223 undergrads/6,312 grads); commonwealth campuses: 23,940 (23,082 undergrads/858 grads); World Campus: 13,564 (7,945 undergrads/5,619 grads); College of Medicine: 944 (302 grads/642 medical); law schools: 920.
- Fewer in-state students; more out-of-state students: Penn State lost 501 in-state students compared to last fall and gained 288 out-of-state students. In-state students accounted for 60.4% of the student body in 2019, and they account for 57.8% now. (At University Park, in-state students now make up 52.1% of the student body, while they make up 77.1% at commonwealth campuses.)
- A more diverse student body: Underrepresented student enrollment is up for the fifth straight year. According to the university, those who self-identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Native Alaskan, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander comprise 15.3% of the student body this semester, compared to 14.7% last fall and 13.1% in 2019.
- Commonwealth campuses, overall, are more diverse than University Park: Underrepresented students comprise 17.9% of the student population at commonwealth campuses compared to 13.3% at University Park. That’s an increase from 2019’s respective numbers of 15.1% and 10.9%.
- Enrollment of UPark undergrads has increased 3 straight years: During the 2020 fall pandemic semester, Penn State had 39,809 undergrads. That rose to 40,600 in 2021 to 41,745 in 2022 and to 42,223 in 2023.
- Enrollment of commonwealth campus undergrads has decreased 3 straight years: During the 2020 fall pandemic semester, the commonwealth campuses had 26,926 undergrads. That fell to 24,757 in 2021 to 24,109 in 2022 to 23,940 in 2023.
- Higher rate of first-generation students at commonwealth campuses: If you’re a commonwealth campus student, you’re more than twice as likely to be a first-generation student than those at University Park. First-generation students comprise 15.5% of the student body at University Park compared to 37.6% at the commonwealth campuses. (Both of those rates have risen slightly since 2019.)
- Fluctuating number of international students: University Park saw a big jump in international students in fall 2022, so much so that it was nearly back to pre-pandemic levels. (Some 7,636 international students were enrolled in fall 2019, compared to 7,634 in fall 2022.) But that number decreased 4% this semester to 7,330. At commonwealth campuses, it’s almost entirely the opposite story. Those campuses saw a 5.3% increase this semester, compared to fall 2022, to 1,597 international students — which remains a far cry from 2019’s 2,126 students.
For more figures and information on student enrollment, go to datadigest.psu.edu.
