Pitt Enrollment Increases for Fifth Straight Year, Up 6.8 Percent Since Fall 1996

October 8, 2001

PITTSBURGH—Total enrollment at the University of Pittsburgh has increased for the fifth straight year. There are 33,544 students enrolled for the 2001 Fall Term, an increase of 884, or 2.7 percent, over Fall Term 2000. The University's enrollment had been declining throughout the 1990s, until that trend was reversed in 1997. Total Pitt enrollment has increased by 2,149 students, or 6.8 percent, since the 1996 Fall Term.

Undergraduate enrollment accounted for virtually all of the rise in student numbers this Fall, with an increase of 877 students, or 3.7 percent, University-wide, and an increase of 374, or 2.1 percent, on the Pittsburgh campus. Enrollment at the four—increased by 503 students, or 7.9 percent, over Fall Term 2000, with Bradford showing the largest rise, an increase of 263 students, or 22 percent, over last Fall.

The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students rose by 839.6, or 2.9 percent, from 28,773.2 in the 2000 Fall Term to 29,612.8 in 2001. 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.

Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg attributed the University's continuing success in attracting students to the steadily growing quality of undergraduate education at Pitt. "Since 1996, when the University's trustees adopted as their top priority the aggressive pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education, we have met the challenge to enhance in substantial ways the overall student experience," he stated. "We can now say that the reputation for the quality of our academic programs, both statewide and nationally, and the value that an investment in a Pitt degree provides have drawn not only greater numbers of students, but more accomplished students who perform here at the highest levels. In each of the last two years, for instance, Pitt undergraduates have again captured Marshall Scholarships. Their victories have further cemented Pitt's position as the Commonwealth's leading producer of Rhodes and Marshall scholars."

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