INDIANAPOLIS -- IUPUI continues to enroll the highest number of Indiana residents in the state.
When the fall semester began Aug. 24, the latest figures showed 3,824 beginning freshmen are enrolled at IUPUI, 2.6 percent lower than in 2014, which had set the record for freshmen enrollment. The incoming freshman class is the second-highest freshman total on record.
The School of Science welcomes 353 incoming freshman -- a 21 percent increase over two years.
“We are excited that members of this diverse and talented freshman class have chosen IUPUI for their college educations, and we are committed to helping them succeed,” IUPUI Chancellor Nasser H. Paydar said. “Given most of our students are from Indiana, this good news for IUPUI is great news for our state.”
Measuring academic talent by SAT scores, incoming freshmen outscored last year’s freshman class, which had set the record for highest test scores of any incoming class. The number of freshmen with SAT scores of 1300 or above increased 14 percent, compared to 2014.
Incoming Indiana freshmen continue to enter the university with better high school preparation. The number of freshmen who received the Academic Honors diploma, a more rigorous track of study, is up 9 percent over last year. About 68 percent of the 2015 entering Indiana freshman class has the Academic Honors diploma, compared with 61.5 percent in 2014.
Students continue to take more classes. The average credit hour load for freshmen is 13.9 for 2015, compared to 10.7 in 1999. Sophomores, juniors and seniors also are taking more credit hours, on average than in 2014, reflecting efforts by the campus to have students complete their degrees within four years.
Freshman minority students constitute 23.4 percent of all entering freshmen, up from 22.2 percent a year ago. For the first time on record, Hispanic/Latino students have the largest share of the entering class of minority students, followed by African-Americans.
Enrollment by Indiana residents declined by 886 students, or 3.3 percent, while enrollment by nonresidents increased by 91, or 3.1 percent. Even with this change, 89.5 percent of IUPUI students are Indiana residents, down slightly from 90.1 percent in 2014.
International enrollment, undergrad and grad combined, is up more than 2 percent.
Among the international students are 23 new “2+2” transfer students from IUPUI strategic partner Sun Yat-sen University, one of China’s top universities, for programs in mechanical engineering, business, and computer science. Under the 2+2 program, the students complete two years at the university in China and two years at IUPUI.