Date: September 11, 2008
Contact: Carol Connelly, Director, Media & Communication Services, ext. 5267, cconnelly@pnc.edu

PNC Sets Enrollment and Credit Hour Records

Westville – Purdue University North Central set all-time enrollment and credit hour records this fall. The 2008 – 2009 academic year opened Monday, Aug. 25 with a record 4,241 students enrolled in a record 44,427 credit hours for the fall semester.

This represents a 8.63 percent increase in students and an 8.11 percent increase in credit hours over the fall semester of 2007.

PNC students include 2,558 full-time students, a 10.6 percent increase over last year, marking the sixth 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 freshman enrolled is 837, a 4 percent jump from fall semester 2007. The average PNC undergraduate student is 25 years old. There are 1,787 males and 2,454 females enrolled.

“Once again, a record number of students have chosen to earn their Purdue degrees at Purdue North Central. Students know that PNC has a well-earned reputation for academic excellence. PNC has grown tremendously in the past few years. We've added four bachelor's degree programs in the past year alone, bringing our total to 17. We continue to offer students small classes, individual attention and personalized student services,” said Chancellor Dr. James B. Dworkin.

According to Lawrence Barrett, vice chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Services, “PNC is the fastest growing four-year college in the state of Indiana with an increase of 22 percent in students since 2005 and a 21 percent increase in credit hours. We welcome students from throughout Northwest Indiana to our Westville and Porter County sites.”

PNC has 98 graduate students. There are 90 students enrolled in its executive Saturday Master of Business Administration program, offered at PNC – Porter County in Valparaiso .

PNC – Porter County also offers a full schedule of undergraduate programs. This semester, approximately 800 students are enrolled in 3,000 credit hours of classes there, a 5 percent increase from last fall.

There are 1,647 students from LaPorte County and 1,682 students from Porter County .

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