Kutztown University Minority Enrollment at Record Levels

KUTZTOWN, PA (10/06/2017) Minority student enrollment at Kutztown University reached 21 percent this fall, a record-high level, according to official figures released this week. Minority student enrollment of the incoming freshman class was 25 percent, also a record for the university.

"I'm so very proud to be a part of a university that welcomes diversity and embraces it," said Dr. Kenneth S. Hawkinson, university president. "Having students from many different cultures and nationalities enhances the education and environment for the entire KU community. Learning is not only done in the classroom, we can learn from each other and our cultural traditions."

The university's 21 percent minority student enrollment is one percent higher than last year. The university's retention rate also rose one percent to 74, the first increase since 2012.

New students at the university included 1,605 freshman, 602 students who transferred from other institutions and 297 graduate students. Both transfer and graduate students increased over 2016. The quality of the freshman class remained strong as KU accepted 73.9 percent of its 8,088 applicants this year.

Total enrollment at KU is 8,329, a 2.16 percent decline, 184 students, from fall 2016. Of the total enrollment, 7,489 are undergraduate students while 840 are seeking graduate degrees. Graduate school enrollment jumped from 795 students in 2016, a nearly six percent increase.

The majority of students, 88 percent, are from Pennsylvania while 11 percent come from out of state and one percent are international students.

Official data is collected after the university's fall freeze date in September.

Historical Total Enrollment Data

2017 - 8,329

2016 - 8,513

2015 - 9,000

2014 - 9,218

2013 - 9,513