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For the fourth consecutive year, ��ɫӰ�� has broken all previous total student enrollment records, with a fall 2012 enrollment of 15,379 students.

Total enrollment, which comprises undergraduate and graduate students, increased by 1.6 percent, or 247 students, over the record set last fall of 15,132.

Graduate student enrollment increased to 2,321 from 2,189, and the number of new students (freshman and transfer) is 3,820, up from 3,780.

Fall enrollment for all ��ɫӰ�� sites combined is 15,663, which includes 217 students in the ��ɫӰ�� Academy of Culinary Arts in Punxsutawney and 72 students in the ��ɫӰ�� Criminal Justice Training Academy, among other sites.

In addition, the retention of continuing students has increased for this year to nearly 76 percent.

For fall 2012, ��ɫӰ��'s out-of-state enrollment is at 13 percent of its overall student population, or 2,044 students. Overall, 15 percent of all ��ɫӰ�� students (2,339) are minority students and 5 percent (766) are international. More than 60 countries are represented within ��ɫӰ��'s international student population.

This compares to fall 2011 out-of-state enrollment of 12 percent of ��ɫӰ��'s overall student population (1,802 students). In fall 2011, 13 percent of all ��ɫӰ�� students (2,013) were minority students and 4.3 percent (649 students) were international.

“��ɫӰ��'s continued record-breaking enrollment in light of a decline in the number of high school graduates in Pennsylvania is a clear demonstration of a university-wide commitment to strong teaching, advising and mentoring; providing excellent service to students and their families; and maintaining and improving the campus physical plant in ways to meet the changing needs of our students,” said President Michael Driscoll. “It's especially gratifying to see that ��ɫӰ�� has achieved this record-breaking enrollment without compromising the academic quality of our new students.”

The fall 2012 freshman class has an average high school GPA of 3.2. In addition, 23 members of the class are valedictorians or salutatorians, and 180 are in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class.

“We all have a responsibility to recruit and retain students, and everyone has a right to be proud of meeting—and exceeding—our admissions goals,” Driscoll added. “While this has been a campuswide effort, I want to recognize the hard work of the Enrollment Management and Communications Division and EMC Vice President Jim Begany for another record-breaking year on all fronts.”

“Without question, recruitment and retention of students is a campuswide effort,” Begany said. “While we are very pleased with the number of new and returning students, our focus has been on getting students who have a high academic profile and who are the right fit for this university."

Begany noted that this year ��ɫӰ�� has been able to support the enrollment of more than 100 students with SAT scores of 1250 or above with one-time and renewable Board of Governors scholarships.

“Thanks to the Foundation for ��ɫӰ��'s commitment of unrestricted gifts made to the university, along with Class of 2012's senior class gift and other designated financial gifts made to ��ɫӰ��, we have established the Sutton Scholars Program,” Begany noted.

“These scholarships, aimed at Pennsylvania students with strong SAT scores and a high school grade-point average of 3.25 or better, will help us to attract and retain academically talented students.”

Students entering ��ɫӰ�� in fall 2013 must apply by October 31, 2012, to be eligible for the Sutton Scholars program.