College of DuPage Shatters Enrollment Record, up 9.4 Percent in Credit Headcount

Bucking regional and national downward trends, College of DuPage has recorded its highest enrollment since converting from quarters to semesters in 2005. The College's net 10th day credit headcount (full- and part-time students) soared to 28,627, up 9.4 percent over last fall. Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment climbed an astonishing 7.6 percent for fall to 16,565 students.

College of DuPage added 2,471 students this fall over last and added 1,168 more FTES. The College is generating 248,475 credit hours this fall, 17,520 over fall 2012. Enrollment of students who are new to COD is up 18 percent over the previous year. The College also saw a 5.1 percent headcount increase in out-of-district students, bringing our total to 9.8 of our percent of our total student population.

The College saw a marked increase among its diverse student populations, including a 21 percent increase in Hispanic students, a 12 percent increase in Asian students, and a six percent increase in African American students. This semester also marks College of DuPage's largest number of high achieving academic scholarship recipients, with 140 high achieving scholars that include 97 Presidential Scholars. The College saw also a 35 percent headcount increase of recent high school graduates, moving the percentage of the total student population from 15 percent last year to 18 percent for this fall.

“These numbers are a testament to the higher education treasure that is College of DuPage,” said COD President Dr. Robert L. Breuder. “We continue to distinguish ourselves among other providers of higher education, and this is solid evidence that more and more students are recognizing the incredible return on investment offered by College of DuPage. Why would you go anywhere else and pay more for what isn't necessarily better?”

College of DuPage is swimming against a downward enrollment trend, both regionally and nationally, with preliminary numbers indicating that nearly all peer institutions are experiencing an enrollment decline or are remaining flat. This summer the U.S. Census Bureau reported college enrollment was down by a half million students in 2012.

“We are experiencing a moment in time at College of DuPage that will always be remembered,” President Breuder said. “We are nearing completion of $550 million in construction and renovation to provide peerless teaching and learning facilities. We have created 3+1 programs with five partnering universities that allow students to earn one of 13 bachelor's degrees from 21 COD programs for under $34,000 on our campus. Beyond the 3+1, we have other excellent transfer programs, such as the Pathways program that allows participating engineering students to transfer directly to the University of Illinois engineering program, one of the finest in the country. We have conducted a complete, year-long overhaul of our counseling network and customer services for enhanced service excellence. We have added more than 50 certificates and degrees over the past four years that respond directly to needs of industry and the local workforce. We are attracting academically enriched students at a tremendous rate. And College of DuPage students who do transfer to other four-year institutions, such as University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign are performing as well as ‘native' students.

“Like never before, people are waking up to the value that is in their own backyard,” President Breuder said. “We are in the process of realizing our vision of becoming the primary college district residents choose for high quality education.”

For more information, call Joe Moore, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, at (630) 991-6557.