Penn State Behrend Enrollments Continue to Increase
Enrollment at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, now stands at 4,633 students for the fall 2008 semester, a nearly 5 percent increase compared to last year’s figures.
Penn State Behrend serves 4,334 students in resident instruction programs, according to official student census figures released by the University this week. An additional 299 graduate students are served by the college through Penn State’s online World Campus as they pursue a master’s degree in Project Management or an intercollege Master’s of Business Administration degree.
“Penn State Behrend has experienced rapid physical growth and development along with three consecutive years of enrollment increases,” said Chancellor Jack Burke. “Current and prospective students continue to recognize the advantages that the college offers—high-quality, four-year Penn State degrees, a student-centered environment, top faculty, research opportunities, 100-plus student clubs and organizations, NCAA athletics, and more.”
In recent years, Penn State Behrend welcomed record first-year classes, including its largest freshman class in fall 2007 and second largest in fall 2008. Penn State Behrend purposely limited its first-year class this fall to better accommodate students—maintaining the college’s low student-to-faculty ratio and adapting to the increase in upper-class students who choose to continue their educations at Penn State Behrend and graduate from the college.
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, is a comprehensive residential college offering 34 bachelor’s, six associate, four pre-professional and two graduate degree programs with 22 minors to more than 4,600 students. Focused on providing a student-centered environment, Penn State Behrend connects its students to a major research and land-grant institution on a campus enriched by more than 110 clubs and organizations, 21 NCAA varsity teams and 19 intramural sports.
Penn State Behrend is named in recognition of a donation by Mary Behrend, widow of Ernst Behrend, who founded the Hammermill Paper Co. in Erie in 1898. The Behrend family lived on the 400-acre Glenhill Farm, which is the core of the Penn State Behrend campus today.
For more information, visit behrend.psu.edu.