As the largest university in the state, Portland State currently has more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled for the fall 2011 term—the largest enrollment number the school has ever seen. Estimations of total student enrollment, or the enrollment count four weeks into fall term when registration is final, are around 30,000 students.
Just over 75 percent of those students are enrolled as undergraduates.
If the total enrollment estimations prove accurate, Portland State will surpass the Oregon University System’s 2004 enrollment projections, which topped out at 28,000 students at PSU. However, administrators want students to know that Portland State is adjusting to its ever-growing and diverse population.
“[The PSU administration has] been very good at planning for increasing growth,” said OUS Director of Communications Diane Saunders.
Part of the administration’s plan is to attract and accommodate freshmen. The 1,400 first-time freshmen at PSU this year, combined with all returning students with freshman status, will represent just 7.7 percent of the undergraduate population.
“The growth at PSU includes more freshmen,” said Director of Advising and Career Services Mary Ann Barham. “The university is providing more experiences and activities that students would find on a more ‘traditional’ college campus. We are also building more student housing, to accommodate students who want that type of college experience.”
“PSU feels like more than a college campus,” said incoming freshman Kyla Marino. “It’s also a business and entertainment epicenter. The biggest draw, however, is the variety of classes—I mean, how many colleges offer Swahili?”
Just over 70 percent of freshmen entering PSU this fall are coming directly from high school with no previous college credit, and 87 percent of the freshman class will be full-time students with an average course load of 13 credits. The average course load of a PSU senior is 11.3 credits.
Higher enrollment rates could have negative consequences, such as larger class sizes, but also benefit the university by bringing in more tuition money and increasing the sense of diversity on campus.
The PSU student body has consistently been larger than the national average. In 2009, the national average enrollment level for an institution of higher education was approximately 17,000; during that same year, more than 23,000 students were enrolled at PSU.
Even with such a large student body, Portland State has managed continuous enrollment growth. A study conducted last year by the Portland State Office of Institutional Research and Planning determined an average annual growth rate of 3.5 percent over the last five years.
There was a 6.9 percent decrease in undergraduate enrollment for the 2010–11 academic year, which the study attributes to “students who may have been conditionally admitted in the past, but did not meet university requirements for full admission.”
Last year, the OUS made it a priority to get more Oregonians into higher education institutions. Portland State has also committed to bringing in more students from out of state.
“The experience for freshmen is one where they’re going to meet people from all over Oregon and all over the world. There’s such diversity on the campus now and that really enriches the student experience,” says Saunders.
With more students than ever, Portland State is turning into a bustling learning metropolis.
Marino is optimistic about her upcoming experience at PSU. The ever-developing university community and expanding campus leaves her unfazed. “Sometimes bigger really is better,” she said proudly.