News

Portland State University begins its 2006-07 academic year today projecting an end-of-term enrollment of 25,900 students. This continues an 11-year trend of enrollment growth for the University.

Current campus enrollment numbers are unofficial estimates based on year-to-year comparisons, applications, actual enrollments and continuing education students. The Oregon University System will release official fourth-week enrollment numbers for the 2006-07 academic year in November.

“We're welcoming another record-sized enrollment, with students coming from all over the region and the world,” said Portland State University President Daniel O. Bernstine. “At the same time, we face challenges heading into the 2006-07 academic year, as we continue to seek the financial stability that will allow us to continue to serve the many students that have chosen Portland State for their college education.”

Fall 2006 End-of-Term Enrollment Projections for Portland State University
* Projected enrollment: 25,900 (Fall 2005 end-of-term enrollment was 25,147);
* Estimated entering class: 4,225 (1,475 first-time freshman; 2,750 new transfers);
* Entering class ethnic make-up: 20 percent minority; 3 percent international; 68 percent white; 9 percent unknown;
* Ph.D. students: 565, a 6 percent increase over last fall (532);
* International students: Over 300 new international students; (students from 97 countries were admitted to Portland State this year, with 16 new countries represented by international students).

New Programs, Faculty and Honors
* New Ph.D.: New doctoral programs at Portland State this fall include a doctoral degree in Biology. The program will prepare needed research biologists for the growing industry clusters that rely on biological research while enabling Portland State to attract and retain top students and faculty recruits.
* Other new programs include a doctoral program in Technology Management, and graduate certificates in Transportation, Computer Security and Food Marketing and Logistics.

* New Bachelor’s: Other new programs at Portland State this year also include an online bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice, the first online bachelor’s degree offered at Portland State; and a multi-departmental bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies.

* New Faculty: New instructional faculty members have joined every school and college within the PSU campus community. For a listing of faculty and other administrative staff positions announced at the 2006 PSU Convocation program, please see http://oaa.pdx.edu/NewsAndEvents.

* Curriculum Honored: For the fifth year in a row, Portland State University’s curriculum is among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report. The magazine’s “America’s Best Colleges 2007,” features Portland State under the section “Academic Programs: Programs to Look For” in five categories: Internships/Co-Ops, Senior Capstone, First-Year Experiences, Learning Communities and Service Learning.

* Portland State University was selected as one of 25 universities considered “Saviors of Our Cities” by the New England Board of Higher Education for exemplary examples of community revitalization and cultural renewal, economic drivers of the local economy and advocates of community service and urban developers, both commercially as well as in housing. Portland State was also named one of the “Best Colleges in the West” by the Princeton Review’s The Best 361 Colleges, 2007 Edition, for the second year in a row. The book contains surveys from over 110,000 students at 361 colleges and is designed as a guide to help future students decide which college is best for them.

Portland State University (PSU) serves as a center of opportunity for over 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most livable cities, the University’s innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The University’s 47-acre downtown campus exhibits Portland State’s commitment to sustainability with green buildings, while many of the 120 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. PSU’s motto, “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#06-113)

Source: David Burgess (503-725-3434)
Office of Institutional Research and Planning