Austin Peay State University Enrollment Growing

Improvement in Graduations best among Tennessee Universities

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University continues to move toward the 11,000-student mark. Figures for the Fall 2011 semester show a record enrollment of 10,873 students at APSU.

But APSU has more reason to celebrate. Not only is enrollment increasing, but APSU also is graduating more students than ever.

While growth in student enrollment is vital for any postsecondary institution, APSU, like other public institutions in Tennessee, is being assessed by retention and graduation performance.

The Complete College Tennessee Act, adopted in 2010, implements a new outcomes-based funding formula, in which productivity rather than enrollment controls the funding distribution.

During the last academic year, APSU awarded its highest number of degrees on record, 13 percent more degrees than the previous year. Since 2006, degree completions have risen steadily, increasing more than 25 percent. These figures include approximately 60 students who received the University’s first chemical engineering technology degrees in May.

APSU’s upward performance in retention, progression and graduation positions the University as the most improved institution among the four-year schools in the Tennessee Board of Regents and University of Tennessee systems. A report released last week by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) recommends that APSU receive a 6.9 percent increase in funding for 2012-13, based on the first year of the new funding formula. That’s nearly twice the increase of any other Tennessee university.

For more information about APSU’s enrollment and graduation statistics, visit www.apsu.edu/ire.