Enrollment at PFW up again for 4th straight semester

Spring semester enrollment numbers at Purdue Fort Wayne continue to fuel an upward trajectory that appears to be picking up steam. A census report completed last week by the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis was highlighted by two specific areas of sustained growth: credit hours and retention.

For the fourth consecutive semester, non-dual credit undergraduate and graduate credit hour production, which includes service hours provided by PFW to IUFW students, increased. The spring-over-spring figure was +2.5%. Breaking it down further, credit hour production for domestic, non-resident students rose by 11.5%; there was a 75.7% increase in credit hour production from students enrolled in the Contiguous States Tuition Reciprocity Program; and a 7% increase from Ohio Tuition Reciprocity counties.

The retention rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates between the fall 2024 semester and spring 2025 semester was 87.6%, which is the highest new student fall-to-spring cohort since before the 2018 realignment.

Describing the progress as more of a starting point than a finish line, members of PFW’s leadership team are pleased with what the university community has collectively been able to accomplish.

“Being significantly up in credit hour production from out-of-state students continues to confirm the attractiveness of PFW as a destination for higher education,” said Krissy Surface, vice chancellor for enrollment management and the student experience. “What remains critical now is that we continue to provide a campus experience that students are looking for, because word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool in recruiting.”

General registration for the summer semester begins Feb. 17. Early registration for the first of four priority groups—degree candidates, graduates students, and seniors—begins March 25.