Temple University says a record number of first-year students submitted deposits for fall
Temple officials said student retention would be a focus this academic year, with new programming for the first-year student experience and other efforts.
Temple University officials say the school has seen more first-year students commit to attending in August than it has seen in recent past summers — a promising signal after several years of enrollment decline.
The university received 6,682 deposits from first-year undergraduate students as of last Monday, up 4.7% over the same time last year and a university record, the school said. Students pay a deposit of $200.
And more than 3,700 students of those students - more than half - already have registered for classes. That’s up 7.8% over the same time last year, the school said.
» READ MORE: Temple misses enrollment projection; main campus student population slides again
Of first-year students who have submitted deposits, 57.8% are from Pennsylvania, including 23.5% from Philadelphia, the school said. Deposits from out-of-state students are up 3.8%, the school said.
“While the start of the fall semester is still several weeks away, this is a tremendous accomplishment and an indication that we will once again be positioned to welcome a strong class of highly qualified, talented first-year students this fall,” Temple President John Fry said in a statement.
The North Philadelphia-based university has struggled with enrollment loss in recent years. The school enrolled 29,503 students last academic year, excluding its international campuses. That’s down 27% from less than a decade ago when the university enrolled more than 40,000 students. The school lost an average of $200 million annually during that period, according to an internal Temple report obtained by The Inquirer in April.
» READ MORE: Temple University lost returning students at a high rate last year. This year, first-year students will see changes.
Its freshman to sophomore retention rate also has slid from 90% to 82% last fall, and the internal report showed there is concern the percentage will slip below 80% this fall.
The school last year brought in a record number of first-year students and had been predicting it would experience an overall enrollment increase for the first time since 2017. The school also showed a record number of deposits last July.
But that projection fell short by about 700 students and the school’s overall enrollment declined by about 500 students.
The university acknowledged that some students will likely fall away this year too, known as “summer melt.”
“The challenge for us is to keep up the momentum,” Fry said. “A number of institutions - I’d say the majority probably - are worried and struggling with deposits, and we’ve worked so hard to produce what I think ... is an incredibly good year.”
Temple officials earlier this month said student retention would be a focus this academic year, with new programming for the first-year student experience and other efforts. The university plans more coordinated orientation, advising, communication and student support.
