The growth reflects an increase of seven percent over last year and 23 percent over the last two years. Olson notes that an additional 18 exchange students pushes the enrollment to 1,754.
The numbers reflect a strong incoming class as well as successful efforts to retain students, according to Olson. The university welcomed a class of 374 first-year and 229 transfer students, for a total of 609.
Attracting students from within the Evangelical Covenant Church continues to improve as well, with 142 enrolled this year for a total of 472 attending the school. It is the highest number since 1980. Thirty students transferred to North Park from Covenant Bible College.
Overall institutional enrollment, including students in non-traditional programs and in graduate programs other than the seminary, grew from 3,161 to 3,383, for a gain of seven percent. Traditional North Park Theological Seminary enrollment grew from 276 to 291, and the number of students in a variety of special programs grew from 302 to 314 for a total of 605.
The academic quality of students also improved, Olson notes. The average ACT score increased more than half a point – or five times the tenth of a point “often celebrated as a great accomplishment.”
“It has been most gratifying to get the feedback from the faculty, who seem very happy with not only the quality of the students, but the attitudes they bring into the classroom,” Olson says. He recalls one faculty member asking, “Where did you find these students?” The faculty member then shared that following her first class session, several students remained to introduce themselves to her.
The school has been attracting students across the country and around the globe. “One of our strengths as an institution is the fact that while many similar schools are very regional, North Park pulls students from 38 states and 30 other countries,” Olson says.
This year, 30 international students began studies at North Park, a turnaround from the decline to 12 students following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Four of the students are from the International Congregation at Immanuel Church in Stockholm, led by pastors Doug and Jodi Fondell. A second undergraduate student from the Evangelical Covenant Church of the Congo also began studies at the university.
