ACU enrollment hits record for second straight year For Immediate Release September 8, 1999 For the second year in a row, Abilene Christian University attracted a record number of students from across the country and around the world, said Dr. Royce Money, ACU president. The official 12th-day fall enrollment at ACU is 4,673 students - topping last year's enrollment record of 4,643 students. Students also are taking more hours this fall, said Jack Rich, executive vice president. The third highest enrollment at ACU was set in 1983, with 4,627 students. Again, students are attending ACU from nearly every state and from 64 nations. The sophomore, junior and senior classes are all larger this year, and ACU has 16 more first-time, full-time students than in the fall of 1998, Rich said. The number of international students also is at an all-time high, said Kevin Kehl, assistant director of the Center for International and Intercultural Education. The top four countries of origin for new students this semester are Japan, Macau, India and China. "We believe we offer a distinctive education - high quality academics blended with a serious Christian focus," Money said. "More students are recognizing that ACU opens career doors for them, gets them into excellent graduate schools and prepares them for the challenges of life." Money said the word is spreading that ACU graduates have a special blend of high-tech understanding, excellent career preparation and integrity. "We believe this world is looking for college graduates who bring Christian ethics and current knowledge to their offices, their classrooms and their churches," Money said. "Our students are accepted into medical school at twice the national average, top corporations are heavily recruiting our seniors, and churches and schools believe our graduates make outstanding employees." This year, ACU was ranked in the top 4 percent of 3,300 institutions of higher learning nationwide by guidance counselors across the nation and was again named to the top tier of quality in "America's Best Colleges" guidebook. Yet, ACU remains in the lowest quarter of price among similar schools nationwide. "For years, our friends and alumni have told us ACU was one of the best kept secrets in Texas," Money said. "And this year, the Kaplan Newsweek guidebook called us a 'hidden treasure.' We don't want to keep our light hidden; we want to attract more quality students who will help us fulfill our mission - to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world." With growing enrollments at ACU in the past few years, the number of alumni continues to increase. ACU now has more than 80,000 alumni living in every state and in 89 nations. -30- Enrollment Numbers Based on Official Press Releases Year Number of Freshmen Total Enrollment 1999 . 4,673 1998 1,027 4,643 1997 1,003 4,542 1996 1,203 4,397 1995 1,222 4,436 1994 1,106 4,207 1993 921 4,065 1992 1,024 4,055 1991 931 3,946 1990 4,053 1989 1,162 4,186 1988 1,087 4,181 1987 1,104 4,187 1986 4,302 1985 . 4,502* 1984 1,092 4,617 1983 1,289 4,627 1982 4,546 1981 . 4,517 1980 1,478 4,560 1979 . 4,372 *No press release is archived for this year. This number is based on the 1986 release statement that enrollment for that year was down 200 from the previous year. -30- Archived News Releases - Current ACU News and Events If you are a member of the media who would like more information about this release, please contact Tom Craig, director of media and community relations, at craigt@nicanor.acu.edu or call 915-674-2692 (cell phone: 665-5469). Last update: Sept. 9, 1999 This page is maintained by Tom Craig, craigt@nicanor.acu.edu. http://www.acu.edu/events/news/990908-enrollment.html