Arizona State University breaks multiple enrollment records as the fall semester begins

PHOENIX — Arizona State University has set multiple new enrollment records as fall classes get underway this week.

On Thursday, 40,800 new students, including first-year, transfer and graduate students will begin classes across ASU’s five campuses and online.

Almost 1 in 4 students enrolled at ASU are new to the university.

Incoming first-year students make up 17,000 of the new total, while 9,170 of them are Arizona residents, a new record. In addition, new master’s students amount to 3,150, which is a 19% increase versus last fall.

There are also 18,100 new students from Arizona, which is a 9% increase from the previous year.

Each school year, ASU enrolls more than 181,000 students (counting fall, spring and summer semesters).

“It’s built into our name — we are first and foremost here to serve the people of Arizona,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a press release. “Our university is dedicated to enabling student success, leveraging its place, being socially embedded and engaging globally, so while we are ‘one university in many places,’ ensuring that Arizonans have the knowledge and tools to build a bright future is fundamental to who we are.

“Our state has unbelievable potential for achievement, health and prosperity, and ASU is here to help make it happen.”

As opposed to year’s past, this year each student who starts over the course of the school year will be counted instead of only the students who start at the beginning of the fall semester.

According to the university, tens of thousands of students begin classes during later sessions offered in the fall and spring.

On ASU’s West Valley campus in Glendale, enrollment of new first-year, transfer and master’s students has climbed by 25%. The West Valley campus has implemented two new buildings, including the Casa del Valle residence hall, which opens this fall, to address the new volume of students. The new residence hall features 507 double-occupancy, suite-styled rooms, a lounge, zen areas, study halls, a creation hub and a courtyard.

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