The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has been going beyond
people’s expectations in so many ways in the past few years, and
now they’ve done it again with a surge in enrollment.
“It’s the largest freshman class in our history,” said President
Dr. Livingston Alexander on Friday. There are 365 freshmen this
year. “The way it’s structured is very different. There’s more
full-time students than we’ve ever had.”
And the number of students living on campus is higher than ever
before.
“We’re beyond our capacity,” he said. “We were 40 students over
capacity” for the number of dorm spaces available for students.
By changing a few things around and making some additional
adjustments, the campus was able to accommodate the additional
students.
More than 78 percent of the freshmen are from within
Pennsylvania, but the rest come from a variety of additional states
– New York, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington,
D.C., Arizona, Missouri, Virginia, California, Delaware, Florida
and Massachusetts.
“Students are coming to us from a greater geographic area,”
Alexander said.
“We still get some from a referral from Pittsburgh,” he said,
explaining how the students from such a distance may arrive at
Pitt-Bradford as their choice. “Because Pittsburgh (Pitt-Oakland)
has also grown, it refers students to other campuses. Sixty-nine of
our students are referrals.”
But that’s not the only way people are finding out about
Bradford’s growing university.
“We’re ranked by The Princeton Review as one of the best in the
Northeast,” Alexander said. “The word is getting out about
Pitt-Bradford.”
It really isn’t possible to pinpoint one reason why this year’s
freshman class is the biggest ever, he said, because so many
variables come into play.
“We’ve increased our merit awards and our scholarships to help
students afford tuition,” Alexander explained. He said compared to
the state colleges, tuition at Pitt-Bradford is somewhat
expensive.
“We provide financial aid for students in need,” he added.
Another possible reason for the increased enrollment is a more
aggressive marketing campaign.
“We’re marketing more than we ever have before,” Alexander said.
And the slogan, appropriately enough, is “beyond” – which is right
where the faculty and staff of the university have taken the
campus, the president said.
“They are the reason we’re experiencing this success.”
And that success will spread from the campus out to the
surrounding community. Alexander said more students mean more
people circulating through the community, which means more money
for community vendors.
“The economic impact will be significant,” he said. And the
impact will be even greater considering the additional faculty and
staff added to address the higher enrollment.
“For us to sustain this momentum will require us to continue to
receive support from our friends in the community,” Alexander
added.
But it’s not just the university that’s having a positive impact
on the community – it’s a symbiotic relationship. All the efforts
to rebuild, renew and revitalize the surrounding communities have
attributed to the university’s growth as well.
“When we sell the campus to prospective students, we’re selling
Bradford. We’re selling the region,” Alexander explained. And when
families see the growth and improvements of the area while visiting
the campus, they are more likely to enroll at the university.
While the increased enrollment is a big sign of success for the
university, Alexander said they have no intention of stopping
now.
“We have a vision of being the best undergraduate university in
the region,” he said. “There’s a lot yet that has to be
accomplished.”
And to do that, he plans to keep looking forward.
“We’ve got to look five years down the road to accommodate
what’s coming to us,” Alexander said. Rather than consider adding
one more residence hall, “we have to have two,” the president said
with a smile.
“I love this kind of problem. I’d love to have them every
year.”
