CEDARVILLE — Cedarville University announced Sept. 6 its 12th-consecutive record enrollment.
As of the official census date, Cedarville enrolled 4,193 students in its undergraduate, graduate, and dual enrollment programs — the first time in the university’s 131-year history that enrollment has surpassed 4,000. Last year’s enrollment was 3,963 which is a 5.8 percent increase of 230 students.
Contributing to the record enrollment were a second consecutive record freshman class of 911 students, up 4.5 percent compared to last year’s record of 872 students, and an 86.5 percent freshmen-to-sophomore retention rate. The new student count included 21 enrolled in the inaugural cohort of the new civil engineering major. Enrollment in the graduate school and the university’s College Now program for high school students also achieved record enrollments of 434 and 414 respectively.
“God has granted us a privilege and responsibility to invest in the lives of this record-breaking number of students,” said Dr. Thomas White, president. “For our undergraduates, they have approximately 1,000 days on our campus, and we are committed to equipping each student for godly service, vocational distinction, and cultural engagement. Ultimately, we desire to glorify God through faithful stewardship of all the students that He has entrusted to us as they go on to serve as Christian leaders in business, healthcare, ministry and more.”
According to Dr. Scott Van Loo, vice president for enrollment management, most incoming students chose Cedarville because of the university’s biblical worldview, the Bible minor built into every academic program, and the daily chapel service with dynamic worship and impactful teaching.
“We’re an institution that is ‘for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ,’ ” Van Loo said. “Families and students are connecting with the values that make Cedarville distinctive.”
The new freshmen come with impressive academic accomplishments. The average ACT score of this class is 26 compared to a national average of 21, while their collective high school grade point average was 3.85. Cedarville continues to attract students from all over the world.
“I am honored to serve alongside faculty and staff who worked together to welcome our incoming students to their college home,” White said. “We embrace the opportunity to educate and minister to our students so they will be ready to use their vocation as a platform for service to Christ and others.”
