data source: Fact Book from the office of Institutional Research and Planning

Enrollment, Fall 2011

• 17,344 total
• 15,460 undergraduate
• 1,884 graduate
• 2,972 first-time freshmen
• 903 new transfer students
• 54% females
• 46% males
• 10% ethnic minorities
• 15,698 in state
• 1,646 out of state
• North Carolina counties most represented (all students): Wake, Mecklenburg, Watauga, Guilford, Forsyth, Catawba
• States most represented: North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee

Freshman Admissions, Fall 2011

• 12,959 applications (completed)
• 2,972 enrolled
• 1141 SAT average
• 3.94 GPA average

Cost (undergraduate tuition and fees), 2011-12 academic year

• $5,746 in state (excludes room and board)
• $17,794 out of state (excludes room and board)

Academics

• 17:1 student/faculty ratio
• 25 - average class size
• 6 undergraduate colleges, 1 music school, and 1 graduate school
• more than 140 undergraduate and graduate majors
• 87.0% freshman retention rate
• 60.9% five-year graduation rate
• 65.7% six-year graduation rate

Degrees Awarded, 2010-2011

• 3,010 Bachelors
• 865 Masters/Specialists/Graduate Certificates
• 16 Doctorate
• 3,891 total degrees awarded

Faculty, Fall 2011

• 871 full-time faculty
• 99% percentage of full-time faculty with doctorate, first professional degree, or other terminal degree
• 2,829 total full and part-time employees

Alumni, 2011

• More than 100,000 living alumni from all 50 states and several foreign countries.

Buildings & Campus, Fall 2011

• 1,300 acres, including a 410 acre main campus
• 19 academic buildings
• 210,000-square-foot library
• 1 off-campus center in New York City
• 20 residence halls, housing 4,996 students on campus
• 4 dining facilities
• 11 recreational and athletic facilities

Athletics, Fall 2011

• 20 varsity sports offered
• 19 club sports
• more than 80 intramural sports

Solid Accolades

Appalachian State University's consistent quality is reflected by high rankings in these national publications:

• U.S. News and World Report's 2012 America's Best Colleges Guide
• Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's "Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2012
• Forbes magazine's "100 Best College Buys"
• The Princeton Review's "The Best Value Colleges" for 2011
• Consumer Digest's "Top Five Values in Public Colleges and Universities"
• The Princeton Review's "Guide to 311 Green Colleges: 2011 Edition"
• Sierra magazine's Top 20 "Coolest" Schools for 2011

Student Satisfaction

Appalachian ranks No. 7 out of 592 schools in MyPlan.com's 2010 student rankings for "Overall Satisfaction & Happiness with Choice."

Value and Affordability

Repeatedly cited as a best value in public education, Appalachian's tuition and fees include a textbook rental program, which literally saves a student hundreds of dollars over four years.

Energy Efficient Living

Newly remodeled Frank Hall, a 203-bed residence hall, has been awarded LEED® gold certification, the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Comprehensive Degree Offerings

Appalachian offers more than 140 undergraduate and graduate major programs through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Fine and Applied Arts, Reich College of Education, Walker College of Business, University College, Hayes School of Music, College of Health Sciences and Cratis D. Williams Graduate School. Appalachian also offers a doctorate of education.

Undergraduate Research

Appalachian encourages opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research projects alongside their professors. Their work is showcased during the annual Celebration of Student Research and Creative Endeavors held on campus as well as at professional conferences in the region and across the United States.

A Focus on Entrepreneurship

Twenty-eight percent of Appalachian students say their primary career aspiration is to own their own business. More than 200 students enroll in elective entrepreneurship courses each year, and Appalachian's Center for Entrepreneurship helps prepare them for success. More than 1,000 Walker College of Business alumni are already active entrepreneurs.

Internationally Connected

With study abroad opportunities on nearly every continent, Appalachian students have access to approximately 200 foreign sites for semester- and year-long programs of study.

Preparing Quality Nurses

Appalachian's Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program, part of the new College of Health Sciences, has been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) for five years, the longest period of time for which CCNE grants accreditation to a new program.

Established in 1899 as Watauga Academy, Appalachian State University has evolved into a preeminent university located in a unique, rural mountain environment. As a member of the University of North Carolina, Appalachian's fundamental mission is to discover, create, transmit, and apply knowledge to address the needs of individuals and society. This mission is achieved by providing undergraduate students a rigorous liberal education that emphasizes transferable skills and preparation for professional careers; offering graduate students distinctive, relevant programs; maintaining a faculty whose members serve as excellent teachers and scholarly mentors for their students and who produce high levels of scholarship and creative activities.

Appalachian recognizes that the success of the University depends upon the achievement and cooperation of a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff and strives to implement policies and allocate resources accordingly. We accept our responsibility to be actively involved in addressing the educational, economic, cultural, and societal needs of the changing region, state, nation, and world. As a publicly funded institution, Appalachian is committed to accomplishing its initiatives through efficient and effective resource utilization.

Appalachian aspires to be a model 21st-century, nationally recognized university combining the best characteristics of liberal arts and research institutions by resourcefully blending teaching and scholarship. To achieve this, Appalachian is committed to attracting, educating, and graduating the best students and to producing the highest levels of scholarship. Additionally, the university will provide excellent value; will be an influential world citizen; and will develop a distinctive identity built on the university's strengths, location and tradition.