Appalachian has been on a path of slow and steady enrollment growth for more than a decade. Growth for Appalachian comes with:

• Long-term and short-term planning.
• Strategic resource investments for students, faculty and staff.
• Strong focus on sustaining our history of providing access to education to rural North Carolinians, and staying true to our institutional mission and core values.

Appalachian is characterized by — and its faculty, staff, students and alumni are proud of — its capabilities to take charge and problem-solve.

There has been much talk across campus about what it will look like for Appalachian to grow to 20,000 students by fall 2020. Conversations and planning to reach this goal have been ongoing for years, but with the goal close at hand now, these conversations have intensified. Appalachian is not alone in having discussions like these. Indeed, every institution of higher education in America is having similar discussions. Appalachian’s faculty and staff hold a strong commitment to ensuring the quality of the academic enterprise and work daily to ensure Appalachian’s position as the premier public undergraduate university in the state of North Carolina.

What will enrollment growth at App look like?

Appalachian’s growth over the past five years has ranged from as low as negative 0.5% to as high as 2.8%, with an overall average of about 1.4%. Reaching 20,000 in fall 2020 will mean a growth rate of 3.7% from fall 2019, and an overall six-year average of 1.75%.

• Fall 2020 enrollment target for undergraduate and graduate on-campus, online and satellite locations is 850. (Why 850? Fall 2020 target is 20,000. Current enrollment is 19,280, which leaves a difference of 720. We have adjusted this number to add 130 to account for attrition.)
• Current projection for fall 2020 is a net increase of 350 first-time, full-time students on campus.
• Nearly 60% of projected growth for fall 2020 will be online or at satellite locations.
• Moving forward, online and satellite location growth are the areas with the most potential for any increased enrollment.
• Appalachian will continue to admit qualified students and further our founders’ mission of serving rural areas in North Carolina.
• Appalachian will continue to strengthen its already notable retention and graduation rates.