Linfield University announced its fall enrollment numbers Wednesday, reporting all-time highs in first-generation and Hispanic/Latinx students, and in graduate-level students.
According to official statistics, Linfield enrolled 1,755 undergraduate and graduate students this fall on its McMinnville and Portland campuses and its eCampus. The size of this fall’s new class of first-year and transfer students grew by 5% from fall 2021, bringing 464 new Wildcats into the Linfield community.
“Despite the challenges associated with the pandemic, we are thrilled that students from all over the country continue to see Linfield, its programs and academic offerings as a destination for achieving their academic goals,” said Gerardo Ochoa, Linfield’s vice president for enrollment management and student success.
The number of people studying in a graduate program increased 40% from last fall, with a total of 50 students enrolled in graduate programs. Linfield currently offers two graduate-level educational endorsements and three graduate degrees: a Master of Science in business, a Master of Science in sports sciences and analytics and a Master of Science in Nursing. Linfield started offering master’s degrees again in 2020 after a more than 20-year hiatus.
Thanks in part to Linfield’s award-winning First Scholars program, the number of first-generation students is at a record high. Nearly half of Linfield’s new undergraduate students (49%) are the first in their family to go to college, bringing the university-wide total of first-generation undergraduate students to 37%. The First Scholars program received the Beacon Award from the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities last year for its distinctive model that pairs financial support with a unique mentoring program.
“We have high expectations of all our students, and with that expectation comes a responsibility to offer high levels of support,” Ochoa said. “We are fortunate to have a staff and faculty who give of their time to be mentors and role models and are fully committed to student success.”
The total number of Linfield undergraduate students identifying as Hispanic/Latinx is also at an all-time high of 20%. Linfield, an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution, has seen 11% growth in the number of Hispanic/Latinx students pursuing their bachelor’s degree in the last five years. This continuous increase, as well as an incoming class where 43% identified as U.S. students of color, has positively affected the overall diversity at Linfield.
Linfield further attributes its larger incoming class to the addition of men’s and women’s wrestling as an NCAA Division III team. The inaugural recruiting class added more than 30 student-athletes to the university. The teams open their 2022-23 season this Saturday in Yakima, Washington.
