The University of Prince Edward Island says it’s bucking a regional trend with increasing enrolment numbers.
The Association of Atlantic Universities (AAU) released its 2017-18 preliminary survey of enrolments for universities in the Atlantic region.
UPEI’s student population is up by 2.6 per cent over the previous year. The total number of students at the university is now 4,549, up from 4,433 in 2016-17.
The growth was led by a 4.5 per cent jump in full-time undergraduate students, and an increase in full-time international students of 12.8 per cent.
The Island university did see an overall drop of 6.8 per cent in its graduate-student population, but noted the numbers are similar to 2016-17 with registrations finalized after the data collection.
In February, a report from the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission noted that UPEI saw an eight per cent decline in enrolment among local residents in 2015-2016, which was offset by an increase in students from outside the Maritimes and international enrolment. P.E.I. saw a total decrease of two per cent from 2015-16.