Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne leaders expected to see a decrease in the number of enrolled students this fall as well as a decrease in the number of credit hours taught, however, those decreases were smaller than expected.

There are 13,771 students enrolled for fall classes; which is a drop of 3.9 percent from last year’s enrollment of 14,326. The number of credit hours taught this fall is 139,647, which is a 6.1 percent decrease from 148,737 credit hours last fall.

Other areas saw similar decreases, including the number of students enrolled at IPFW for the first time, which is 1,629 this fall as compared to 2,044 a year ago. However, the number of students enrolled in the Collegiate Connection, which is dual credit program for high school students, saw an increase of just over 28 percent with 2,438 students enrolled this year. IPFW’s total minority enrollment decreased 3.9 percent, from 2,273 in 2011 to 2,184 this year.

Several departments or areas showed an increase in enrollment above 5 percent, including: English and Linguistics, physics, women’s studies, engineering, allied health and fine arts.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Mark Franke said there are three reasons for the decline: the high job growth rate in northeast Indiana contributed to the decline in enrollment; IPFW’s stricter admissions standards; and changes made to the financial aid regulations.