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APSU reports record enrollment and nearly 2,900 degree and certificate awards
Summary
Provost Mitch Cordova told the Academic Affairs Committee that Austin Peay State University conferred 2,890 degrees and certificates in 2024–25 and reported a fall census of 11,185 students, an increase the university attributes to targeted recruitment initiatives, scholarship packages and growth in military-affiliated students.
Austin Peay State University awarded 2,890 degrees and certificates across the 2024–25 academic year, and its fall census showed 11,185 students, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Mitch Cordova told the university’s Academic Affairs Committee on June 6, 2025.
Cordova said the 2,890 awards — which include summer and fall 2024 terms and the 2025 spring term — represent a 9% increase over the previous year and noted gains concentrated in master’s and doctoral programs. "We awarded a total of 2,890 degrees and certificates," he said.
The provost described the fall census figure as a record for the university and reported it represented roughly a 7% increase year over year (one committee remark recorded the figure as 7.15%). "As for the fall census, APSU boasted 11,185 students," Cordova said, adding praise for admissions, enrollment management, student success and financial aid staff who led outreach and recruitment efforts.
Committee members probed causes for the increase. Cordova attributed growth to a mix of measures: a package of scholarships and "experience grants" unique to the state, an expanded Division of Military and Veterans Affairs that boosted military-affiliated enrollment (he said that population has grown about 50% in four years), and active, in‑person recruitment events for admitted students. He described those events as one- to two-hour "yield" presentations that include an itemized review of costs, scholarship awards and sometimes giveaways to encourage commitment.
The committee also discussed program-level productivity. Cordova said certain programs are driving recent gains: the College of Education has nearly doubled undergraduate education completions over five years and master’s degrees in education have more than doubled. He highlighted growth in business graduate enrollment (MBA), speech-language pathology, and steady increases in STEM majors — citing about 40 majors in engineering physics and 31 in physics — which he expects to boost future degree counts.
Cordova reviewed several programs labeled low-producing under Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) thresholds but urged retaining some because they serve larger on-campus instructional needs. He explained a prior spike in associate-degree awards resulted from a one-time outreach in 2021–22 that encouraged eligible students on the path to bachelor’s degrees to apply for terminal associate degrees; that pipeline later normalized.
The committee approved meeting minutes and adjourned after the presentation. No formal board actions or changes to program status were taken during the session.
