Fall enrollment at Appalachian State is highest in school history

Appalachian State University has the largest enrollment in school history this year, helped by an off-campus expansion.

The university cites several factors that played into the four percent rise in enrollment.

Among them, a new campus in Hickory added more than 360 students. It opened in August, helping to boost enrollment at a time when land is difficult to come by for any expansion in Boone.

So it also helps that online numbers grew too, with more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students taking part, university officials say. 

It marks the fourth straight year of online class increases.

And the university says it has a record number of incoming students.

Together all those factors bring the total Mountaineer enrollment to more than 21,000 students. 

Nearly one in five are from underrepresented populations, according to App State figures. Of those, almost half are Hispanic/LatinX students.