HPU Grows Freshman Class by 9.4% and Welcomes Largest Total Enrollment

HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — High Point University’s campus is in full swing after classes began on Aug. 18 with the largest freshman class and largest total enrollment in HPU’s history.

This fall, HPU grew enrollment in the following ways:

• The freshman class grew by 9.4% to 1,671 students
• Total new undergraduate students grew by 8% to 1,780 students
• Total enrollment grew 3.4% from 6,335 to 6,550 students

HPU achieved this enrollment growth despite the reality of the national enrollment cliff and an enrollment decline at universities across the nation. 

This year’s group of new students surpasses last year’s mark of 1,650 new students. The total enrollment is up from 6,335 students during the 2024-25 academic year.

Bucking trends in higher education, HPU’s enrollment has increased every year since Dr. Nido Qubein became president in January of 2005. Enrollment was approximately 1,500 students at that time and has since grown by 337%. Qubein begins his 22^nd academic year leading his alma mater, making him the longest-serving active college president in North Carolina.

“This is a transformational time for High Point University, and our campus is continuing to grow by extraordinary measures,” Qubein said. “Families from all over the world are choosing to send their children here to earn a values-based education that emphasizes life skills and prepares them for the world as it will be.”

There is plenty that is new to HPU this fall. Here is a glimpse:

HPU Grows Its Faculty With 30 Newly Created Positions

To accommodate growing enrollment and new academic programs, HPU created and hired 30 new faculty positions, many of them in the new Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law. This is in addition to the more than 2,500 faculty and staff members employed by the university.

The new law school has 75 students in its second cohort of students, and 60 dental students began their studies this month. Both graduate schools welcomed their inaugural classes that were at capacity a year ago.

HPU has hired 64 faculty members in newly created positions over the past two years. The new hires come at a time when universities across the country have eliminated faculty positions because of budget concerns.

HPU’s Campus Grows with Addition of Three New Buildings

HPU’s campus is continuing to grow with construction wrapping up on the university’s two newest academic buildings and work about to begin on the new $100-million Charman Library this fall.

HPU will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the new four-story, 150,000-square-foot library on Aug. 25. The library is expected to be completed in 2027 and will serve as the university’s main library when it opens.

HPU will officially open a pair of three-story, 77,500-square-foot buildings that will serve as the permanent homes for the new dental school and law school. The grand opening for the dental school facility is slated for Sept. 10, and the law school facility’s grand opening will be Sept. 11. These two academic hubs, which cost a combined $95 million, are located next to each other and will anchor the southern end of a section of campus known as the Innovation Corridor.

“Our campus has continued to grow to accommodate our new degree programs and the largest student enrollment in HPU’s 100-year history,” Qubein said. “These new academic buildings will provide our law and dental students with the most state-of-the-art environments where they can learn, grow and graduate prepared to make an impact on the lives of others. The Charman Library will be first rate in every way imaginable and serve all students on campus.”

Attachments

• HPU Back to School 1
• HPU Back to School 1

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