Fall 2018 CBU enrollment tops 10,000 for first time

Riverside, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2018)—Fall 2018 enrollment at California Baptist University set another record with 10,486 students, an increase of 5.5 percent over the previous year, President Ronald L. Ellis announced today.

The increase numbered 545 more students than the record 9,941 enrollment in 2017, Ellis said. He noted that the 2018 full time equivalent (FTE) enrollment figure of 10,647 is 606 FTE’s or 6.6 percent greater than the 2017 figure.

Ellis announced the latest record enrollment at the regular fall meeting of the CBU Board of Trustees. He told trustees the triple-digit enrollment growth in 2018 follows three years of 600-plus increases (610, 698, 618) one four-digit upsurge (1,113), and four more triple-digit increases (813, 584, 616 and 784).

“Add the current year increase of 545 and over the last nine years CBU enrollment has grown 6,381 on a base of 4,105 in fall 2009—a 155 percent increase in nine years,” Ellis declared.

During its 68-year history, California Baptist University has seen 18 triple-digit or greater year-over-year increases—all of them occurring since fall 1995.

Since Ellis became president in November 1994, CBU enrollment has grown by 9,678 students. This year’s 10,486 enrollment is 12.98 times greater than the 808 students enrolled in 1994.

“Fall 2018 is another record breaking enrollment increase on top of a sustained 24 years of significant increases,” Ellis told the trustees. “It puts CBU ahead of schedule to attain the 12,000 by 2025 goal,” Ellis observed.

Founded in 1950, CBU is a private comprehensive Christian university located in Riverside, Calif. and affiliated with the California Southern Baptist Convention. CBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, and the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities.