Temple University’s newest class of undergraduates is its most diverse ever, according to the latest information released by the North Philly school, though its demographics still don’t mirror its home city.
About 57% of students in the class of 2027, now in their first year, identify as people of color. It’s the fourth year in a row that stat has risen, thanks to coordinated efforts across administration, per Temple Director of Communications Steve Orbanek.
Despite the increase, the university knows there’s more work to be done, said Jose Aviles, Temple’s vice provost for enrollment engagement.
“When you think about the future, it’s not so much about maintaining what we’re currently doing,” Aviles told Billy Penn. “But it starts with really that process of expanding who’s ready to participate.”
Attracting and accepting more Black students has been a specific goal, he added. At a high point in 2002, Black students represented almost 23% of Temple undergraduates. By 2016, that had dropped to a two-decade-low of 13%. Three years ago, it was still only 14%.
During the 2022-23 academic year, Black students represented more than 19% of the student body. For the latest undergraduate class, it’s over 22%. Those increases are significant. But for a school that continues to style itself Philly’s public university, they do not align with the city at large, where 42% of residents under age 25 are Black.
Temple started out in 1884 as a night school for working-class Philadelphians, but has over the decades become a nationally-renowned powerhouse.
For the first time this year, it broke into the top 100 of the U.S. News and World Report rankings at No. 89. That’s generally a positive thing — and reflects increased diversity, per Orbanek. Local students may still feel it’s out of reach, however, especially people who graduated from the district’s underfunded public schools.
The university’s tuition is just over $17,975, up 12% from three years ago but significantly lower than most other universities in Philadelphia. (Penn costs around $58,600, for example, Drexel is $58,300, and Villanova will set you back $63,800 per year.)
Recognizing this disparity, Temple has made a commitment to increasing the number of local students it accepts, per administration officials.
The class of 2027 is made up of more than 17% Philadelphians, a jump of 2 percentage points from the previous year. And when you include the surrounding collar counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery, more than two-fifths, or 42%, of the latest class is local.
While Temple has previously come under fire for its demographics not matching the city, Aviles noted it’s not a unique issue.
“For every [higher ed] institution in this country, that’s the challenge that we have,” Aviles said. “Can we be reflective of the demographics of our region of our state?”
Hispanic and AAPI student enrollment at Temple grew steadily from 2002 to 2020, by about 5 percentage points.
Hispanic students represented 11.5% of the student body during the 2022-23 academic year, and represent 11.3% of the latest undergraduate class. That decrease isn’t massive, but it does represent a decline of 109 students. The percentage doesn’t align with the city at large either, as 22.5% of residents under age 25 are Hispanic.
Asian and Pacific Islander students represented 17.8% of the class of 2027, up 2.2% from the class of 2026. The representation is actually more than the percentage of Asian Philadelphians under the age of 25 within the city at large, which is 3.7%
The university has been making a concerted effort to recognize and integrate with its immediate surrounding neighborhood, Aviles said. He’ll be doing 30 in-school visits at different high schools within the Philadelphia School District from now until January, conducting official recruiting visits.
Among the eight zip codes that encompass Temple’s main campus — whose students are also eligible for the Cecil B. Moore scholarship — about 68% of residents are people of color, including 39% Black and 20% Hispanic or Latino, according to U.S. Census data.
Aviles also cited looking at younger age demographics for pipeline development through methods like working in partnership with K-12 schools in Philadelphia.
“We’re just going to have to find ways to eliminate barriers, build relationships, and ensure that students, as they interact with Temple, see this as an authentic destination for the next four years,” Aviles said. “That’s our task.”
