The student population at Bethel University is 1,167 (1,065 undergraduate and 102 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 552 (32.11%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 1,422 where 1,167 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment decreased every year from 2016 to 2025, falling from 1,719 to 1,167 students, a loss of 552 (32.1%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,719 | 1,489 | 520 | 969 | 230 | 110 | 120 |
| 2016-17 | 1,639 -80 | 1,388 -101 | 495 -25 | 893 -76 | 251 21 | 94 -16 | 157 37 |
| 2017-18 | 1,513 -126 | 1,330 -58 | 483 -12 | 847 -46 | 183 -68 | 70 -24 | 113 -44 |
| 2018-19 | 1,513 | 1,329 -1 | 467 -16 | 862 15 | 184 1 | 77 7 | 107 -6 |
| 2019-20 | 1,450 -63 | 1,273 -56 | 478 11 | 795 -67 | 177 -7 | 58 -19 | 119 12 |
| 2020-21 | 1,362 -88 | 1,195 -78 | 432 -46 | 763 -32 | 167 -10 | 59 1 | 108 -11 |
| 2021-22 | 1,339 -23 | 1,206 11 | 448 16 | 758 -5 | 133 -34 | 51 -8 | 82 -26 |
| 2022-23 | 1,292 -47 | 1,181 -25 | 472 24 | 709 -49 | 111 -22 | 46 -5 | 65 -17 |
| 2023-24 | 1,222 -70 | 1,107 -74 | 474 2 | 633 -76 | 115 4 | 44 -2 | 71 6 |
| 2024-25 | 1,167 -55 | 1,065 -42 | 466 -8 | 599 -34 | 102 -13 | 50 6 | 52 -19 |
| Average | 1,422 | 1,256 | 474 | 783 | 165 | 66 | 99 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 1,256 where 1,065 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,489 | 1,168 | 442 | 726 | 321 | 78 | 243 |
| 2016-17 | 1,388 | 1,128 | 431 | 697 | 260 | 64 | 196 |
| 2017-18 | 1,330 | 1,044 | 411 | 633 | 286 | 72 | 214 |
| 2018-19 | 1,329 | 1,060 | 415 | 645 | 269 | 52 | 217 |
| 2019-20 | 1,273 | 1,018 | 403 | 615 | 255 | 75 | 180 |
| 2020-21 | 1,195 | 1,002 | 381 | 621 | 193 | 51 | 142 |
| 2021-22 | 1,206 | 1,021 | 390 | 631 | 185 | 58 | 127 |
| 2022-23 | 1,181 | 1,021 | 424 | 597 | 160 | 48 | 112 |
| 2023-24 | 1,107 | 991 | 429 | 562 | 116 | 45 | 71 |
| 2024-25 | 1,065 | 951 | 417 | 534 | 114 | 49 | 65 |
| Average | 1,256 | 1,256 | 414 | 626 | 1,256 | 59 | 157 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 165 where 102 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Bethel University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 230 | 45 | 20 | 25 | 185 | 90 | 95 |
| 2016-17 | 251 | 59 | 19 | 40 | 192 | 75 | 117 |
| 2017-18 | 183 | 39 | 15 | 24 | 144 | 55 | 89 |
| 2018-19 | 184 | 42 | 20 | 22 | 142 | 57 | 85 |
| 2019-20 | 177 | 31 | 13 | 18 | 146 | 45 | 101 |
| 2020-21 | 167 | 43 | 17 | 26 | 124 | 42 | 82 |
| 2021-22 | 133 | 38 | 18 | 20 | 95 | 33 | 62 |
| 2022-23 | 111 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 83 | 32 | 51 |
| 2023-24 | 115 | 42 | 22 | 20 | 73 | 22 | 51 |
| 2024-25 | 102 | 49 | 31 | 18 | 53 | 19 | 34 |
| Average | 165 | 165 | 19 | 23 | 165 | 47 | 77 |
The percentage of white students is 64.87%. The percentage was 76.96% 10 years ago and Bethel still has a high percentage of white students. 1.29% of enrolled students is Asian and 6.17% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 11.14% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 76.96% to 64.87%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.28% to 1.29%. Black student enrollment decreased from 10.70% to 6.17%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 6.22% to 11.14%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.5604 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.3913 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Bethel University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 7 | 22 | 184 | 107 | 4 | 1,323 | 49 |
| 2016-17 | 4 | 26 | 178 | 116 | 3 | 1,209 | 68 |
| 2017-18 | 1 | 24 | 155 | 118 | 0 | 1,097 | 82 |
| 2018-19 | 3 | 19 | 153 | 143 | 0 | 1,032 | 119 |
| 2019-20 | 4 | 18 | 157 | 150 | 0 | 971 | 98 |
| 2020-21 | 2 | 18 | 133 | 131 | 0 | 939 | 74 |
| 2021-22 | 2 | 32 | 118 | 137 | 0 | 911 | 67 |
| 2022-23 | 2 | 25 | 96 | 134 | 0 | 887 | 54 |
| 2023-24 | 3 | 20 | 75 | 113 | 3 | 855 | 47 |
| 2024-25 | 2 | 15 | 72 | 130 | 2 | 757 | 58 |
| Average | 3 | 22 | 132 | 128 | 1 | 998 | 72 |
232 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 20% of total students. The number of online students has increased 43.21% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Bethel University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 1,719 | 162 | 251 | 1,306 |
| 2016-17 | 1,639 | 177 | 300 | 1,162 |
| 2017-18 | 1,513 | 196 | 287 | 1,030 |
| 2018-19 | 1,513 | 233 | 234 | 1,046 |
| 2019-20 | 1,450 | 235 | 240 | 975 |
| 2020-21 | 1,362 | 262 | 250 | 850 |
| 2021-22 | 1,339 | 235 | 281 | 823 |
| 2022-23 | 1,292 | 247 | 300 | 745 |
| 2023-24 | 1,222 | 250 | 298 | 674 |
| 2024-25 | 1,167 | 232 | 286 | 649 |
| Average | 1,422 | 223 | 273 | 926 |
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