Lebanon Valley College welcomes the Class of 2029, reports record enrollment

Lebanon Valley College opened its 2025-26 academic year last week as 452 first-year students and 49 transfer students moved onto campus, contributing to the largest full-time undergraduate enrollment in the college’s 160-year history.

According to a release from Molly O’Brien-Foelsch, vice president of marketing and communications for LVC, the college now has 1,674 full-time undergraduates enrolled, setting a record driven by a student retention rate approaching 85 percent. Students in the college’s graduate-degree programs currently number 416.

The student population hails from 20 states, the release notes, pursuing majors in areas including health professions, sciences, humanities, social sciences, arts, and business communications. Some 200 student-athletes will compete across 26 teams at the college, while more than 120 student musicians join the Pride of The Valley Marching Band.

“Move-in Day is only second to Commencement among my favorite days of the year,” LVC President James M. MacLaren said in the release. “New and returning students bring with them a sense of opportunity and optimism. Our campus community is a place for students, faculty, and staff to connect and thrive together.”

MacLaren joined new LVC families for a barbecue lunch in the dining hall and greeted them across campus during Move-in Day.

Orientation Weekend, which continued on campus through Sunday, included various “time-honored traditions and new opportunities,” the release said, including the traditional Opening Convocation ceremony, academic advising sessions with faculty mentors, a meet-and-greet with Student Engagement and the Office of Culture, Community, and Belonging in its new suite in the Allan W. Mund College Center, a Wellness Fair featuring resources for physical and mental health, various social events, a Flying Dutchmen football scrimmage vs. Stevens Tech, and a Flying Dutchmen field hockey scrimmage vs. Millersville University.

Classes for the fall 2025 term begin today, Aug. 25. Families of first-year students are invited to return to campus on Saturday, Sept. 13, for First-Year Family Day.