Redeemer Enrollment Reaches All-Time High

Redeemer University in Ancaster, Ont., welcomed 347 new students this fall, matching last year’s incoming class. And total enrollment reached 1,089 students, an all-time high for Redeemer, topping last year’s total enrollment of 1,014.

This year marks the fourth fall intake since tuition and fee restructuring in 2019, and since then Redeemer has consistently seen large incoming classes while smaller classes graduate. The university has experienced enrollment growth of 58 percent over these four years and is committed toward keeping tuition affordable.

Redeemer is also thinking strategically and innovatively about its program array and delivery by exploring additional graduate degrees and new undergraduate degrees, growing existing programs, and reviewing potential uses of technology for instruction. These efforts are designed to ensure that Redeemer remains relevant and affordable in the context of a shifting higher-education landscape.

In 2020, Redeemer gained authority from the Ontario provincial government to grant 20 new possible degrees and officially change the school’s name to Redeemer University. Since then, a bachelor of business administration and a bachelor of kinesiology have been added to the university’s degree offerings, and two new music majors and a law and public policy minor are also being offered.

“It’s exciting to see more and more students choose a Redeemer University education,” says president David Zietsma. “We must continue to find ways to ensure that the academic program remains faithful to the mission of a holistic university education firmly grounded in a Christian perspective, while developing programs in ways that make sense for today’s students and the kind of world those students enter when they graduate from Redeemer.”

This year’s incoming class of 347 students includes 276 undergraduate, 58 bachelor of education, and 13 gap-year students in Redeemer’s Act Five program. Total enrollment is up 7.4 percent over last year.

The number of students living on campus has also reached an all-time high of 505. This academic year marks the first full year with the new Charis Live and Learn Centre in operation. The Charis Centre comprises student housing and lounge areas as well as Redeemer’s new Innovation Centre, makerspace, Career Centre, classrooms, and breakout spaces.