Whereas his father had actively restricted enrollment to a select group of students, Rabbi Kotler opened the yeshiva doors to a broader range of students and post-graduate fellows. Enrollment grew from less than 200 students in 1962 to over 1,000 by the time of his death in 1982, transforming the Lakewood Yeshiva from a small, elite institution into a world-class Torah center. As more students enrolled, the scope of study broadened to the point where a student could join any number of groups studying all the tractates of the Talmud.