AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin announced that it admitted its largest incoming freshman class for fall 2022.
In a recent report published by the university, enrollment for first-time, first-year undergraduate students hit 9,109, which surpasses the record high of 9,060 from last year. Total enrollment also rose to 52,384, which surpassed the all-time high of 52,261 set in 2002.
The report credits the increases of enrollment to the university's commitment to improving the four- and six-year graduation rates, which hit an all-time high in 2022. Four-year graduation rates hit 73.5%, an increase of 21 percentage points, and six-year graduation rates hit 87.8%, an increase of nine percentage points.
"We're seeing a continuing increase in diversity [and] each year. more students from different races and ethnicities and other types of diversities are strongly interested in attending UT Austin," explained Miguel Wasielewski, vice provost of admissions at UT Austin. "Because of this, each year we're hitting that record of enrollment and also diversity within classes, [including] lower-income students and first-generation students. So we're getting great representation from a lot of different types of students coming into the university."
UT said it improved the graduation rates by implementing a variety of programs to improve student success and provide support in students' goals toward their degree. These programs include:
- Peer mentoring
- Academic support
- Scholarship support
“Year after year, increasingly more of the most outstanding students from across Texas and beyond want to enroll at our world-class university,” UT President Jay Hartzell said. “Improved graduation rates reduce students’ expenses and allow them to generate income sooner, while also expanding opportunities for incoming students who seek the rigorous education and vibrant college experience that UT offers.”
Even with a larger freshman class size, the UT Admissions office says class size and having enough housing won't be an issue as the year by year growth is something the university plans for.
"The most important thing is that any sort of increase that we plan for going forward has to be accompanied by having the right resources [because] we don't ever want to water down the experience here in Austin," said Wasielewski. "So everything ... would have intentional planning behind it to make sure that those students are supported."
The data for this report was collected on the 12th class day of the current fall term. To learn more about the demographics of UT enrollment and the increases the university has seen over the last decade, read the full report.
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