Numerous four-year universities have set new enrollment records this fall semester, including for first-year students.
Like last year, institutions across the South are smashing their enrollment targets. The University of North Carolina system surpassed a quarter of a million students for the first time, thanks to enrollment growth across 15 of 16 campuses. UNC Charlotte reached a record number of students for the second year in a row, while UNC Chapel Hill welcomed its largest first-year class in school history.
Private liberal arts colleges in North Carolina are also reporting record gains, including at High Point University and Brevard College.
A host of universities across Texas are touting impressive numbers. The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Arlington each set records for the number of first-year students and total enrollment. At UT Austin, overall enrollment topped 55,000, a 2.1% increase over last year. Other institutions include:
- Texas Tech University: More than 7,600 first-year students, an 11.7% increase from 2024.
- Texas State University: 44,596 students, a 9.6% increase over the previous record established just last year.
- Texas Wesleyan University: Topped 500 first-year students for the first time.
The University of Tennessee system has posted record enrollment for the sixth consecutive year, thanks to all five campuses scoring increases. UT Knoxville, the state’s flagship university, eclipsed 40,000 students. Enrollment across the entire system is up 20% over the past five years.
Alabama schools large and small are putting up impressive numbers. The University of Alabama has over 42,000 students, a 3.7% increase over last year, and Samford University, a small private Christian school, broke its total and first-year student records.
Several lesser-known institutions in Florida made huge gains this year, such as:
- University of West Florida: Surpassed 15,000 students for the first time. This represents a 5% increase over last year and exceeded expectations by 3%.
- Lynn University: Total enrollment peaked at over 3,500, thanks to a 28% increase in first-time online undergraduates and an 11% jump in transfers.
- Florida Polytechnic University: Increased total enrollment by more than 10% over last year’s record-high student body.
Rounding out the South are the University of Arkansas, which set a total enrollment record for the fourth year in a row, and the University of Louisville in Kentucky, which expects its largest student body—just one year after breaking its first-year enrollment record.
Record fall enrollment gains nationwide
Schools across the country are crediting a mix of strategies to drive enrollment to new levels this fall.
- University of Illinois system eclipsed more than 101,000 students, thanks to revamped transfer and admissions processes. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign brought in nearly 61,000 students across its undergraduate, graduate and online cohorts.
- The University of Cincinnati also landed its largest enrollment ever, tallying over 53,682 students. Online learners account for about 18% of the student body.
- San José State University‘s largest first-year class fueled an 8% year-over-year increase in total enrollment, which set a new record at nearly 40,000 students. The university’s continuing education added 3,800 graduate students.
- Montana State University became the first institution in the state to enroll more than 17,000 students. A 1% increase over last year, leaders credit the growth to upticks in American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic students.
- Brigham Young University-Idaho enrolled over 6,500 students, 85% of whom are first-year students.
- Dakota State University scored its largest student body in school history at 3,842. Student affairs and enrollment leaders credit the growth to undergraduates choosing to continue their education at Dakota State by enrolling in a graduate program.
