UNT sees record enrollment, welcomes 37,231 students

Wednesday, September 9, 2015 - 22:00
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DENTON (UNT), Texas – The University of North Texas welcomed 37,231 students this fall, a record enrollment and a nearly 3 percent increase over the previous school year.

"This is our biggest enrollment boost in the past few years, and coupled with the notable growth in the quality, diversity and breadth of our student population, is a sign of important change and momentum," UNT President Neal Smatresk said. "It's clear that more students are making UNT their first-choice university."

Adding to the boost in enrollment were a large number of new graduate students. Graduate student enrollment jumped 16.3 percent. The university also saw a boost in undergraduate transfer students, 7.3 percent over last year, and freshmen enrolled, 6.6 percent over last year. The freshman class also includes 15 new National Merit Scholars for a total of 30 current scholars at UNT.

"I'm excited to see enrollment growth in virtually every area, most notable at the incoming undergraduate and graduate levels," said Shannon Goodman, vice president for enrollment. "UNT remains committed to enrolling a higher achieving, more diverse student population and through collaboration across campus, we have begun to reap the benefits of our efforts."

UNT also recorded big increases in various colleges. The College of Information saw the biggest increase in enrollment at 28.6 percent, followed by the College of Engineering at 22 percent, the Mayborn School of Journalism at 17.7 percent and the College of Education at 6.2 percent. Overall, enrollment for continuing students rose at UNT, with 26,670 remaining enrolled, a 0.7 percent increase over fall 2014's 26,478 -- a positive sign for student retention.

UNT also saw an increase in students enrolling both full-time and part-time. Full-time enrollment is 28,019, an increase of 3.1 percent over fall 2014's 27,183. Part-time enrollment is 9,212, an increase of 2 percent over fall 2014's 9,033.

"The investments we've made in recruitment are paying off. We've created a Division of Enrollment and have focused heavily on implementing sound enrollment strategies and systems because we want to make sure that students choose us as their path to success," Smatresk said. "Our mission is to educate the workforce of tomorrow, and that starts with getting them in the door and keeping them on track to graduate."

UNT continues to attract students from all over the world, with students representing all 50 states and 133 countries, and the diversity of the UNT student body continues to grow. The largest increase was in Hispanic students enrolled – 7,764, a 9.9 percent increase over the 7,065 number for fall 2014. The Asian-Pacific Island student population grew 3.6 percent to 2,511 from last year's 2,424. A total of 5,111 African-American students have enrolled compared to 4,980 in fall 2014, an increase of 2.6 percent. UNT's American Indian student population grew 0.7 percent to 543 students from fall 2014's 539.

Until the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board verifies enrollment numbers and makes them official later in the fall, all enrollment statistics are unofficial, 12th class day numbers.

UNT News Service
News_Service@unt.edu
(940) 565-2108