TTU welcomes largest freshman class in 10 years
Final enrollment figures also show highest enrollment ever
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2004) — The largest freshman class
in 10 years entered Tennessee Tech University this fall, according to
enrollment numbers released by the university after the fall census.
The new high, 1,485 first-time freshmen, topped the old figure of 1,388
in 2003. Combined with the 632 undergraduates who transferred to Tennessee
Tech this fall, new freshmen and transfers add up to 2,117 new undergraduates
on campus this fall, also a 10-year high.
“Although applications were slightly down about 1 percent from last
year, we were delighted that 63 percent of those students who applied
came to TTU,” said Rebecca Tolbert, associate vice president of Academic
Affairs and Enrollment Management. “That’s higher than average
and reflects our efforts to nurture prospective students.
“Applicants received information and phone calls from telecounselors,
and a majority of SOAR attendees who came to campus for orientation returned
to enroll this fall as first-time freshmen,” Tolbert said. “We
are tremendously pleased to see our transfer student numbers up also.”
Overall, Tennessee Tech saw enrollment reach an all-time high for the
fourth year in a row. Total enrollment now stands at 9,217, up 1.2 percent
over last year’s 9,107. The total includes 7,224 undergraduates and
1,993 graduate students. According to preliminary numbers, the average
enrollment increase for Tennessee Board of Regents universities was 3.9
percent.
“Our percentage of growth was lower than we expected, and without
more analysis we do not know how lottery scholarships affected the choices
made by students,” said Tolbert.
Total graduate student enrollment increased more than 8 percent over
last year, bolstered by a 20.2 percent increase in new graduate students.
The total number of undergraduate students decreased slightly, by less
than one percent.
More undergraduates, 1,576, chose the College of Arts and Sciences than
any other major, followed respectively by the College of Engineering (1,432),
College of Education (1,330), and College of Business (1,316)
--Karen Lykins
This information posted 15 September 2004