Record fall enrollment reaffirms UTSA as a higher ed destination of choice

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024 — This fall, UTSA once again welcomed its largest class in university history. In all, more than 35,900 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled for the fall 2024 semester, a 3% increase over last fall’s total enrollment, according to preliminary data from the UTSA Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.

Enrollment is up at every level, including bachelor’s students, master’s students and doctoral students.

“UTSA continues to be the preferred destination for students from across Texas who want to pursue their higher education goals,” said Heather Shipley, UTSA provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Students and their families appreciate UTSA’s commitment to accessibility, affordability and career preparation, providing exceptional opportunities for long-term career success.”

UTSA’s online enrollment experienced steep growth this year. For the second consecutive year, the number of students enrolled in UTSA’s eight fully online degree and certificate programs climbed above 1,000 students. Preliminary enrollment in UTSA Online this fall is over 1,100 students, a 14% jump over last fall, according to institutional data. Ninety-four percent of these students reside in Texas and 78% are 23 or older, indicating that UTSA continues to meet the needs of adult learners and prepare them with the knowledge and skills they need to advance in the region’s workforce.

“UTSA is a student-centered institution, and that commitment is reflected in the design and delivery of our online degree and certificate programs,” said Melissa Vito, UTSA vice provost for academic innovation. “As we’ve built our curriculum, we’ve been intentional about ensuring our online programs are as meaningful and engaging as the experiences that students would receive in the classroom. This commitment to innovating with technology, investing in faculty development and creating a high-quality online curriculum is resonating with students who are eager to build successful careers while maintaining the flexibility to manage family, work and personal responsibilities.”

UTSA saw a strong increase in doctoral enrollment. This fall, more than 1,000 students are enrolled in UTSA Ph.D. programs, an 8% jump over fall 2023, and entering doctoral students increased by 16%. UTSA currently offers 29 doctoral programs and is home to world class faculty members in an innovative and entrepreneurial research ecosystem.

New student enrollment is also up at UTSA. This fall, over 9,000 undergraduate students are entering UTSA as first-time students or transfers, a 4% increase over last fall. Ninety-seven percent of UTSA’s new undergraduates come from Texas, of which 43% reside in Bexar County.

New transfer student enrollment is also up at UTSA. This fall, over 3,000 transfer students entered UTSA, a 7% increase over last fall’s new transfer class. Ninety-six percent of UTSA’s new transfer students come from Texas; 59% reside in Bexar County.

Additionally, UTSA welcomed over 5,100 first-time-in-college students, with 97% from Texas. Thirty-eight percent are from Bexar County.  In all, UTSA’s freshman class numbers over 7,120, the largest in school history.

The data also shows that undergraduate juniors and seniors are taking 4% and 6% more semester credit hours, respectively, compared to fall 2023. UTSA is encouraging students to take more classes each semester, since students who take at least 15 semester credit hours continuously each fall and spring semester have higher GPAs, graduate faster, enter the workforce quicker and start earning a salary sooner.

“Students and their families appreciate UTSA’s commitment to accessibility, affordability and career preparation, providing exceptional opportunities for long-term career success.”

Lynn Barnes, UTSA senior vice provost for strategic enrollment, says that UTSA’s commitment to affordability continues to drive enrollment at the university. He notes that just over 1,100 students are enrolled in the UTSA Bold Promise program, bringing the total number of currently enrolled Bold Promise students to over 2,900. These high-achieving Texans, who come from low and middle-income families, are attending college with their tuition and mandatory fees covered by UTSA.

UTSA awarded $15 million more in financial aid to students this year compared to last year – over $400 million in all. More than 2,000 additional students were awarded financial aid this year, and financial aid offers averaged over $2,000 more per undergraduate student this year than last year.

“We extended our priority deadline to May 1 to help mitigate some of the issues our new students were encountering with the FAFSA redesign, and we conducted concentrated outreach campaigns to encourage students to complete their FAFSA. Throughout spring and summer, we conducted workshops on campus, in other cities and virtually,” Barnes said We also received an additional $4 million in institutional funding to allocate to new students.”

UTSA’s preliminary fall enrollment data indicated that, overall, 49% of its students come from Bexar County and another 46% from other counties in Texas, further demonstrating that UTSA is driving economic mobility in the region and state. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTSA No. 47 nationally for social mobility and think tank Third Way ranks UTSA No. 50 in the U.S. in its annual Economic Mobility Index.

UTSA’s 187 degree programs provide students numerous pathways to help students build their careers. The top five most popular academic programs chosen by incoming UTSA undergraduates this fall are business studies; biology; exploratory studies, which provides students an opportunity to explore various majors and career options; psychology; and computer science.

Other highlights from this year’s fall enrollment numbers:

• The Carlos Alvarez College of Business (ACOB) remains UTSA’s largest academic college for the third year in a row, with over 7,800 students, or 22% of all students.
  
  
• Enrollment is up on a year-over-year basis in the following colleges: University College (14%), the College of Sciences (9%) and the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (4%).
  
  
• UTSA Honors College enrollment has grown by 17% over last fall, reaching an all-time high of more than 2,300 students from across all seven academic colleges.
  
  
• The student population at UTSA is 52% female and 48% male.
  
  
• Seventy-two percent of students at UTSA are from racial and ethnic groups that have been underserved in higher education. Sixty percent are Hispanic.
  
  
• Sixty-seven percent of students are age 22 or younger.
  
  
• Forty-four percent of UTSA’s students are first-generation college students (neither parent earned a four-year degree).
  
  
• Fifty-two percent of incoming first-year students ranked in the top quartile of their high school graduating classes

“I am immensely grateful for all of the incredible work of Provost and Executive Vice President Shipley, Senior Vice Provost Barnes and Vice Provost Vito and their collective teams for driving this progress around strategic enrollment growth, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said. “I am also grateful to the incoming students and their families for choosing UTSA and entrusting the future with us.”