Enrollment Projections Point to Historic Growth at University of Arkansas

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*Numbers are not final.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas continues to experience historic enrollment growth, exceeding 23,000 students for the first time in its history. Preliminary enrollment figures show that there are currently 23,153 students enrolled for the fall 2011 semester, an increase of more than 1,700 over the previous year. Incoming freshmen total more than 4,400 new students on the Fayetteville campus. Undergraduate enrollment is 19,033 students, another record number.

“This is not only great news, it is important news,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart during a news conference Friday, Aug. 26. “The economic development and advancement of Arkansas demands an educated workforce. As the state’s flagship university, the University of Arkansas is a partner, resource and catalyst in our state’s educational, cultural, social and economic development.”

Suzanne McCray, vice provost of enrollment services, attributed the increase to intensive and successful recruiting efforts, the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship and the growing academic reputation of the University of Arkansas.

“For us, it is exciting to see that students want to use those funds first and foremost at the University of Arkansas,” she said.

Gearhart agreed, and added that continuing to build the university’s academic reputation is an important goal.

 “This freshmen class is one of our most academically accomplished and diverse classes ever,” he said. “They have average ACT scores of 26 and a grade point average of 3.6. We are also welcoming 41 National Merit Scholars in this class, up from 31 last year.”

McCray highlighted the increased diversity of the freshman class as well, saying the preliminary figures show that the number of African American students increased by 25 percent over the previous year, with Latino enrollment growing by 28 percent in this year’s freshman class.

“Dr. Charles Robinson has been done an amazing job in a very short time as the vice provost for diversity affairs,” she said. “He and his staff have reached out to communities across the state, partnering with a long list of offices and groups on the campus and in a variety of communities. Professor Luis Restrepo has also been instrumental in reaching out to the Latino community.”

Gearhart acknowledged that enrollment over the past two years increased more rapidly than expected, but added, “What’s most important is that the university be the right size to serve our students and our state.”

He said that the university has hired more than 60 new faculty members over the past two years to keep class sizes as small as possible. In addition, the university’s long-range construction and renovation plan will add new classroom, auditorium and recreational space across the campus.

Friday’s enrollment figures are still preliminary. The official numbers will not be available until after the “11^th day snapshot” required by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. That information will be collected on Sept. 6. The enrollment data is then analyzed and reviewed for accuracy before a preliminary report is submitted to the department on Sept. 21, with the final numbers from that original 11^th day snapshot filed on Oct. 19.