UT System Enrollment on the Rise

KNOXVILLE – At a time when almost half of high school seniors are deciding not to continue their education after graduation, UT System President Randy Boyd reported that the UT System enjoyed significant gains in enrollment during the UT Board of Trustees Executive Committee meeting held virtually this morning.

“For the past four years our board has been focused on enrollment growth, improved graduation rates, research growth and student/faculty success,” UT Board of Trustees Chair John Compton said. “Our campuses are doing a terrific job and today’s news on enrollment growth is further testament to our team’s success.”

“In order to build the greatest decade in UT history, we must do our part to make higher education more accessible,” Boyd said. “I am encouraged to see we are trending in an extremely positive direction overall.”

Boyd, who will complete his UT Promise statewide tour on Sept. 13, shared the following enrollment highlights:

•  UT System
  • Total enrollment increased almost 4% across the UT System, with undergraduate enrollment up nearly 5%. Additionally, the UT System saw an increase of 12.2% in new freshmen, as well as an increase of 3.6% in transfers and a 1.4% increase in new graduate students.
• UT Knoxville
  • Total enrollment grew 6.6% from 31,701 last year to 33,805 this year, with undergraduate enrollment up 7.9%. UT Knoxville led all campuses with a 15.1% increase in new freshmen and 9% growth in transfers.
• UT Chattanooga
  • While overall enrollment declined 1.5%, the campus saw an 8.2% growth in new freshmen and 5.9% growth in new graduate students.
• UT Martin
  •  Total enrollment grew 2.3%, due to a 6.4% increase in new freshmen and a 5.7% increase in new transfers. The campus saw nearly 19% growth in new graduate students.
• UT Southern
  • The total enrollment at UT’s newest campus grew 6.6%, in large part due to a 28.4% increase in new transfers. The campus also had a 16.7% increase in new graduate students.
• UT Health Science Center
  •  While total enrollment was down 3%, undergraduate enrollment was up 11.7%. The campus also saw a 17.1% increase in new transfer students.

The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Memphis and Pulaski; the UT Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The UT System manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its UT-Battelle partnership; enrolls about 54,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 433,000 alumni around the world.