Roughly three percent more students expected on the Tennessee Tech campus this fall with freshman numbers again increasing.
Vice President for Enrollment Karen Lykins said total fall enrollment approaching 9,000 including 1,930 freshmen set to enroll. Lykins said the numbers will fluctuate as many students make final decisions after attending programs like Tennessee Tech’s SOAR orientation.
“We would like to be at least where 2022 is because that puts us in a great position to have to meet our goal of 2100,” Lykins said. “And historically, if we get them to attend, which our attendance rate or our show rate right now, the people who register and then actually come to campus is about 97 percent. And then of those who attend, we expect 95 percent to come back in the fall.”
Lykins said the freshman class has shown growth in test scores as well as GPA. Some 741 students will enroll after completing high school with a 4.0 GPA.
Lykins said freshmen enter Tech with a combined 17,000 credit hours already completed.
Engineering remains the most popular major with over 39 percent of students entering that curriculum. Diversity and male/female numbers should be average.
Lykins said the university continues to work hard recruiting students from the counties around Nashville.
“We are going to, you know, be paying Middle Tennessee a lot of attention in the future,” Lykins said. “That’s where population growth is. As everyone else is facing the enrollment, you know, population declines in that age group. That area is showing increases and there’s going to be a lot of competition there. So we’ll be paying a lot more attention there.”
