Universities report record enrollments
UA-Fayetteville, A-State repeat fall’s trend in spring
After setting enrollment records in the fall, the state’s two largest universities followed that by reporting record-breaking spring enrollments.
The 11th-day student head count at Arkansas State University of 13,896 is up 11% from spring 2023 and surpasses the previous high of 12,667 in 2014, according to Arkansas State. More specifically, the College of Agriculture, the Neil Griffin College of Business, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and the College of Nursing and Health Professions all recorded double-digit rates of increase in their student head count, and the university nearly doubled the number of new doctoral students compared with last spring.
“This is just the beginning of what I believe will be explosive growth at Arkansas State as we work to help prospective students understand what an outstanding university we have,” Chancellor Todd Shields said in a news release. “Our value proposition for students and their families is strong, and our best days are ahead. We have enhanced our financial packages to make quality higher education attainable and affordable for Arkansans and beyond.”
The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville also set a spring enrollment record, with 30,392 undergraduate, graduate, and law students enrolled, said Mark Rushing, associate vice chancellor for University Relations. That’s an increase of more than 1,300 from the previous record of 29,017, which was set in the spring of 2023.
Newly built facilities — and plans for others — play a role in Arkansas State’s enrollment increases, as the Windgate Center for Three-Dimensional Arts opened in fall 2021. It will eventually be joined by the accompanying Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation, made possible by an additional $25 million gift from the Windgate Foundation, according to the university. Majors in the Department of Art + Design have increased 94% — from 167 to 324 — since spring 2020.
When built, the Windgate Hall of Art and Innovation “will be transformational [for A-State], with art and innovation together,” Shields previously said. Providing chances for disciplines — and the students in them —
to collaborate “follows my research” into best educational practices.
Arkansas State leaders expect future enrollment increases due to an emphasis on affordability and new programs. For example, Arkansas State continues to work toward establishing its College of Veterinary Medicine, with a target opening date of fall 2026.
The veterinary school will complement A-State’s existing professional science programs in nursing, health professions and bio-sciences, as well as the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine on campus, according to the university. It’s expected to attract more than 400 students and new faculty, as the state is currently without a veterinary school.
A-State has a “unique” niche, and “we’re going to do research relevant to the people of Arkansas” that positively impacts the lives of Arkansans and “stimulates the Arkansas economy,” according to Calvin White Jr., provost and executive vice chancellor. Arkansas State “belongs to the people of Arkansas.”
Last month, Arkansas State began advertising for applicants and nominees for the next dean, who will be chief administrative officer for the College of Veterinary Medicine, responsible for its missions in teaching, research, and service. Founding Dean Dr. Glen Hoffsis is currently shepherding the nascent college, which received approval from the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board last summer.
There are fewer than three-dozen accredited veterinary colleges in the U.S., and Arkansas is one of 23 states without any, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
A study last year from Mars Veterinary Health found that about 55,000 more veterinarians will be needed by 2030 to meet pet health care needs across the country. Though there are more than 120,000 licensed veterinarians in the U.S., only about 95,000 are actively practicing, as thousands of older vets have retired in recent years.
A-State’s will be either the first or second veterinary school in the state, depending on when Lyon College opens its veterinary school. The veterinary school is scheduled to pair with a dental school for Lyon’s new Institute of Health Sciences, which Lyon plans to open in 2025.
Lyon College also demonstrated strong spring enrollment, up from 440 students last spring to 558, a 27% increase, according to the college. First-time, full-time student retention from fall 2023 to this spring was at or near record level, at 92%.
“We are pleased to see such a high freshmen retention rate, as well as strong growth in the overall student body,” Provost Kurt Grafton said in a news release from Lyon. “Our faculty and staff work tirelessly to create an environment where students thrive academically, personally, and professionally.”
Beginning this fall, Arkansas State will cover tuition and mandatory fees — and offer a housing stipend — for Arkansans who are first-year, first-time college students from families with adjusted gross incomes of $70,000 or less, through the A-State Promise Plus last-dollar scholarship program. Students must meet the university’s admittance standards and be accepted, and they must fill out all necessary forms for state and federal money for which they qualify, such as Pell grants — which typically go to students from low-income families — and Arkansas Challenge/Lottery scholarships. Those students must also maintain a minimum grade-point average of 2.5. If all of those qualifications are met, A-State will cover the rest of what those students owe for tuition and mandatory fees.
Qualifying freshmen, who are required to live on campus, will receive $2,500 toward housing costs. Students who keep the Promise Plus scholarship through subsequent years will receive $4,500 annually for on-campus housing.
“Arkansas families we serve first and foremost are responding to this financial assistance in a big way,” White said in A-State’s news release. “We have opened the door to every Arkansan for opportunities at a growing, nationally recognized Carnegie Research 2 university.”
Arkansas State currently has R2 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, denoting high research activity. A-State and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock are the only two R2 institutions in the state, while UA’s Fayetteville campus is the state’s only R1 — very high research activity.
The Fayetteville campus’ fall-to-spring retention rate reached an all-time high, with 95% of full-time degree-seeking new freshmen who began the academic year this fall returning for the spring 2024 semester, according to the university. Freshmen retention rates increased for every ethnic category, while Pell-eligible Arkansas residents in the university’s Accelerate Student Achievement Program — ASAP targets first-generation college students or students from eastern Arkansas communities to help them transition from high school to college by providing early support and guidance — achieved a record one-semester retention rate of 97.5%.
Black students had the biggest retention rate jump among all race/ethnicity categories, increasing from 86.8% to 91.4%, while Native Americans increased from 88.7% to 92.5%, according to the university. Asian Americans also increased nearly 3%, up to 97.8%.
“The retention records we are setting provide proof that our students are succeeding like never before and that our focused efforts on student success are making a real impact,” Chancellor Charles Robinson said in a news release. “This is great news for our students and foreshadows future success as they continue to advance toward graduation and meaningful careers.”
After crossing the 30,000 milepost for the first time in the fall of 2022, UA-Fayetteville reported more than 32,000 students this past fall.
Total enrollment at the Fayetteville campus has increased nearly 16% over the past five years, according to the university. Over that same time period, the number of Arkansans in incoming classes has increased by almost 20%, and more Arkansans are now enrolled than at any other time in the university’s history.
This past fall, Arkansas State marked a new high for fall enrollment, with 14,903 students, surpassing the previous high of 14,144 in the fall of 2017. Enrollment was up 6% from the fall of 2022.
Arkansas State’s total spring enrollment, including A-State Campus Queretaro, in Mexico, is 14,678, up 1,336 students (10%) compared with last spring, according to Jeff Hankins, ASU System vice president for strategic communications and economic development. International student enrollment – which is mostly on-campus residents in Jonesboro and excludes Campus Queretaro — rose by 354 students (47%), to 1,104.
Campus Queretaro students are considered Arkansas State students and receive Arkansas State degrees, but the ASU System doesn’t request state funding for those students, according Hankins. Campus Queretaro “actually is a branch or campus of A-State.”
Arkansas State already has the largest online enrollment in the state, and that, too, continued to grow, according to the university. Online enrollment is up 17% this spring, to 6,592 students.