ARLINGTON, Texas — In the wake of a global pandemic that has affected college enrollment rates across the country, the University of Texas at Arlington started the fall semester with its largest freshman class ever.
This fall, 3,820 students enrolled as freshmen at UTA. The number represents a steady increase — four years ago, enrollment was at 2,996, representing a 28 percent growth. From last year, the new freshman class numbers grew by 7 percent.
“Much of it is the good reputation of the university,” said Troy Johnson, Vice President for enrollment management at UTA. “The academics are strong. It’s on the path to becoming one of the top tier universities in the state for research.”
But another big reason for the growth, Johnson said, is UTA’s diversity. It ranks among one of the most diverse schools in the country, as seen by the incoming freshman class: 37 percent identify as Hispanic, 23 percent are white, 19 are Asian, 11 percent are Black, 5 percent are multiple ethnicities, 4 percent are international students, and 1 percent are Native American.
Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranked UTA as eighth among national universities for undergraduate ethnic diversity, while the 2020 edition of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine said UTA is the top school in Texas for degrees awarded to Black students.
Another factor in UTA’s growth has been its steadily growing reputation. Just a few years ago, the university had a reputation as being a solid commuter school, but one that was often overlooked as a safety school for other, more prestigious universities. Now, as UTA becomes known as a top tier research institution and as the campus modernizes, more people are seeing the school in a more favorable light.
“UTA’s reputation in the metroplex and its commitment to building a stronger workforce … we all benefit when that works,” Johnson said.
Though the school welcomed its largest freshman class, UTA still experienced a slowing of its growth thanks to the pandemic. While it’s still a 7 percent increase in students from the year previous, the school likely would have had a higher number if not for COVID-19.
Johnson said the pandemic stemmed the flow of international students to the United States andhad it not struck, the school would have been on track to have 100 more students. Additionally, UTA normally would have had more students from the west Texas/basin area, but many people are choosing to stay with family or to stay closer to home.
“While we have the largest freshman class in history — to have growth of seven percent is remarkable, we’ve smashed through the previous record — we were on track to be even larger,” Johnson said.