September 18th, 2013
Texas State enrollment surpasses 35,000 for first time

STAFF REPORT

Marking the sixteenth consecutive year of record-setting enrollment, Texas State University announced on Tuesday that its official student population stands at 35,568 for the fall 2013 semester.

And there is a record within a record: Undergraduate enrollment stands at 31,032, passing 30,000 for the first time. Undergraduate enrollment was driven largely by an incoming freshman class of 5,181, a 22 percent increase over 2012, university officials said.

“We take our role in preparing the next-generation work force in Texas very seriously, so it is gratifying to see that so many incoming students are choosing to attend Texas State,” President Denise M. Trauth said in a written statement.

Despite jubilation on Chautauqua Hill over the uninterrupted string student population increases, the university is actually passing the 35,000-student milestone a year later than projected. In March 2012, university officials said the unprecedented number of admission applications they were receiving pointed toward a fall 2012 enrollment of up to 34,113; instead, only 34,225 enrolled a year ago.

With racial minorities comprising 42 percent of the student body, Trauth declared the class of 2017 the most diverse student body in the university’s 114-year history. Students with Latino ancestry make up 30 percent of the student body — 10,682 students — and blacks make up 14 percent — 2,824. Latino and black student populations increased 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

“As the demographics of Texas continue to shift, it is important that our institutions of higher learning adequately reflect the growing diversity of this state. We are most pleased that our efforts to recruit students from all backgrounds has led to a truly diverse population at Texas State,” Texas State Provost Eugene Bourgeois said.

Officials said the university is attracting a higher-calibre student, academically speaking. Nearly half of all incoming freshmen were in the top 25 percent of their high school classes.

“Of those, a larger number of freshmen from the top 10 percent of their graduating class were among this group than in previous years,” Trauth said.

In addition, the university is attracting students in fields identified by higher education planners as critical growth areas. The Ingram School of Engineering reported 731 students, a 21 percent increase over fall 2012; the university’s Round Rock campus enrollment totaled 1,783 including 33 students in a new nurse practitioner master’s program.