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Record Grad Enrollment at ASU

September 24, 2013

Angelo State University’s graduate enrollment set another record for the 2013 fall semester while undergraduate numbers declined from 2012 levels, resulting in an overall enrollment of 6,536, the fourth highest ever for the university.

Graduate enrollment continued its record upswing with 990 students signing up for graduate courses, 12.5 percent more than the 880 reported last fall.  The 2013 fall graduate enrollment marked the eighth consecutive long semester in which the College of Graduate Studies has recorded an enrollment high.

Total 2013 fall enrollment was down 352 students, or 5.1 percent, from the 2012 total of 6,888, the second highest in school history.  Undergraduate enrollment for this fall was 5,546, down 462, or 7.6 percent, from the 6,008 undergraduates reported in 2012.

Though down overall, the 2013 fall enrollment was exceeded by only the 7,084 record enrollment reported in 2011, the 6,888 reported in 2012 and the 6,856 enrolled in 2010.  Since ASU joined the Texas Tech University System (TTUS) in the fall of 2007, enrollment has increased 4.7 percent overall.

“Angelo State shows outstanding commitment to recruiting top quality students,” said TTUS Chancellor Kent Hance.  “We are proud of the university’s enrollment growth at the graduate level and look forward to strengthening our student body in the coming years at the undergraduate level.”

ASU’s enrollment figures are based on totals at the end of the 20th class day, which was Sept. 23.  The 20th class day is the official reporting date for TTUS enrollment figures.

“As former graduate dean,” said ASU President Brian J. May, “I am pleased with the continued growth in our graduate programs.  We had expected a drop in our undergraduate enrollment after we increased our admission requirements for this fall.  While that contributed to an initial decline, it will improve our retention in the long run and ultimately put our enrollment on an upward curve.

“In addition to our growing retention efforts through our Freshman College,” May said, “we have a new recruiting team focused on broadening our outreach and increasing both our freshman and transfer admissions.”

Comparisons by classification for the fall 2013 and 2012 enrollments with the percentage change were:  freshman, 1,589, 1,830, -13.1 percent; sophomore, 1,095, 1,283, -14.6 percent; junior, 1,191, 1,253, -4.9 percent; senior, 1,525, 1,494, 2 percent; unclassified, 148, 146, 1.3 percent; master’s, 921, 820, 12.3 percent; doctoral, 69, 60, 15 percent; and total, 6,536, 6,888, -5.1 percent.

Additionally, the overall semester credit hours taken by students were down 4.6 percent, totaling 81,512 for this fall, compared to 85,482 last fall.

ASU’s fall enrollment includes students from 44 other states and 27 countries.  Texas residents attending ASU this fall come from 220 of the state’s 254 counties.