New semester, new records: University of Tennessee System may exceed its goal of 71,000 students
For the past year, the University of Tennessee System has made its enrollment mission clear: Increasing the student population at a record-breaking pace to reach 71,000 students by 2030.
The goal is on track after the system broke records again in 2024.
The UT System may even exceed that goal if recent numbers are any indication, and that's been the case since at least October when Knox News reported UT was on pace to enroll 73,416 students by 2030. In fall 2024, UT had 62,149 students enrolled across its five campuses. That's about 1,000 more than the end-of-year goal of 61,000.
UT is prioritizing enrollment, in part, to account for the looming "enrollment cliff" when the 18-year-old population will begin to decline year-to-year after 2026.
The spring semester's enrollment count at UT's flagship Knoxville campus is at 36,900 students, though a finalized figure will be released in February. If numbers stay about the same, UT Knoxville could surpass the spring enrollment record set last year by 2,000 students.
This comes one semester after UT Knoxville celebrated a record 38,728 students enrolled for the fall. This number, like the UT System total, was about 1,000 more than what UT leaders expected.
It's typical for enrollment to drop in the spring, though UT's focus on growing its retention rate has kept students in the classroom. UT celebrated a record-breaking 91.9% retention rate for freshmen during the fall 2024 semester.
UT System President Randy Boyd shared his 2025 systemwide goals during an executive committee meeting last week, with a heavy focus on breaking more records related to enrollment, retention, research expenditures and donations across the system.
Boyd's priorities could help address the 'enrollment cliff,' which relied on census data to predict a decline in the 18-year-old population following a peak in 2026. Higher education consulting firm Ruffalo Noel Levitz released a study in September predicting a slight increase to the population in 2033, followed by another cliff.
UT is relying on data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, which projects a 2% increase in Tennessee high school graduates from 2019 to 2037. Of the 62,148 students enrolled in the UT System for the fall 2024 semester, 44,152 were from Tennessee (about 71%).
To make it easier on applicants, the UT System has switched to the Common Application across every campus and implemented a guaranteed admissions policy. Campus leaders at UT Knoxville are preparing for more than 60,000 applications for the 2025 fall semester.
Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
Support strong local journalism by subscribing to subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee System on track to break 2030 enrollment goal
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: If Tennessee chooses state law over NIL pledge, it risks SEC expulsion
