UTSA welcomes record number of freshmen, celebrates more fall milestones

SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 — At a time when universities and colleges across the country are seeing dramatic declines in enrollment, enrollment figures for The University of Texas at San Antonio remained steady. According to a report from the Office of Institutional Research, UTSA has 34,734 students enrolled for the fall 2021 semester, including a freshman class of 5,500, the largest in university history.

UTSA achieved several enrollment milestones, according to the data for fall 2021. There are 3,862 students enrolled in UTSA’s master’s programs—a 2.7% increase from the 3,760 students enrolled as of fall 2020. A total of 959 students are enrolled in doctoral programs—a 6.7% increase over the 899 doctoral students enrolled last fall. Current enrollment figures for both programs are also the highest in university history.

“These positive numbers are a testament to the resilience of our students and dedication of our faculty and staff.”

Another university benchmark was shattered when 557 students enrolled in fully online programs for the fall 2021 semester, marking a dramatic 53% increase compared to online enrollment for the previous year.

Other notable highlights from UTSA’s fall 2021 enrollment:

• Female students account for 53% of enrollment, up 1% from last fall.
  
  
• UTSA’s students who identify as Hispanic/Latino increased by 0.8% from last fall. Currently, nearly 20,000 students—or 57% of the student population—identify as Hispanic/Latino.
  
  
• At more than 6,700 students, the College for Health, Community and Policy remains UTSA’s largest college for the second consecutive year. The college now accounts for 19% of the university’s total student population.
  
  
• Both the Carlos Alvarez College of Business and the College of Sciences experienced notable enrollment gains. The Alvarez College of Business is now home to over 6,400 students. It accounts for 18% of the student population and is UTSA’s second-largest college. The College of Sciences enrolled more than 5,500 students. It accounts for 16% of the student population and is UTSA’s third-largest college.

These enrollment figures build on the positive momentum of the 2020-2021 school year. Despite the unprecedented challenges posed by the global pandemic, UTSA awarded more degrees in 2020-2021 than ever before: 7,732. Over 6,400 bachelor’s degrees were awarded, of which 59% were awarded to students who identify as Hispanic/Latino and 67% of all bachelor’s degrees were awarded to underrepresented minority students.

Since the 2016-2017 school year, UTSA has seen the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded grow by 33% and 7%, respectively.

“These positive numbers are a testament to the resilience of our students and dedication of our faculty and staff, and a strong indication of UTSA’s steady progress toward our institutional goal to become a model Hispanic Thriving Institution where all students can succeed,” said Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy. “As our community continues to move forward from the COVID-19 pandemic, UTSA is graduating a record number of students who are well prepared for today’s knowledge economy to address the workforce needs of our city and state.” 

Other student success metrics also saw upticks over the last year. UTSA retained 78% of its first-time, full-time freshmen. Retention rates increased 0.4% for first-year students, 0.2% for second-year students, and 0.5% for third-year students.

The six-year graduation rate increased by 5% from last year to 51%. Furthermore, the average time to degree for UTSA students now stands at 4.4 years, down from 4.5 years as of fall 2021. The fall 2021 number marks a significant decrease from the average of 5.4 years it took for UTSA students to receive their degree just one decade ago.

The university is seeing a return on other student investments as well. One example is the Bold Promise initiative, which covers 100% of tuition and fees for incoming freshmen who ranked in the top 25% of their high school class, are Texas residents and have a family income up to $50,500. UTSA welcomed 776 new program recipients this year. Meanwhile, student success services are lending a hand to students who face barriers to degree completion or to a timely graduation. The Graduation Help Desk, for example, lent support to 480 additional Roadrunners who completed their degrees within six years.

— Shea Conner