UTC enrollment reached a major milestone this fall with 10,526 students\u2014more than a 7 percent increase over last fall.<\/p>\n
This growth continues a five-year trend of record enrollment for the campus.\u00a0 Freshman enrollment\u2014at 2,209\u2014reached a record number, as did Graduate School enrollment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled that more and more students and their families are making UTC their choice for higher education,\u201d said UTC Chancellor Roger Brown.<\/p>\n
Data collected from ACT indicate that more students are selecting UTC as a top choice institution.\u00a0 This fall\u2019s freshman class also represents the best prepared group of new UTC students, with an average high school grade point average of 3.26 and an average ACT score of 22.7.<\/p>\n
Specific programs looking strong continue to be many of the pre-professional programs along with science programs: engineering, business, education, healthcare, graphic design, communication, biology, chemistry, and environmental science.\u00a0 ROTC numbers are surpassing projections for enrollment\u2014increasing 200 percent in the past two years.<\/p>\n
Efforts to improve retention of students appear to be bearing fruit this semester as well. Freshman retention rate jumped to 66 percent this fall, up from 60 percent in fall 2008. This marks the highest retention rate realized in five years. Additionally, the UTC six-year graduation rate rose three points to 42 percent.<\/p>\n
There are 145 students participating in the Regional Tuition Rate program, available for students with more than 60 hours of credit in the Georgia counties of Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Murray, Walker, and Whitfield, and Jackson County, Alabama.<\/p>\n