A record 5,811 students are enrolled for spring semester at UTM. The enrollment tops the previous spring semester high of 5,556 students set in spring 2004. All enrollment numbers are compiled and reported by the university’s Office of Institutional Research.

The record spring enrollment follows a fall 2004 enrollment of 6,104 students, the highest ever at the university.

The 2005 spring enrollment set other records for undergraduate and graduate students and for full-time equivalency or FTE. FTE is the total number of student-credit hours divided by 15 for undergraduate students and 12 for graduate students.

Undergraduates totaled 5,343 students, besting the previous spring semester record of 5,142 students set in spring 2004. Meanwhile, the combined FTE for undergraduate and graduate students was 5,215, topping the previous combined FTE mark of 4,996 set in spring 2004.

Setting an all-time record for any semester was a graduate enrollment of 468 students, exceeding the previous mark of 451 students set in spring 2003.

“We are pleased with the continued strong enrollment numbers for UTM,” said Dr. Nick Dunagan, university chancellor. “The HOPE Lottery Scholarship Program is contributing to these high enrollment numbers, but improved retention and a new online graduate degree are also making a positive difference.”

Dunagan said that improved retention can be traced, in part, to higher ACT scores for incoming students. The new online graduate degree in educational administration and supervision began fall 2004 and is offered through UTM New College.