Incoming TTU Freshmen Class Set To Be Largest Since 2013

Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham said this upcoming freshmen class is set to be largest since 2013.

Oldham shared the projected numbers to the Joint Economic Community Development Board Tuesday. Oldham said the 2022 class is set to be 300 students stronger than the 2021 fall semester.

“The campus improvements play into that,” Oldham said. “We’ve also done a lot in terms of our overall recruiting effort. We’ve improved our scholarship program and our in place guaranteed scholarships for students with certain grades.”

Oldham said he thinks the university has removed a lot of uncertainty of costs for students. That shows with about 2,000 prospective students already registered for summer orientation.

“We’ve streamlined the application, and I think fundamentally we’ve just shown that we do put students first in everything we do,” Oldham said. “We want students at Tennessee Tech. Students are like anybody else. They want to be where they are wanted.”

Oldham also credited how the university handled the pandemic. Oldham said COVID guidelines were practiced effectively so students could learn in-person.

“We were one of the last campuses to impose restrictions and the first to lift those restrictions as soon as we could reasonably do so,” Oldham said. “We kept the campus safe throughout that entire time period, and we were very fortunate. I think that demonstrated a lot of credibility to the broader community.”

Oldham said campus improvements played a role as well. In the last few years, the university has opened a new fitness center, engineering building and new green space.