News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Current numbers show a 379-student enrollment increase with just over 60 days until the Tennessee Tech fall semester opens.
Vice President for Enrollment & Communication Karen Lykins said that’s a roughly 4.6 percent increase over last year’s enrollment. Freshmen numbers are up as are transfers. Lykins said better data has led to better outreach.
“It’s personal, it has to meet their needs,” Lykins said. “One message doesn’t fit 5,000 students that we’re sending out to. So we know enough about where that student is in the process. If they’ve been on our website looking for financial aid information, if they’ve asked a specific question, if they’ve attended specific events like preview day, we’re looking at those in very small groups, making sure the message is tailored to them. Picking up the phone, getting a personal text. So I guess in one word, personalization.”
Tech set a record in 2022 with 2,050 freshmen enrollees. Lykins said reaching that number this year remains a possibility. Some 2,061 freshmen have enrolled in the SOAR Summer Orientation program with three of the seven sessions remaining.
“All of those sessions have been full,” Lykins said. “And just to remind you, historically, about 95 percent of the students who attend soar will enroll at Tech.”
The incoming freshmen class includes an average ACT score of 24 and a 3.67 high school GPA. Lykins said the diversity of the student body has improved, especially with growth in the Hispanic population. The class stands 55 percent male.
“We still have work to do on the male and female balance,” Lykins said. “You’ll see where we have been for several years at a 55-45 mark.”
1,988 freshmen enrolled last year. Total enrollment stood at 10,116. Classes begin August 22.
“We have to turn our attention to juniors and sophomores who are looking to come to Tennessee Tech,” Lykins said. “So our main focus is upping our game in what we’re sending juniors and sophomores, getting to them earlier, having earlier conversations, so that we can really get their mindset on coming to Tennessee Tech before their seniors.”
