Strengthened by a milestone year for its Graduate College, Arkansas Tech University announced a preliminary fall 2017 enrollment of 11,801 students on Friday, Sept. 8.
Enrollment at ATU is steady as compared to one year ago, when the institution was home to 11,894 students for the fall 2016 semester.
Included in the preliminary fall 2017 enrollment are 1,048 graduate students, an increase of 24.6 percent over fall 2016. This fall marks the first time that ATU has enrolled more than 1,000 students at the graduate level.
“The demographics of higher education are changing in Arkansas and the United States,” said ATU President Dr. Robin E. Bowen. “With each passing year, more adult learners are returning to school to seek the academic credentials necessary to advance in their careers. With our model of stackable degrees, Arkansas Tech University is well positioned to serve that audience and offer each student with an access point that complements his or her educational background and goals for the future.”
Arkansas Tech has 25 graduate programs of study, including a new Master of Business Administration degree that is being offered for the first time this fall.
“This year, in addition to the new MBA program, we have also seen great growth in our doctoral program and the addition of new certificate programs,” said Dr. Mary Gunter, dean of the ATU Graduate College and College of Education. “The success of our graduate programs has come over time as a reflection of the evolution of our institutional role and scope. Colleges across our university have worked to develop graduate programs that are consistent with market demands, and that academic innovation will continue as our colleges develop new similarly positioned graduate programs that are relevant for today’s student.”
Preliminary enrollment by campus at ATU for fall 2017 is 9,844 on the Russellville campus and 1,957 on the Ozark campus.
There are 1,561 freshmen enrolled at ATU in Russellville this fall. The Arkansas Tech Class of 2021 completed high school with a cumulative grade point average of 3.33. Their average ACT score was 22.5, exceeding both the state and national averages on the exam.
Visit www.atu.edu to learn more about Arkansas Tech University.
