UT System reports record in‑state enrollment, retention gains and Common App growth

System officials reported a string of enrollment and student-success indicators they said put the University of Tennessee system in position for growth, while cautioning trustees that increased competition and capacity constraints remain.

Dr. Bernie Sevaris, vice president for academic affairs, research and student success, opened the enrollment presentation with a national and state pipeline overview and metrics for UT campuses. He cited data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) showing Tennessee is projected to see a roughly 15% increase in public high‑school graduates over the coming decades, while many states face declines.

"Tennessee leading the way with a 15% increase in percent change of high school graduates," Sevaris told trustees, adding the system must prepare for both opportunity and intensified recruitment competition. He noted the data are a pipeline estimate (projecting high‑school graduates) rather than a forecast of college‑going behavior.

At the campus level, Sevaris highlighted several record outcomes: UT Knoxville posted a record number of in‑state freshmen and a system‑leading first‑year retention rate that reached 92% in 2024, with a fall‑to‑spring retention of about 97.6%. UT Southern reported a dramatic rise in first‑year retention — from 54.6% to 77.2% over five years — and a fall‑to‑spring retention rate of 92.4% for the most recent year. UT Martin and UT Chattanooga also recorded increases in retention and admitted‑student interest, though Chattanooga has seen a modest decline in first‑year retention and trustees discussed ongoing campus efforts to address causes.

Trustees and campus leaders debated contributors to yield and admit‑rate changes. At UT Knoxville, Sevaris and Chancellor Sutt said admission rates fell in part because applications surged; the campus admitted roughly the same class size while total applications rose substantially. Trustees also discussed the effect of the Common Application: three undergraduate campuses (Chattanooga, Southern and Martin) joined the Common App for the first time this cycle, and early snapshots showed varying Common App adoption as a share of applications — UT Knoxville historically receives a high share through the Common App, UTC reported about 22% of applications through Common App as of Jan. 1, UT Southern about 38%, and UT Martin about 14.5%.

Trustees pressed for clarity on how online enrollments will be counted and tracked versus residential headcount as the system pursues a stated goal of 71,000 students by 2030. Several trustees urged that future enrollment plans and system reporting separate residential and online components so the board can assess progress against capacity constraints (housing and on‑campus facilities) and the system’s strategic targets.

Multiple trustees and chancellors credited campus teams for the retention work, noting that student‑success offices, faculty and targeted interventions have produced measurable improvements at campuses such as UT Southern and UT Knoxville. Trustees asked staff to incorporate online enrollment and program growth explicitly into the campus enrollment plans that will be submitted to the board later this year.

Sevaris closed by previewing a schedule for campus enrollment plan presentations: UT Knoxville and UT Martin in the annual June meeting, and UT Chattanooga, UT Southern and the UT Health Science Center later in the fall, to underpin the system’s strategic enrollment objectives.