Tennessee Tech reports modest enrollment gains, SOAR registrations remain strong

Tennessee Technological University officials told the Academic and Student Affairs Committee that overall fall headcount is tracking higher than last year and that summer orientation registrations (SOAR) indicate continued yield strength for the incoming class.

"So far this summer we've welcomed about 1,500 first year freshmen and about 1,300 of their families are guests, at student orientation," Karen Likens, vice president for enrollment and communications, said as she opened the committee's enrollment update. Likens said the university had scheduled roughly 28,000 credit hours for incoming students and that the class collectively brought about 17,000 credit hours with them.

Likens said the university has 3 SOAR sessions remaining and that 2,105 new freshmen had registered for SOAR as of the presentation. She said that historically Tech’s SOAR show rate runs about 97% (the portion of registrants who actually attend) and that roughly 95% of those who attend return in the fall.

"Freshman headcount ... right now we're up 28," Likens said, calling that a modest but meaningful improvement. She told trustees the headcount figure reflects schedules still being loaded for roughly 300 students and that summer work to place students in 15-credit-hour schedules will affect final numbers.

Likens also reported progress on transfer and graduate enrollments and said recent marketing work had contributed to an improved application and admit pipeline for some graduate programs. She highlighted that undergraduate academic quality measures remain steady and that the incoming cohort’s composite ACT was about 24.2 with a 3.72 average high-school GPA.

Trustees pressed for more detail on demographics and recruiting strategy. Likens said most admitted students come from nearby Tennessee counties — Williamson, Davidson and Putnam — and that the university will increase recruiting focus in fast-growing areas. She also said international enrollments have been relatively steady in recent years, at about 300 students, but that visa and documentation issues make that population unpredictable.

Committee members asked about female yield and retention; Likens said the university is using focus groups and targeted messaging to better understand why more women apply than ultimately enroll and that work will continue this fall.

The committee did not take an action on the enrollment report; the presentation was informational.