Tennessee Tech reports modest enrollment gains, strong SOAR turnout; presidential scholars funding continues

Karen Likens, Tennessee Tech's vice president for enrollment and communications, told the Academic and Student Affairs Committee the university is tracking a modest increase in fall headcount and strong engagement through summer orientation (SOAR).

"So far this summer we've welcomed about 1,500 first-year freshmen and about 1,300 of their families at student orientation," Likens said, noting staff had scheduled roughly 28,000 credit hours and that incoming students collectively brought about 17,000 credit hours of prior work.

The committee heard that 2,105 new freshmen had registered for SOAR at the time of the report, with three sessions remaining. Likens said historical show rates are high: approximately 97% of those who register attend SOAR and about 95% of attendees matriculate in the fall.

Likens highlighted gains across several measures: freshman headcount was up 28 compared with last year, the undergraduate College of Engineering represents roughly 39.5% of the incoming class, and the freshman ACT composite remains around 24.2 with a high-school GPA near 3.72. She also noted five National Merit semifinalists had listed Tennessee Tech as their first-choice and were registered for SOAR.

Committee members pressed on specific cohorts. Likens said transfers and dual-enrollment are important yield markets: dual enrollment is expected to reach an all-time high, though final dual-enrollment counts were not yet available because local high schools are still reporting. International enrollment remains unpredictable; Likens said Tech typically enrolls about 300 international students in recent years but currently had about 50 students who had obtained visas and were active.

Trustees asked about gender yield and recruitment tactics. Likens said the university has run focus groups with female students, is pursuing targeted messaging with college-level recruitment representatives, and is analyzing which recruitment events (band camp, Boys State, summer camps) deliver measurable yield.

The committee also heard that the presidential scholars initiative remains budgeted and is being monitored as a four‑year recruitment tool. The program budget for FY26 was shown in the Audit & Business Committee materials as $1.3 million; administrators said the scholarship program is modeled to be competitive while preserving net tuition revenue.

Why it matters: modest increases and a high SOAR show rate reduce short-term revenue risk and improve yield, but several variables (dual enrollment reporting, international visa processing and decisions by late applicants) could change the trajectory before fall census.