COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Tech University saw its highest enrollment in almost a decade and enrolled the fourth-largest freshman class in its 109-year history. The university said that was according to a fall 2024 census.
Tennessee Tech said the university's final numbers showed the school enrolled 10,511 students this semester, the largest population since 2015. The school welcomed a total of more than 3,000 students to campus, including 2,006 freshmen, 586 transfer students and 417 graduate students.
"Census data also show that Tech continues to attract high-performing students," the university said in a release. "The new freshman class holds an average high school GPA of 3.67 and a median ACT score of just over 24. More than a third of the new student class maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout their high school career."
"This is the third year in a row we've brought in approximately 2,000 freshmen," said Phillip Oldham, President of Tennessee Tech University. "We're seeing a lot of success in recruiting students because I think we are offering what they are interested in."
Oldham said those interests include high-quality, affordable education in a safe and attractive location.
"Cookeville and Puttnam County are in a very beautiful part of the state, we're surrounded by nature, waterfalls, state parks, a lot of opportunities for hiking and outdoor activities," Oldham said. "It is a very safe and welcoming community for college students."
He said students hope to go to a place where they can be around like-minded people. He also explained how the increase in students impacts the local community and campus.
"Volume makes a difference," said Oldham. "There's just a higher level of activity and energy and enthusiasm. There's a lot of excitement that goes along with that."
The school also said it saw additional growth from the increase in dual enrollment students taking Tennessee Tech courses while in high school. Oldham said that dual enrollment was a great way for students in high school to jump ahead.
"It's important to have dual enrollment opportunities that we can uniquely provide, or we're maybe in a better position to do than another campus," Oldham said.
He also said that the campus tends to focus on computer science and cybersecurity classes for dual enrollment, due to their expertise in the subjects and a lack of similar classes in other dual-enrollment programs.
Tennessee Tech also said the school is increasingly diverse, with a student population including 21% students of color.
"A college experience should bring a lot of diverse experiences for students," Oldham said. "So they need to engage with people who are similar to them in many cases but also different. And that enriches their education experience for everyone, really."
Oldham said the university is happy with the increase in diversity and looks forward to continuing the growth in the future. He also said that every student's success is personal to the university.
"The college experience is personal. The decision on where to attend college for a student is a personal choice," Odham said. "Everything we do from the earliest days of recruiting a student through the time they walk across the stage with a diploma in their hand. We want to make it a very personal experience for them, a very meaningful, productive experience."