The Fall 2024 Unofficial Enrollment Report, effective August 21, 2024, shows a promising 23.97% increase in the first-time, first-year freshmen cohort and a 3.80% rise in overall student credit-hour production. Detailed retention rates and headcount data offer insights into ongoing trends as we approach the official census in early September.
The Unofficial Fall 2024 Enrollment Report, effective August 21, 2024, is attached. These registration numbers will continue to move around until the census in early September, and all official numbers from Institutional Research will be available during the fall semester. Fall 2024 Unofficial Enrollment Report (18)
Please note that the use of gender and ethnicity headings aligns with the reporting requirements of IPEDS for official university reporting. Institutional Research provides all official data and reporting. All official data should come from Institutional Research.
Headcount and Credit Hour Information for Fall 2024
As of August 21, 2024, student credit-hour production is +4,634 credit hours (+5,449 undergraduate, -321 graduate, and –494 concurrent), an increase of 3.80%. As you will see below, when not including concurrent credit, we are seeing an increase of 4.23%.
| Student Credit Hours (no concurrent) | Fall 2024 | Fall 2023 | Plus/Minus | Percentage +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate Credit Hours | 111,685 | 106,236 | 5,449 | 5.13% |
| Graduate Credit Hours | 14,747 | 15,068 | -321 | -2.13% |
| Total Student Credit Hours (no concurrent) | 126,432 | 121,304 | 5,128 | 4.23% |
As we move into the first week of classes, our first-time, first-year cohort of freshmen is 2,198 for the fall semester – a 23.97% increase from last year. As a reminder, last year’s freshmen cohort finished at 1,731.
| Student Type (Headcount) | Fall 2024 | Fall 2023 | Plus/Minus | Percentage +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-Time Incoming First-Year | 2,198 | 1,773 | 425 | 23.97% |
The current student headcount shows an overall increase of 136 students (+283 undergraduate, -60 graduate, – 87 concurrent), amounting to a 1.42% increase from the previous year. Concurrent enrollment registration is ongoing but we expect that final number to slightly exceed or be similar to the previous year.
Retention and Student Success Information
We are currently retaining our first-year students to their second year at UCA at 73.60%, down 0.28% from a year ago. Our underrepresented first-year student retention remains up 1.43% at 69.11%. The first-year to third-year retention rate at UCA stands at 62.76%, a decrease of 0.64% from last year’s rate of 63.39%.
When considering fall-to-fall first-year student retention retaining to their sophomore year, the following are the top UCA performers over the last 20 years:
- Fall 2019 Cohort – 78.8% – This is the cohort where after the spring of 2020, we made exceptions for students to return to UCA due to the pandemic.
- Fall 2018 Cohort – 74.7%
- Fall 2021 Cohort – 74.2%
- Fall 2017 Cohort – 74.1%
- Fall 2023 Cohort – 73.6% – As of August 21, 2024
- Fall 2022 Cohort – 73.5%
- Fall 2019 Cohort retained to Fall 2021- 63.8% Retained
- Fall 2021 Cohort retained to Fall 2023 – 63.6% Retained
- Fall 2018 Cohort retained to Fall 2020- 63.5% Retained
- Fall 2017 Cohort retained to Fall 2019- 63.0% Retained
- Fall 2022 Cohort retained to Fall 2024 – 62.76% Retained – As of August 21, 2024
- Fall 2020 Cohort retained to Fall 2022 – 60.0% Retained
The next enrollment report will be available on Friday, August 30.