Oklahoma State University enrollment hits major milestones

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Oklahoma State University welcomed the largest freshman class since 1980 and has set several enrollment records for the 2011-12 school year.  Both system-wide and OSU-Stillwater/OSU-Tulsa enrollments have hit all-time highs.

The final numbers show the 2011 freshman class has a total enrollment of 3,896, which is an increase of 10 percent from last year’s class.  It is the fourth largest class ever and the largest since 1980. In addition to the class size, this year’s freshmen class has a record number of 4.0 GPA students with 554, the average ACT of 25.0 and is 25 percent minority, an all-time high.

OSU has experienced three consecutive years of growth in its freshman class.  The class has grown from 3,073 in fall 2008 to 3,896 this fall, an increase of 27 percent.

“I am not only excited about the continual growth in students coming to OSU to pursue a college degree, but I am especially excited about the quality of students we continue to attract,” said OSU President Burns Hargis,  

The total enrollment for the OSU Stillwater/Tulsa campuses is 24,231 the largest in OSU history. Enrollment for the OSU system  is on target to exceed the previous record set last year.

Classes at OSU Institute of Technology in Okmulgee started this week and initial enrollment figures give OSU a system-wide enrollment as of Thursday of 35,214.  In addition to the Stillwater, Tulsa and Okmulgee campuses, system-wide enrollment includes OSU-Oklahoma City and OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa.

“The growth in enrollment is not only a result of our recruitment efforts but also an indication of the importance more Oklahomans are placing on a college degree,” said Hargis.  

Sixty-six percent of the 2011 freshman class is from Oklahoma and more than 20 percent of the in-state freshmen are first-generation college students.

OSU’s student body is one of the most diverse in the university’s history with 6,834 minority students, which represents 28 percent of the student body.  OSU students come from all 50 states and more than 120 countries.  

Also of note this year is the increase in OSU’s six-year graduation rate to an all-time high of 61.5 percent.