Campus Life

Texas A&M Has Record Fall Enrollment Of 66,426

Texas A&M has generally been considered in recent years to have one of the five largest student bodies in the nation.
By Lane Stephenson, Texas A&M Marketing & Communications October 13, 2016

Record fall enrollment

After awarding a record 15,302 degrees during the just-completed academic year, Texas A&M University begins the new school year with record enrollment:  66,426 overall and 60,979 on the College Station campus—placing it first in Texas and high among the leaders nationally.

The 20th class day figures include Texas A&M’s branch campus in Galveston, along with the Texas A&M College of Medicine, Texas A&M College of Nursing, Texas A&M College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Texas A&M School of Public Health and the Texas A&M School of Law.

Texas A&M enrollment is up 2,997 overall and 2,464 for the College Station campus.

Texas A&M has generally been considered in recent years to have one of the five largest student bodies in the nation, but the Chronicle of Higher Education, in its almanac edition this fall that cited 2014 figures, listed it as having the country’s largest enrollment.

The overall 20th class day data report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) includes only students for which Texas A&M receives state appropriations, university officials note. It does not include students enrolled at the Texas A&M branch campus in Qatar, students who have exceeded semester credit hour caps, and non-resident students pursuing degrees by distance education who are taking courses from out of state or other non-funded students. University officials point out that operation of the Qatar campus is fully funded by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

This year’s diverse enrollment includes a record 15,647 Hispanic and African-American students and 5,907 international students. The university maintained its longstanding record of having about 25 percent of the students in its freshman class be the first in their families to attend college.

The Corps of Cadets’ fall semester strength is 2,530—the highest level since 1970 and which prompted the reactivation of two units.

Pointing to the university’s record number of graduates, university officials cited THECB statistics that show Texas A&M has one of the best retention records for public institutions in the state—overall and for minorities—which helps keep students on track for timely graduation.

Texas A&M President Michael K. Young said the imperative behind these numbers is fulfilling Texas A&M’s commitment to the state by actively building an educated workforce of service-minded citizens for the future economic vitality of Texas.

“Setting record enrollment is not one of our goals, but we are obviously pleased that so many young men and women want to pursue their college careers at Texas A&M—bright young men and women who will be among the future leaders of our great state and nation,” President Young noted.

Strategic initiatives over the last four years have exceeded an initial goal of 12,500 degrees awarded by 2015, while ensuring that students’ curricular and co-curricular experiences have fostered deep learning and longitudinal success for academic success and beyond, he added. Additionally, the university has maintained a commitment to excellence in research and scholarship on behalf of the more than 3,600 members of its faculty.

“Texas A&M continues to exceed our goals of preparing more students to graduate each year with less debt,” said Karan Watson, provost & executive vice president. “We have enhanced student advising and access to transformative experiences and innovative teaching to help our graduates lead productive lives committed to a lifetime of learning.”

Additional information about the student profile, enrollment and degrees awarded can be reviewed on the Texas A&M University Accountability site, https://accountability.tamu.edu/and the Data & Research Services fingertip facts at http://dars.tamu.edu/Data-and-Reports/Student.

Media contact: tamunews@tamu.edu.

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