The University of Texas at Austin is seeing gains both in graduation rates and incoming students.
The Class of 2018 set a record for the university’s four-year graduation rate. Rising from 65.7 percent in 2017 to 69.8 this year.
This was the highest four-year graduation rate of any public university in Texas during the past academic year.
On top of that, UT at Austin welcomed its largest incoming class in their entire history; 8,960 freshmen, up from 2016’s 8,719.
According to UT at Austin, the growth of the freshmen class is due to the improvement in graduation rates. “Timely graduation creates more space for new students.”
The university strived to increase their graduation rates in 2011 and set a goal in 2012 to raise the rates from 52 to 70 percent.
According to the school, as a direct result of this initiative, they saw the freshman class increase by more than 1000 in 2012.
In addition to increasing their incoming freshmen class size, the university made improvements in the four-year graduation rates of first-generation college students and students eligible for Pell grants.
"The hard work of our students is inspiring," said President Gregory L. Fenves. "UT has been able to narrow gaps in completing a degree that have persisted for too long for low-income students and students of color. Giving students more opportunity to graduate while increasing the number of students UT educates exemplifies our core mission as a flagship university serving the people of Texas."
The school has seen significant increases in graduation rates for their Hispanic undergraduate class as well as an increase in African American undergraduate enrollment.
"UT Austin continues to see significant progress in improving graduation rates for all students. We work to support every student and make sure they have the opportunity to graduate in four years. We will also support them in their next steps, helping to prepare them for successful careers after graduation, whether that be a job, graduate or professional school, or other pursuits," said Maurie McInnis, executive vice president and provost. "Our entire campus has worked hard to achieve these results, and I want to give particular credit to our students who have focused on their academic goals and changed the culture."
