UNC Charlotte said it enrolled 32,207 students for the fall semester, surpassing last year’s record of 31,091, a 3.6% increase.
Charlotte said enrollment included 26,213 undergraduates and 5,994 graduate students. They come from 99 N.C. counties, 50 states and 128 nations.
“Charlotte’s record enrollment isn’t just about a growth in numbers. It is a reflection of the critical role we play in building the talent pipeline for our region and beyond,” Chancellor Sharon Gaber said in a release. “Our location in one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities offers our students unparalleled opportunities to learn, conduct research and connect directly with industry leaders.
Separately, Fayetteville State University said it enrolled 7,628 students this fall, the fourth straight record year at the historically Black campus. Its 820-student freshman class was the largest since 2007. Retention at the school has increased by 15 percentage points to 78% over the past four years.
More than 2,500 Fayetteville State students are affiliated with the military, Allison said.
“FSU is witnessing not only higher levels of enrollment but higher quality of students seeking FSU enrollment,” President Darrell Allison said in a release. “Fayetteville State University is no longer a second or third option; we are becoming a premier institution within our great state, and I am mighty proud of that fact.”
The enrollment growth comes as many U.S. campuses are reporting declining enrollments amid a peaking number of high school graduates and heightened concern over the value of four-year degrees. The UNC System hasn’t raised in-state tuition for nine straight years,
Charlotte said more than 4,900 students were “first time in college” students, with average weighted GPAs of 3.96. The number of transfer students increased by 420 students to nearly 3,000. Honors program enrollment gained 13%, which the university says reflects a rising academic profile.
The campus also retained nearly 86% of its fall 2024 enrollees, up 1 percentage point from the previous year. “These upward trends reflect the success of the University’s student support services and academic programs,” according to the release.
Students enrolled solely in online courses gained 28% from a year earlier, to nearly 2,900.
UNC Charlotte is the third-biggest campus in the UNC System, behind NC State University, which enrolled nearly 38,500 students in fall 2024, and UNC Chapel Hill, which had more than 32,400. The university in Mecklenburg County has been in the 30,000-student range since 2017, but has started growing more rapidly over the past three years.
Fayetteville State is among four UNC System campuses in the N.C. Promise program that offers $500 tuition per semester for in-state undergraduate students, which is less than a third the tuition cost at other campuses. The others are Elizabeth City State University, UNC Pembroke, and Western Carolina University. Nearly 90% of Fayetteville’s undergraduates are in-state students.
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