For the first time in its 96-year history, ETSU has exceeded the 13,000 mark in enrollment, reporting 13,389 students for this fall semester. That is a 5.8 percent increase from the fall 2006 enrollment of 12,649.
ETSU President Paul Stanton had projected for several months that the university would reach or exceed 13,000.
The university headcount for the fall includes enrollment in the university’s undergraduate and graduate programs, the College of Medicine’s 240 students, 261 physicians enrolled in residency and fellowship programs, and the College of Pharmacy’s 144 students.
ETSU shows a record new transfer student enrollment of 1,027. This is a rise of 4.9 percent from last year.
University data indicates an 11.9 percent increase in first-time freshmen and a 6.1 percent increase in graduate students.
“This marks our fourth consecutive year of record enrollment,” Stanton said.
“We are gratified at the steady growth over the past few years and are pleased that students across the region and beyond continue to choose ETSU as their university. This record enrollment is especially rewarding as we approach our centennial and reflect on our humble beginnings as a state Normal School with just 29 students in 1911.
“We can attribute much of our growth to the quality and breadth of our academic programs. ETSU is an excellent institution for undergraduate, graduate and professional students,” Stanton said.
He also expressed gratitude to the faculty and staff who work to make ETSU an attractive option for students.
Bert Bach, vice president for Academic Affairs, stated that “the growth represents expansion of existing programs, the addition of new undergraduate and graduate programming, and significant growth in cohort programs offered at sites throughout the region.”
Bach indicated that ETSU’s enrollment for courses offered in Kingsport is up over 20 percent.
“One of our strategic goals is to double enrollment in Kingsport within five years, and we are clearly on track to do that,” he said.
That anticipated growth, he noted, is “because we have an Oct. 30 deadline for new downtown programming in the arts and health sciences. We are going to be developing new course offerings that support programming in nursing, public health, radiography and cardiopulmonary sciences as well as pre-pharmacy.”
Cecilia McIntosh, dean of the School of Graduate Studies, reports that graduate student enrollment has increased over 6 percent compared to last year.
“The most dramatic increase seen last year was in the doctoral programs of education, nursing, biomedical sciences, clinical psychology, audiology, physical therapy, environmental health sciences, and public health. This is also the case this year with over a 12 percent increase,” McIntosh said.
Ramona Williams, interim vice provost for enrollment services, said that the record enrollment is “a result of the campuswide effort beginning with the recruitment … and the work of many faculty and staff members to share the variety of opportunities that ETSU has to offer with students, parents and others.

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