The University of New Orleans increased its overall enrollment by nearly 2%, marking the first time in 15 years that the University has grown enrollment in three consecutive years. Fall 2020 enrollment is 8,375 students, uplifted by a 20% increase in new freshmen students, a 21% increase in new graduate students and significant growth in the number of local and African American first-time freshmen.
“These figures are proof of our continued momentum as a university community,” said UNO President John Nicklow. “I am so proud of our admissions teams and all of our faculty and staff for their focus on student success. They have also worked hard to eliminate barriers that might prevent students from accessing a quality UNO education.”
Here are some of the highlights of fall 2020 enrollment:
- Overall enrollment is up 1.75% year-over-year (from 8,231 to 8,375)
- New freshman students are up 20% year-over-year (from 935 to 1,123)
- Local (metro New Orleans) new freshman students are up 25% year-over-year (from 718 to 902)
- New graduate (master’s and doctoral) students are up 21% year-over-year (from 352 to 427)
- New African American freshmen increased 67% compared to last fall (from 227 to 380)
- New Hispanic freshmen increased 13% compared to last fall (from 121 to 137)
- Undergraduate enrollment increased 2.7% year-over-year; it’s the 4th straight year of undergraduate enrollment growth, which has not happened in more than 20 years.
“I am particularly pleased to see that we are providing opportunities to more students from metro New Orleans,” Nicklow said. “Especially in light of the pandemic, a college education will be even more important to individuals and to our overall regional economy. In recent months, we have learned a number of lessons about how to be more flexible and better support our students in completing their degrees; those lessons will help us serve our community and state far into the future.”
