The University of Texas Permian Basin is continuing its upward enrollment trend this spring.
“Last semester, we saw a trend upwards in our enrollment. This semester, that trend continues. We’re up nearly 7 percent in student headcount and about 10 percent in semester credit hours over the same time last year,” said Becky Spurlock, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.
Applications are also up for the fall, she said.
Spurlock said the Falcon Free program, which covers tuition and mandatory fees for families that make $100,000 a year or less, and more people recognizing the quality education at UTPB are factors in the increase.
“We know financial barriers are the biggest barriers to students attending and completing college. … I think more and more people in the Permian Basin are recognizing that UTPB is a place with quality academic programs (and) fantastic facilities. It’s a community that will care about you. It’s a place where you can finish your degree,” Spurlock said.
She added that there are a lot of things that make UTPB special.
“We have the quality of the University of Texas supporting our educational programs. They’re excellent and we’re at a size where you’re going to be in smaller classes. You’re going to know your professors. You’re going to know and be known on our campus. I think people would tell you that they feel welcome here. They feel connected. Our community cares for each other. All of those things make a big difference. Plus, we have outstanding academic programs with flexible opportunities. People can go to school in person. They can go to school online. They can do a hybrid program. We make college work for them,” Spurlock said.
She noted that while college enrollment nationwide has been trending downward, Texas has stabilized and UTPB’s enrollment is going up.
“We have trended up for the last year in numbers that are pretty different than what other folks are seeing,” Spurlock said.
When looking at the university population, they look at semester headcount — how many students are enrolled in that particular semester. They also look at semester credit hours — how many hours are students taking.
“This semester it’s remarkable because our semester credit hours are up 10%. Why is that important? It’s important because it means our students are taking more hours, which means they’ll get to their degree faster. And again, we attribute that to the resources provided by Falcon Free. Students can take more hours when they have more financial support,” Spurlock said.
She added that UTPB has a strong recruitment strategy that focuses on the Permian Basin.
“The majority of our students come from this area and this is our service region. We have had wonderful and growing partnerships with ECISD, MISD and the surrounding local school districts. We have really gone deeper into the schools to make connections that are yielding those relationships,” Spurlock said.
“UTPB has also taken off on engaging in managing some of our recruitment strategy in-house. We’ve launched new platforms and new marketing programs that allow us to really be in touch with the people interested in UTPB much more quickly. … We’ve also invested in our admissions program so we can get answers to applicants sooner and make sure that they know what financial opportunities they’ll have as soon as they come to UTPB,” she added.
Director of Strategic Communications Alexa Dunson said they can also talk to embedded counselors at the local high schools, Odessa and Midland College.
