For release: September 14, 2012
For press information, contact Linda Bonnin, 901-678-2843

Enrollment figures released today by the University of Memphis reveal that 22,365 students enrolled in fall 2012, including 17,795 undergraduate students, 4,190 graduate students and 380 students at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. The total also includes 528 students enrolled at the U of M’s Lambuth campus in Jackson, TN, which entered its second year of operation this fall.

Enrollment numbers are announced after the fourteenth day of the fall semester to provide a preliminary look at enrollments to date. The Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body for six state universities, 13 community colleges and 27 technology centers, bases its formula funding on end-of-term figures.

The Helen Hardin Honors Program at the U of M reached a record enrollment of 1,848 students this fall, including 469 freshmen, also a record number, for the program now in its 39^th year. It is the largest honors program in Tennessee. Of the entering freshman honors class, 29 percent had a 4.0 high school grade point average and more than 19 percent scored a 30 or more on the ACT exam.

“We continue to attract the best and brightest students not only from Memphis and the Mid-South, but from Tennessee and the region as well,” said Shirley C. Raines, president of the University of Memphis. “In just four short years, we have increased our honors enrollment by 35 percent.”

Raines said the honors growth is part of a concerted effort to attract high ability students to the University’s diverse, nationally-respected academic programs.

While final enrollment figures may end up being down slightly from last year, Betty Huff, vice provost for enrollment services, said it is indicative of a statewide trend impacted by the general economy and major changes in federal financial aid which took effect this year, as well as increased admissions standards at the U of M. The U of M also graduated a record number of students in 2012, awarding 4,098 diplomas.

The University of Memphis, which was founded in 1912, is celebrating its Centennial anniversary this year. The Tennessee Board of Regents is the nation's sixth largest system of public higher education with a combined enrollment of more than 200,000 students at its 46 institutions.