The University of the Ozarks’ incoming class for the 2022 Fall Semester represents a 19 percent increase over last year’s incoming class, University officials announced this week.
A total of 785 students were enrolled at Ozarks as of the end of business on Sept. 7, the official day of record for the semester. It marks a slight increase over the 2021 Fall Semester enrollment of 784 and the fourth-highest enrollment in the University’s 188-year history.
The incoming class, which includes first-time freshmen and transfer students, is 285, the third-largest in University history and a 19 percent increase over last year’s incoming class of 240. In addition, this year’s freshman retention rate of 68 percent is a six percent increase over last year’s numbers.
“Our enrollment is a testament to the hard work by not only the admission team to bring in a larger incoming class, but also the dedication of our student success division to ensure our students are successful once they get here,” said Amy Lloyd, vice president for marketing and enrollment. “Both recruitment and retention efforts are necessary for sustained enrollment growth as we navigate through a challenging time for higher education.”
This year’s student body includes 411 females (52 percent) and 374 males. A total of 330 students (42 percent) are from Arkansas, including 105 from Johnson County. It is the third most students ever from the University’s home county.
Twenty-seven states other than Arkansas are represented in the student body, with Texas (118), Oklahoma (51), Missouri (11), California (8), Louisiana (6) and Illinois (6) leading the way.
This year’s student body is also one of the most geographically diverse in the University’s history with 217 international students from 23 countries outside the United States, including Haiti, The Bahamas, France, Japan, Morocco, Panama, Zimbabwe, Belize, Ethiopia, Spain, Venezuela and Honduras.