Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is celebrating its largest first-year class in 32 years and stable enrollment from Fall 2021 to Fall 2022. The university also experienced an increase in enrollment of culturally diverse students, who now make up more than a third of Oregon Tech’s students.
“Oregon Tech continues to transform lives across our state through increased access and success and continually delivers the best return on investment for our diverse student body,” said Dr. Nagi Naganathan, President of Oregon Tech. “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our faculty and staff, Oregon Tech registered historic highs in degrees awarded during the last two years. We are actively seeking additional state investments to increase critical wraparound services and achieve higher retention and graduation rates.”
The University’s largest student populations are in Klamath Falls, Portland-Metro, and Online. Sites in Salem at Chemeketa Community College and Seattle at Boeing serve an additional 174 Oregon Tech students. This fall, 4,913 students enrolled at Oregon Tech compared to last year’s 4,910 students, with first-year students increasing by 4.5%. The university also remains dedicated to serving high school students enrolled in college courses through Oregon Tech’s dual credit program, which increased by 16%.
Oregon Tech’s most significant enrollment decrease was in the number of transfer students from community colleges, driven by an overall decline in community college enrollment in Oregon since 2019.
Dr. Joanna Mott, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and Strategic Enrollment Management, said Oregon Tech’s stable enrollment defies national downward trends.
“Oregon Tech has registered growth in first-year student enrollment in four of the last five years. Even with a large graduating class last June, stronger freshman retention from last year, along with a record number of first-year students this year, helped our enrollment remain steady,” said Dr. Mott. “It is important that we focus on wraparound support systems to ensure success for all our students. Our offices focusing on academic advising and retention, peer counseling, supplemental instruction, tutoring services, student involvement and belonging, career services, and much more, ensure our students are not just numbers; they are unique individuals whom we, across campus, support and help succeed.”
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