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cubcamp participants throw colored powder into the air before starting the fall 2025 semester
Arts and Sciences | Business and Industry | Featured | Health Education and Human SciencesAugust 18, 2025

First-Year and Transfer Enrollment See Gains for 2025

Written By: Rachel Putman

First-year undergraduate enrollment at the University of Arkansas鈥擣ort Smith reached its highest level since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 1,030 first-year students registered for the fall of 2025, a 15% increase from the same date in 2024. 

This fall鈥檚 student body includes over 4,370 total non-concurrent undergraduate students.

In addition to the more than 1,000 first-year students, 365 transfer students are enrolled this fall, a 49% increase in transfer enrollment from the same date last year. University leaders attribute the gains to targeted recruitment efforts, expanded student support, and significant new scholarship and tuition programs.

鈥淥ur admissions advisors have been intentional about connecting with students and families, ensuring they know that higher education is both possible and worthwhile at 91看片网,鈥� said Chancellor Terisa Riley. 鈥淭hese preliminary enrollment numbers show that students recognize 91看片网 is a place where they can receive an exceptional education at an incredible value.鈥� 

Campus housing occupancy hit an all-time record high this fall, with more than 880 students living in the Lion鈥檚 Den residence hall and Sebastian Commons apartments, surpassing the previous highest point of 866 in 2014.

Increases in new student enrollment follow strategic changes in the university鈥檚 enrollment management operations. Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Brooke Magallanes, who joined 91看片网 in March of 2024, led a comprehensive overhaul of the recruitment communication schedule, refined enrollment processes to streamline the student application experience, and expanded the university鈥檚 outreach across Arkansas and the surrounding region.

The admissions office also intensified its transfer recruitment strategy by hiring a dedicated transfer recruiter, offering individualized transfer advising, and launching 鈥淭ransfer with Pride鈥� road shows last year. These road shows brought academic leaders, admissions advisors, and financial aid representatives to community colleges to meet directly with students.

Financial accessibility also likely informed this year鈥檚 enrollment growth.

For fall 2025, 91看片网 launched several new scholarships and tuition waivers to reduce the financial burden of higher education. Among the most impactful is the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Guarantee, which covers all remaining tuition and mandatory fees for qualifying Arkansas residents after grants and scholarships are applied. For students whose institutional aid exceeds tuition and fees, remaining aid can be used to pay for on-campus housing, textbooks, and meal plans.

Additionally, the Smart Choice Tuition Waiver, rolled out this year, provides up to $9,000 in tuition savings for transfer students who bring at least 30 earned credit hours and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA. This new addition complements an existing suite of transfer scholarships to serve transfer students with varying levels of credit attainment. 

And, setting another record, the 91看片网 Foundation awarded more than $3.1 million in private scholarships last year, with 2025-26 awards expected to surpass that number again, thanks to generous donors and the Foundation鈥檚 Intrepid Ambition campaign. 

鈥淭his is a university-wide effort,鈥� Riley said. 鈥淔rom the moment a prospective student first engages with us to the time they walk across the graduation stage, every part of 91看片网 is focused on our students鈥� success.鈥�

University officials emphasized that these figures are preliminary. The official enrollment count will be finalized after the university鈥檚 census date, the 11th day of classes.