Enrollment at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is on the rise, along with other positive trends, giving university officials confidence that the state’s largest higher-ed institution is on the right path.
According to the fall 2024 census of students taken Sept. 2, the UNL student body grew to 23,992 students, an increase of 1.7%. This year’s class of first-time, first-year students from Nebraska was the largest it’s been since 2017: 3,579 first-time Huskers.
“This enrollment increase is a credit to the faculty and staff who have worked so hard to retain our current students and enroll new Huskers,” said Chancellor Rodney D. Bennett. “This is success that we can build upon as we press forward into a bright future for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.”
Registered undergraduate students increased by 1.8% from fall of 2023, with a recorded 19,305 undergrads registered for classes. Graduate students also track growth compared to last year, up 1.3% to 4,064 students.
Specific colleges seeing growth in undergraduate enrollment this fall include:
- Engineering — up 9.1% to 3,722 (largest increase in college’s history)
- Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources — up 2% to 2,156
- Business — up 2.3% to 3,825
- Education and Human Sciences — up 3.4% to 2,373
- Fine and Performing Arts — up 3.1% to 838 (largest increase in college’s history)
- Journalism and Mass Communications — up 6.9% to 1,047
Within these trends, UNL saw the largest first-time freshmen enrollments for the College of Business (909), College of Fine and Performing Arts (180) and Journalism and Mass Communications (215).
Student retention is also showing strong for the Huskers, with preliminary data indicating a record-setting 86% of first-year students in 2023 have returned for their sophomore year.
“We are thrilled with achieving the highest retention rate in UNL history,” said Amy Goodburn, senior associate vice chancellor and dean of undergraduate education. “It shows more UNL students are being successful and is a testament to the faculty and staff who have worked so hard to create belonging across campus — in classrooms, research labs, resource centers and residence and dining halls.”
Additional metrics from the 2024 UNL student census indicate a flourishing diverse student body, with more than 22% of first-time freshmen, nearly 22% of all undergraduates, 14% of graduates and 17% of professional students being ethnic minorities. International students also increased for the first time in six years, up 1% to 1,654 students.
The average credit hours enrolled per student also increased this year, up 1.6%.