As the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s 2023–24 academic year gets underway, the Haslam College of Business is welcoming approximately 2,349 new undergraduate students to its ranks. The new undergraduate population reflects a trend of exponential growth for the college, as the number of newcomers is more than double the 1,172 undergraduates who graduated in the spring and summer. Over the past 10 years, Haslam’s undergraduate population has increased from approximately 3,500 to more than 8,000. The college’s 93.3 percent retention rate for 2022 first-year students is nearly three points higher than the university’s overall freshmen retention rate.
The college’s continued growth is in line with UT’s Campus Master Plan. Based on enrollment trends and predictions, the university anticipates a student population of approximately 46,000 (undergraduate, graduate and professional) by 2030, an increase of more than 12,000 from fall 2022. While enrollment numbers are expected to rise in all colleges, Haslam is one college — along with the Herbert College of Agriculture, College of Nursing and Tickle College of Engineering — where the most growth is predicted. The Campus Master Plan also includes a new 300,000-square-foot business building that is scheduled to begin clearing ground next spring.
Lane Morris, Haslam’s associate dean of undergraduate studies and student affairs and Fisher Professor of Innovative Learning, says although enrollment growth of this magnitude presents many challenges and opportunities, the college’s faculty and staff are rising to the occasion and continuing to drive positive student outcomes, including a 97 percent placement rate upon graduation.
“Our amazing faculty have pushed the envelope in adjusting and reimagining their pedagogy and course content to deliver a top-tier learning experience for our students,” Morris says. “Our Haslam Undergraduate Business team has delivered valuable co-curricular experiences through study abroad, professional and career development, inclusive leadership and belonging programming, academic advising, student engagement and technology-enhanced education.”
By the Numbers: Details About Haslam’s New Students
The Haslam newcomers include 1,926 first-time, first-year students and 423 transfers. Some 46.5 percent of the first-year students hail from Tennessee. In total, 47 U.S. states and territories, as well as seven other countries, are represented.
The new students boast an impressive academic and testing record, with an average high school GPA of 4.11, average ACT score of 27.3 and average SAT score of 1250.
Approximately 43 percent of students entering Haslam this fall have declared majors in either finance or marketing. Supply chain management, management and entrepreneurship and business analytics and statistics majors total about 33 percent of the class, with the remainder majoring in business exploratory, accounting, economics, human resource management or public administration.
Note: Numbers included in this article may slightly change through day 14 of the semester, when admissions figures are considered official by university representatives.
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CONTACT:
Stacy Estep, writer/publicist, sestep3@utk.edu
