Commitment to student success and access

The university's record-breaking freshman class follows a recruitment year that also saw a record number of undergraduate applications. UTSA received more than 45,000 undergraduate applications, surpassing the 40,000-mark for the first time in university history.

"Our university continues to attract top students and maintain its momentum as a leader in higher education," said Lynn Barnes Jr., senior vice provost for strategic enrollment. "We are especially grateful to our recruitment teams, our campus partners, and the colleges for their collective efforts in building relationships and showcasing what makes UTSA so special to thousands of prospective students and their families."

Among UTSA's new students are more than 1,700 who are entering the university as part of Bold Promise, a tuition program that covers 100% of tuition and fees for high-achieving students from middle- and low-income Texas families.

That is a 16% increase over the previous year and brings the total number of UTSA students now pursuing their educational and career goals through Bold Promise to 4,944.

Ensuring UTSA is accessible and affordable for students remains a priority, Barnes said. In all, UTSA awarded over $20 million more in financial aid to over 2,200 additional students this fall compared to last year.

Paving the road to graduation

Along with rising enrollment, the university is seeing increases in student success indicators.

Most notably, 82% of first-time, full-time Roadrunners are returning for their second year, marking an all-time high for UTSA's one-year retention rate.

This deep student engagement also is reflected in a rise in semester credit hours. The historically large freshman class is leading this growth for Fall 2025, having registered for more than 103,000 hours - a 19% increase over last year.

Overall, undergraduate and graduate students are registered for nearly 449,000 semester credit hours, up 9% from last fall.

Finally, when final degrees are counted for Summer 2025, the university expects to have awarded over 7,850 degrees for the 2024-2025 academic year, a 7% increase over degrees awarded in 2023-2024.

"Our commitment to student success is at the heart of everything we do, and these milestones are a powerful reflection of that," said Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley. "By investing in academic excellence, career preparation, and comprehensive student support, we're helping more Roadrunners move confidently from enrollment to graduation. The result is a growing, talented community of UTSA alumni prepared to make a significant impact in their careers and in the world."