With an estimated 5,757 students, the incoming class for the Fall 2022 semester will be the largest to date at UTRGV, university officials say.
Last fall, enrollment was about 5,439 incoming students, according to Maggie Hinojosa, UTRGV senior vice president for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs.
The preliminary total number of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled this fall is 31,946.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education was disrupted and numbers were skewed from 2020 to 2021, Hinojosa said.
“It was really difficult to recruit,” she said about the 2020 and 2021 fall semesters. “We couldn’t get into the high schools. So, our typical recruitment cycle resumed this year.”
Despite projections from 2019, Fall 2022 enrollment is higher than expected.
Hinojosa attributes the high enrollment numbers to a team effort among Enrollment, Student Success, the Advising Department and the Recruitment Admissions team.
To prepare for the increased enrollment, larger classrooms are required.
Hinojosa said additional course sections were introduced to several programs, such as English and engineering, to meet demand.
Luminary Scholar and biomedical freshman Clara “Lulu” Elliott said she was feeling “a little nervous being so far from home.”
“I’m from Austin, but everyone that I’ve met so far has been super nice,” Elliott said. “So I’m excited but nervous. I got to see all of the fancy equipment and was, like, ‘Wow, this is way more than what we have in my high school.’”
Biology freshman Silvanha Espinosa also said she was nervous.
“I was always in the same school, so this is new to me because I was in Mexico and now, I’m here,” Espinosa said. “So, I’m nervous but I do well in classes, so I’m not afraid of failing. It’s just the social anxiety.”
Asked how he felt about the new school year, fine arts freshman Christian Briones replied, “I feel really excited. I feel really hopeful and a little nervous. I just hope to get through this year, just taking it one step at a time.
“Whoever is feeling the same way and going through the same thing, I wish them luck.”
Hinojosa reminds UTRGV students that there are resources and people to help, no matter what they may be going through.
“I want our students to remember that we care about them and if they are struggling [with] whatever it is that they need help with, we always encourage our students to reach out,” she said. “No struggle is too big and, sometimes, in the excitement of coming back to school, [the] first few weeks are great and then you get into your classes and things become a little bit harder.
“What we don’t ever want is a student to think that they’re alone and don’t have anyone to reach out to. Academic or nonacademic, we are here. The most important thing is for our students to reach out.”
