09/03/2026
Here we grow again!
Arkansas Tech University has achieved 7 percent enrollment growth over the past year and is serving 9,516 students during the fall 2026 semester.
The increases in the student body at ATU include a 9 percent increase in freshman enrollment, an 11 percent increase in transfer enrollment and the largest enrollment in ATU-Ozark Campus history.
“Students from across the Natural State are discovering all that Arkansas Tech University has to offer,” said Dr. Russell Jones, ATU president. “Arkansas Tech emphasizes student access and affordability. We provide high-quality programs delivered by teaching scholars who know their students by name and care about them as people. We have made a significant investment in our facilities over the past three years through new facilities such as Ferguson Student Union and the Farm Credit Agriculture Building while simultaneously updating our existing buildings.
“There is no secret to our success,” continued Jones. “At Arkansas Tech, we work hard, we play hard, we care about each other and we make learning fun. When students see Arkansas Tech for themselves, they want to be here and be part of it. This enrollment increase, along with our record-setting retention rates over the past few years, means a bright future for ATU.”
Fall 2026 preliminary enrollment figures at Arkansas Tech are based upon data following the 11th class day of the semester, which was Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Those numbers reveal that ATU is serving 1,338 freshmen this fall, its largest freshman class in three years.
Ninety-four percent of ATU students in fall 2026 are from Arkansas. Forty-three percent of Arkansas Tech students in fall 2026 are first-generation college students, and 57 percent come from low-income backgrounds.
ATU-Ozark Campus has a fall enrollment of 2,669 students, surpassing the previous ATU-Ozark record of 2,169 students set in fall 2014.
“ATU-Ozark is a success story that should be an exemplar for post-secondary education in our state,” said Jones. “Every day, students at ATU-Ozark are receiving career education and workforce training that is excellent in its quality and its accessibility. I applaud Chancellor Dr. Sheila R. Jacobs and her colleagues for the life-changing work they do to connect students with educational opportunities that lead directly to high-wage, in-demand careers right here at home in the Arkansas River Valley.”
