Texas Wesleyan University knows it takes a village, or in this case a campus community, to support all the efforts needed to guide the continued enrollment growth the university has been experiencing.

Total enrollment for fall 2022 reached 2,653 students, the largest since 2012 and a 6.3% increase over the past two years. This includes 1,547 undergraduate students, 699 graduate students and 405 non-degree students that include the dual enrollment high school programs and the international student Linguistic Diversity Bridge Program. Large incoming new student cohorts in Fall 2021 and 2022 have contributed to a growth in undergraduates of over 10% since 2020 with 458 first-time students enrolling in fall 2022 — the largest freshman class in the last 50 years and one of the largest in school history.

These increases are in stark contrast to the 4.7% drop at the nation's undergraduate colleges and universities from spring 2021 as reported by the National Student Clearinghouse in May — and a 9.4% decrease in undergraduate enrollment during the pandemic.

Texas Wesleyan's small community approach and individual attention from professors may be exactly what the next generation wants — and expects — from their institution of higher education.

"I love the energy that is surrounding the University," said freshman Patricio Izaguirre. "I love that at TXWES, you're not just a number and that you get to really know your professors and your peers. I am loving all the opportunities TXWES is offering me."

Texas Wesleyan continues to see positive enrollment growth thanks in large part to the implementation of new initiatives focused on making college a reality for more students than ever. Programs such as Stampede Week and Ram Camp help students engage with other students, faculty and staff and promote a strong campus community.

"Our efforts to promote a cohesive campus community are proving to be successful in attracting students to Texas Wesleyan," said Director of Student Retention Terence Kennedy. "This kind of enrollment growth is amazing. We're a special campus learning community. In turn, I hope that the campus efforts can be the glue that creates the bonds needed to persist to graduation."

"The success we are seeing at Texas Wesleyan does not happen because of the efforts of one person, one department or one initiative," said University President Frederick G. Slabach. "It has always been our philosophy that everyone who is part of our intentionally small university is key to making it one of the best while focusing on individual attention for each student.

One large part of the record fall enrollment has been the Tarrant To and Through (T3) Partnership. By taking the T3 Pledge, Tarrant-area high school students get access to support both in high school and throughout their college careers. 109 of the 458 freshmen in the Fall 2022 cohort were engaged with the program, which also provides assistance for students transferring from Tarrant County College (TCC) and scholarships for eligible participants. Fall 2022 represents Texas Wesleyan’s second year as part of the partnership, along with TCC, Tarleton State University, Texas Christian University, Texas Women’s University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of North Texas (UNT) and UNT-Dallas.

“Overall, our new student enrollments were strong and helped us meet our enrollment goal for undergraduate students,” said Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing and Communication Alan Liebrecht. “The entire campus community has played an important role in helping deliver a Smaller. Smarter. experience, and this has contributed to the increased interest in Texas Wesleyan. We have a unique role in the higher education landscape in the region and people are recognizing all the opportunities we provide.”