UTEP announced in a news release that it had set a record for the number of students attending Summer I and II class sessions. According to the university, 12,981 students took classes totaling 87,365 semester hours.
All Summer classes were done remotely due to COVID-19 concerns. The upcoming fall semester is only scheduling about 100 solely in-person classes available to students.
“Our students are determined to get an education and we will adapt to help them,” said Heather Wilson, President of UTEP.
“Given the pandemic and all that is going on right now, we are thrilled that our students remain committed to continuing their education at UTEP,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Gary Edens, Ed.D. “These are not the easiest of times, but our faculty members, enrollment team and support staff have really gone out of their way to make sure students feel connected, engaged and valued. Their efforts have resulted in a record-breaking increase in summer enrollment.”
In comparison to summer 2019, there was an 8.5% increase in total students taking classes and a 15.8% increase in total semester hours taken.
Returning students had a 61.5% increase in overall numbers for the summer semester. Remote Delivery options and efforts made by staff were touted as primary factors from UTEP officials for this increase among returning students. Students that had taken at least a semester or more off were included in these percentages.
“While we did do extensive outreach, we recognize that online course delivery also increases accessibility for some students,” said Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Services Amanda Vasquez-Vicario. “We believe that these factors likely played a role in this summer’s increase in returning students.”
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