ACADEMIC IMPACT

INSTITUTIONAL METRICS

• For Fall 2022, UA had 38,645 students enrolled, marking UA’s largest enrollment ever.
• The 2022 freshman class of 8,037 is the largest in the history of UA.
• For the fourth consecutive year, UA saw an increase of in-state freshmen. 
• In-state freshmen enrolled in Fall 2022 received over $18 million in scholarships.

STATEWIDE ACADMIC IMPACT

UA enrolled 322 freshman National Merit Scholars for a total of 1,088 National Merit students on campus, a 16% increase from the previous year. The 2022 freshman class also includes 234 College Board National Recognition Scholars, comprised of students from the National African American, Hispanic, Indigenous, or Rural & Small-Town Recognition Programs. 

Fall 2022 marks a record enrollment of students of ethnic and racial minorities with 8,542 students, a more than 2% increase from last year. This includes an all-time high of 4,344 Black students and 2,138 Hispanic students. 

Increasing numbers of faculty members carry the title of endowed chair or endowed professor, as the result of UA’s Capital Campaign, The Rising Tide. UA is also receiving $100 million in Congressionally directed spending to create the Shelby Endowment for Distinguished Faculty, which will further expand UA’s strengths in transformative teaching and research in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

Thirty-five current UA faculty have received NSF CAREER Awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognitions of top-performing young scientists, in disciplines ranging from nanoscience and engineering to biological sciences. During the 2021-2022 academic year, four professors received this award. 

UA students continue to win prestigious national awards. Sixty UA students have been named Goldwater Scholars, and UA has produced a total of 16 Rhodes Scholars, 16 Truman Scholars, 38 Hollings Scholars, and 17 Boren Scholars. 

UA was named a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. Student Awards for the sixth time in eight years. The Fulbright Program selected 18 UA students for various awards for the 2022-2023 academic year. 

During the 2021-2022 academic year, 82% (2,338) of UA Early College students represent 62 counties in Alabama. 18% of Early College students are from 40 other U.S. states. 

UA Online enrolled 5,712 students, representing all 67 counties, all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and three international countries. 

UA was one of 84 colleges and universities nationwide selected as part of the new Academic Engagement Network that will strengthen relationships and communication among the institutions and the United States Cyber Command.

UA was named among the Top 10 Military Friendly Schools. UA Online launched the UA Online Military Tuition Grant designed to help remove financial barriers for service members looking to earn a bachelor’s degree. 

The Capstone Center for Student Success was selected to participate in the 2022-2023 First-gen Forward cohort, which recognizes institutions of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to improving experiences and advancing outcomes of first-generation college students. 

UA ranks among the top 2.3% of 19,788 universities worldwide, according to the 2022-23 edition of the Global 2000 list by the Center for World University Rankings. 

UA was listed among the Best Value Colleges by The Princeton Review. 

UA was awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation to establish a unique hydrologic science research and training program for graduate students. The NSF Research Traineeship award will bring together master’s and doctoral students from a variety of water disciplines. 

UA received a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a bridge program for students from three Historically Black Colleges and Universities interested in opportunities in renewable energy. 

The portion of faculty members engaged in externally funded research was the most in UA’s history during the last academic year. Also, the faculty members honored for their careers in research and scholarly activities reached a historic high last year