Texas Public College/University Data Reflects
Pandemic-Era Enrollments Surge
in Higher-Ed Summer Sessions
The pandemic didn’t slow down enrollments in Texas public higher-ed summer sessions, and the pandemic perhaps even contributed to the surge in summer enrollments.
That’s according to newly released Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data reflecting preliminary Texas public higher-ed enrollments for Summer 2020 when compared to summer sessions in 2019.
As reflected in the graphic below, enrollments for all types of state public higher-ed entities increased by nearly 70,000 students this summer when compared to Summer 2019.
click for larger view
Although the report does not provide enrollments by individual higher-ed entity, Texas A&M University — in a statement noting an 18 percent cumulative increase in its summer enrollments at its College Station, Galveston and health science center campuses — said that the bulk of its 4,224-student summer enrollment increase from a year ago was primarily fueled by undergraduate students — “particularly continuing undergraduate students who took advantage of online and remote summer classes to progress toward their degrees.”
The coordinating board data notes that of the 10 Texas higher-ed regions, the largest increase, in terms of sheer numbers, was in the South Texas Region, which had 119,476 students attending summer school, an increase of 19,264 than attended summer sessions in 2019.
Other regions of the state showing large increases in summer school enrollments were in the Central Texas Region (+15,363 students), the D/FW Metroplex Region (+13,140 students) and the Gulf Coast Region (+12,017 students).
The coordinating board is expected to release more detailed info in the coming months.