TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Enrollment at The University of Alabama this fall reached its highest level in more than a decade.

At 19,633 students, total enrollment is up 2.4 percent, or 462 students, over fall 2001, and is UA’s highest enrollment since 1991.

“The numbers of freshmen, transfer students and graduate students are all up over last year. Academically, our freshman class is one of the best qualified in history,” said UA interim President J. Barry Mason.

The freshman class numbers 2,654 students, including some 316 who are enrolled in the University Honors Program -- the largest number of new freshmen ever to enroll in this prestigious program. The average freshman ACT score is 23.7, up from 23.4 last year, and well above the national average of 20.8. The class includes 69 National Merit, Achievement and Hispanic Scholars. Some 54 percent of UA freshmen finished in the top 25 percent of their high school classes; the average high school grade point average was 3.37.

Graduate student enrollment, totaling 3,542, is up 5.7 percent over fall 2001.

African-American students represent 13.3 percent of total enrollment this year. UA’s African-American enrollment continues to be among the highest at southern flagship universities.

Mason also noted that freshman retention reached a record 83.3 percent this year, meaning that 83.3 percent of last year’s freshmen returned to UA this year. “This high retention rate indicates that our programs are effectively meeting the needs of our students,” Mason said.

In recent years, UA has implemented numerous programs to enhance the first-year experience on campus. These include extensive computer facilities and self-paced programs for introductory math courses, new approaches to freshman composition classes, the introduction of freshman seminars taught by senior faculty, “living-learning” residence halls, and more.

Enrollment totals in UA schools and colleges for 2002 are as follows:

• Arts and Sciences -- 6,606
• Commerce and Business Administration -- 4,173
• Communication and Information Sciences -- 1,887
• Community Health Sciences -- 87
• Education -- 1,439
• Engineering -- 1,870
• Human Environmental Sciences -- 1,550
• Law -- 552
• Nursing -- 600
• Social Work -- 361