The University of Oregon class of 2022 is eight percentage points larger than last year’s incoming class, with 4,203 students as of Sept. 24, according to Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management Dr. Roger Thompson.
“To have our entering class eight percent larger than last year is good. We’re pleased with that,” Thompson said. “It shows more students are selecting the UO, and it speaks to our academic quality and the things we offer in and outside of the classroom.”
The numbers that Thompson cited won’t be officially confirmed until the fourth school week due to the federal government’s census date; however, he doesn’t expect the numbers to drastically change.
The class of 2022 also broke other school records, such as the most ethnically diverse class, with domestic minority students making up 36 percent of the class. Thompson said that the previous record was held by last year’s class, with 34 percent of students identifying as domestic minority students. Thompson also said that the class of 2022 is more diverse than the state of Oregon itself.
The class of 2022 also has the largest number of domestic non-resident students, meaning students who are not from Oregon. Thompson says that 44 percent of the class of 2022 comes from out of state.
The new class also has the largest number of Pathway Oregon students in the school’s history. Pathway Oregon was established 10 years ago as a way to help lower income Oregonians get through school with a combination of grants.
“At that time [six years ago] we enrolled 400 new Pathway Oregon freshmen. Today, on the 10th anniversary of Pathway Oregon and six years since we redesigned the program, we are thrilled to have more than 800 Pathway Oregon students and to double the number from where it was six years ago. And to do that on the 10th anniversary on the creation of the program is exhilarating,” he said.
More data is set to be released soon, such as the number of states that students in the class of 2022 are from and the oldest and youngest students in the class.
“The new students who have entered the UO were very active in the week of welcome and they turned out to all the events,” Thompson says. “I think they’re going to be a terrific class. … These are a great group of students who have started at the University of Oregon.”