The University of Oregon’s incoming class is its largest, most diverse and most academically high-achieving academically, UO announced Monday. 

“It’s been a really good year under extremely difficult circumstances,” Roger Thompson, UO vice president for student services and enrollment management, said. “To set a record for new student enrollment during a global pandemic — boy, that feels awfully nice.”

UO welcomed about 4,600 first-year students this week, as well as over 1,000 new transfer students, putting roughly 5,600 new faces on campus this year. Thompson said these record-breaking numbers are a testament to UO’s virtual recruiting efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

UO stopped hosting in-person tours from March 2020 until late June 2021, past the national college decision deadline of May 1. It shifted its efforts to instructional videos, phone and text campaigns, virtual reality simulators, and drop-in “ask me anything” sessions to get the word out about what the university has to offer, Thompson said.

The incoming class is also the most racially and ethnically diverse, according to Monday’s announcement. About 1,600 students are domestic minorities. The class set a record for high school GPA, as well, topping last year’s record of 3.68 with its 3.73 average.

UO’s enrollment has grown 53% over the last 20 years and 17% from last year to this year, according to the announcement. Thompson said nine of the 10 largest classes in the history of the university have all come in this decade. UO’s incoming classes have broken diversity and GPA records three of the last four years, Thompson said, but this is not the case for other universities nationwide.

Thompson said preliminary headlines show COVID-19 impacted other universities more harshly, and most schools have not seen record enrollment this year. The university will release more enrollment data later in the year, he said.

Thompson attributes the record-breaking numbers to the efforts of UO’s recruitment team, but also the “right decisions” regarding COVID-19, including the vaccination requirement, improvements in ventilation and mandatory masking, the Oregon Guarantee, promising flat tuition rates for four years and the newly constructed Unthank Hall. 

“We’re very popular right now, and I think we’re showing the students and families all that the university has to offer,” Thompson said.