UNA Pressroom

Enrollment Growth Continues at UNA

Aug. 30, 2023



Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – The University of North Alabama has set a new enrollment record with the start of the 2023-2024 academic year. Although new registrations continue to arrive daily, officials say the data is beginning to converge around a final tally in excess of 10,600 students for Fall 2023. 

“There are so many great things going on at the University of North Alabama, and that includes our fall enrollment,” said Dr. Ken Kitts, UNA’s President. “Our growth is sustained, it’s impressive, and it reflects the outstanding work by individuals and departments across campus who continue to share the message that UNA is an exceptional place to get an education. Students of all ages, from undergraduate to doctoral, are listening and responding. It’s a great time to be a Lion!” 

The more than 10,600 students who will enroll for Fall 2023 include traditional, campus-based learners as well as online students, Early College students, and degree-seekers in UNA’s growing portfolio of international programs, according to Julie Taylor, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management. 

“At UNA, we are seeing great balance in our enrollment patterns, which supports the good work that is being done on campus with regards to retention,” she said. “We find our students thoroughly enjoy their UNA experience and want to complete their coursework with us. We anticipate having our highest retention rate on record for this fall.” 

The increase in retention means a greater number of UNA students who enroll as first-year students are choosing to remain at the University. Nationally, the retention rate is used as a key measure of student satisfaction. Additional evidence of the University’s appeal for students comes from Housing and Residence Life, where a record number of students have opted for campus housing in Fall 2023 to get the full benefit of the UNA experience.   

“The (Delores and Weldon) Cole Honors College is another part of the equation for our success with retention,” said Taylor. “UNA is recruiting and retaining high caliber students who not only want to complete their bachelor’s degree; they want to be involved on campus and explore the

many opportunities available to them here. It’s why they choose to stay. It builds the community, and the students build relationships and create opportunities for their future.”

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I’s ASUN Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/