Stetson University Reports Record Enrollment and Freshman Class

Capture Higher Ed partner Stetson University welcomed a record enrollment including 895 new students this fall, its second-largest entering class in school history. The private, nonprofit university with four locations in DeLand, Celebration, Tampa and Gulfport, Fla. also recorded its largest-ever undergraduate enrollment this fall — 3,150 students — a 2.1 percent increase over last year.

“It’s a record enrollment,” said Resche Hines, Stetson’s assistant vice president of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, in a press release. “It’s the highest enrollment in the history of the institution for total undergraduate enrollment and the second-biggest class of first-year students.”

The university also welcomed 294 graduate students at its DeLand and Celebration campuses. In addition, the Stetson College of Law in Gulfport reported 896 students enrolled for the fall, up from 867 a year ago. Across Stetson’s four campuses, the record enrollment of undergrad and grad students reached 4,340, up from 4,273 a year ago.

Hines reported that Stetson increased the number of Army ROTC students on the DeLand campus and added an Air Force ROTC program this year. The university also recently started a Hillel program, providing Jewish cultural and religious experiences.

“We are looking to strategically continue to diversity the student body in a lot of difference areas,” Hines said, “and continue to have a robust, holistic student body that is representative of our local, state and national community.”

The university’s goal is to maintain an average enrollment for the academic year of about 3,000 undergraduates. That requires enrollment to be slightly higher each fall because typically a small number of student do not return between the fall and spring semesters.

Stetson has partnered with Capture since 2016 to drive enrollment and market specific programs. The school uses Capture Behavioral Engagement (CBE), marketing automation specifically designed for higher ed recruitment, as well as digital display targeting and handwritten notes.