NC A&T’s Historic Enrollment Records Over 15,000 Students

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

North Carolina A&T State University recently made history, when more than 15,000 students arrived on campus this fall.

The announcement was made on Sept. 10, a day before at least seven HBCUs launched swift lockdown measures on Sept. 11, following threats directed at their campuses. While the FBI soon categorized the widespread threats as “hoax threats,” the threats impacted Virginia State University, Hampton University in Virginia, Alabama State University, Southern University in Louisiana, Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, and Florida’s Bethune Cookman University, according to news reports.

The HBCU lockdowns occurred after the Sept. 10 Utah Valley University shooting death of Charlie Kirk while he was speaking at the university. But the HBCU lockdowns were lifted in the afternoon.

Against this backdrop, NC A&T University recently announced historic enrollment levels, which extended its reign as the nation’s largest public historically Black university.

The university reported a total of 15,275 students, nearly 1,000 more than last year, reflecting a 6.7 percent increase. This growth is attributed to strong increases in student populations across the board, including North Carolina and out-of-state freshmen, transfer students, and doctoral candidates.

In a recent statement on its website, NC AT&T said, “The new total – up a little more than 3 percent from last year – is expected to maintain North Carolina A&T’s status as America’s largest historically Black college or university for the 11th consecutive year. While final enrollment figures haven’t been released for all campuses nationwide, the A&T student body appears to be the largest ever enrolled at an HBCU. If that claim holds, this would be the third year in a row that A&T has set a new national record for HBCUs.”

Chancellor James R. Martin II said, “As we watch that trend continue to play out, it’s clear that North Carolina A&T stands for something special in the higher education marketplace.”

The school’s total enrollment is 15,275. This fall’s entering first-year class of 3,021 students had an average GPA of 3.7; out-of-state freshmen entered with an average GPA of 3.93. New students hail from 36 states plus Washington, D.C.

Another distinction surfaced when the school’s band performed on Sept. 21 at halftime during the New York Giants/Kansas City Chiefs showdown at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., according to a Facebook post.