Over 5,800 incoming freshmen and over 1,600 transfer students arrived on campus this year, marking NC State’s largest-ever incoming class and the fifth-consecutive year of record-breaking numbers.

Jon Westover, director of admissions, said rising application numbers may be partly responsible. First-year applications increased from around 40,000 last year to around 44,000 this year, with transfer applications numbers also growing.

“I think students are choosing us for a variety of reasons, but more students are choosing us, which is always a good thing as well,” Westover said. “It says that we’re doing a lot of great things here at NC State.”

Westover said educational opportunities are a key factor in NC State’s growth, placing emphasis on internships and co-op research opportunities, as well as being in the Research Triangle Park. 

“Students can create their own academic pathway here by combining different academic programs that they might not be able to do at other institutions,” Westover said.

The admission department isn’t the only one working to recruit new students. Initiatives, such as Engineering North Carolina’s Future, which aims to meet increased demands for STEM graduates, plans to enroll over 4,000 students over the course of five years.

Alongside educational efforts, Westover said affordability is another aspect of NC State’s growing class size.

“I think we are, for many students, affordable,” Westover said. “I understand that that’s not true for everyone, but [it is] for a good number of students, and tuition has not gone up for a number of years. We appreciate the support that the state gives us to keep tuition and fees relatively affordable.”

As classes grow, departments that serve students must keep pace. Donna McGalliard, associate vice chancellor for academic and student affairs and associate dean for student life and advocacy, said housing works closely with admissions to plan for incoming numbers.

“There is a meeting that housing has with admissions and new student programs and various other departments, and we talk about, ‘Okay, what’s the target for the first-year class next year? What’s the target for transfers?’” McGalliard said.

Last year, NC State leased University Towers, but with the building’s purchase earlier this year, McGalliard said the housing department’s available bed space grew by 900 without having to lease, allowing for more flexibility in housing students.

Carol Ann Lewald, assistant dean for undergraduate programs and student affairs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said CHASS staff see the growing numbers of students as an opportunity.

“A lot of what we’re doing is really trying to continue to promote this sense that we have within our college that it’s a small liberal arts school within a large university,” Lewald said. “But as we grow, pushing forward the community more is intensified.”

Lewald said with growing numbers of students in the college, events such as Wellness Week are meant to help foster connections within the college.

“So much of what the college is doing is pushing the Wellness Week, which is coming up the week of the 16th, to push a lot of opportunities for students to get involved within the college and to connect with others outside of their own departments,” Lewald said. “Because we know that the college falls into silos, and students may be in a very large major … and they don’t necessarily always interact with others.”

Lewald said CHASS developed a new student program to build community. 

“We’ve just launched a new program called the CHASS Advocates program, and that is building on students who already see themselves as activists or advocates for both the college and their needs, but also for other student needs,” Lewald said. “And they will be creating programs that will assist and facilitate some of that community building.”

Every NC State department has to coordinate in order to create and serve NC State’s growing incoming classes. Westover said he’s proud of NC State’s growing numbers.

“A lot of time and effort goes into getting us to the group that was here a couple of weeks ago,” Westover said. “In terms of new students, there’s a lot of things that we do, a lot of things that some folks don’t see, but they should be really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish. … I think we all pride ourselves on being a place where students across from North Carolina, and quite honestly, across the country and even the world, aspire to be.”