University of the Ozarks’ 2020 Fall Semester enrollment is the second largest in University history and a slight increase over fall 2019.

A total of 836 students were enrolled at Ozarks as of Sept. 8, the official day of record for the semester. It marks the second-highest enrollment in the University’s 186-year history, behind 2018’s record of 872 students, and 11 students more than the Fall 2019 Semester enrollment of 825.

This year’s student body includes 418 females and 418 males. A total of 341 students, or 41 percent, hail from Arkansas, including 102 from Johnson County. There are 173 students from the nearby Arkansas River Valley counties of Johnson, Pope, Conway, Franklin, Logan and Crawford.

Thirty-two states are represented in the student body, with Arkansas (341), Texas (120), Oklahoma (36), Florida (10) and Missouri (9) leading the way. There are also a record 244 international students from 19 countries outside the United States.

Reggie Hill, vice president for marketing and enrollment, credited the University community for a strong enrollment despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“This year was challenging for higher education as a whole,” Hill said. “Our success is testament to the hard work, dedication, and collective effort by our campus community. Covid-19’s impact on enrollment is evident and has taught us a lot about our institutional capability and our ability to adapt. Future success will be based on our ability to seamlessly synthesize recruitment and retention efforts. Both are necessary conditions for sustained enrollment growth.”

The incoming class, which includes first-time freshmen and transfer students, is 240, one of the largest incoming classes in the University’s history and the same number as last year’s incoming class.