Fall semester is under way at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College with its largest enrollment increase in five years.

Over 3,700 students are enrolled, a total which reflects an increase of over 3.5 percent from last fall.

“Considering the challenges that higher education is facing across the country, this increase is a testament to the hard work from so many people on this campus,” said ABAC President Brundage. “In the last year, our focus on enrollment and retention has been intentional. We’re seeing that hard work pay off.”

The uptick was seen across ABAC’s four schools of study as each experienced a rise in enrollment from last fall. The School of Agriculture and National Resources crossed the threshold of 1,500 students for the first time in history. The School of Arts and Sciences saw an increase of 15 percent of students majoring in Biology. In the last year, several ABAC Biology majors gained acceptance to top veterinary schools.

The School of Nursing and Health Sciences was up, especially in its popular Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree program, and the Stafford School Business showed an increase of around eight percent.

“The challenge to increase our enrollment falls to every member of our faculty and staff,” Brundage said. “I mean that in a real practical way. Our offices of Enrollment Management, Student Accounts, Academic Support, Financial Aid, each of our four schools of study, our leadership team … they all rolled their sleeves up, accepted the challenge, and succeeded.”

Early numbers indicate ABAC students this fall are from 16 states, 21 countries, and over 600 different high schools. Also, the college saw an all-time high in applications (a 9.9 percent increase over Fall 2022), an increase in freshman enrollment for only the fourth time in 16 years, and a record number of students in dual enrollment.

Nearly 69 percent of ABAC students this fall are pursuing four-year degrees. ABAC offers 14 bachelor's degrees including Agriculture, Rural Community Development, Nursing, Biology, Agribusiness, Business, Agricultural Education, Writing and Communication, Environmental Horticulture, History and Government, Agricultural Communication, Criminal Justice, Natural Resource Management, and Agricultural Technology Management.

One of Brundage’s biggest tasks during her first year as ABAC’s 11th president was the development of a new Strategic Plan. The Baldwin Fellows, which consists of representatives from every part of the college, met throughout the last academic year to create that new plan and its main focus was on increasing enrollment.

“We know that we have great competitive advantages, and we know that we have a strong recognized brand,” Brundage said. “But in the competitive atmosphere of higher education that we’re in, that’s not enough. The number of high school graduates across the country is decreasing and that enrollment cliff will continue in the immediate future. I’m proud of the diligence that our team showed in addressing these challenges while still achieving an enrollment increase beyond our goal for the fall semester.”