New faces are common on Louisiana Tech’s campus this fall, as the university saw an increase of 343 students, and historic accomplishments have also been achieved.

Tech President Dan Reneau said the university’s reputation and move to offer more distance learning classes had assisted with the student increase, which is a 3.23 percent jump from last year. More than 100 online classes are being offered for the fall.

‘There are new adventures for nontraditional students and online education,’ Reneau said. ‘The entire university pulled together.’

Reneau added that the freshman class has much to brag about – including seven National Merit scholars.

‘We have a total of 19 National Merit scholars at Louisiana Tech,’ Reneau said. ‘That’s the most in recent memory.’

The average ACT score of first-time incoming freshmen is also the highest in the history of the university – 23.3. In 2006, the average ACT score was 22.7, and in 2007, it was 23.2.

Also, 2,315 graduate students are enrolled for the fall, which is 21.1 percent of the total enrollment. Reneau said the university’s goal is to have graduate students represent 20 to 25 percent of the total enrollment.

The total enrollment figures for Tech stand at 10,950 students, which is the largest university enrollment in north Louisiana.

Written by Judith Roberts