UHV enrollment continues to climb in Victoria
Preliminary spring enrollment figures show the University of Houston-Victoria has 3,967 students, a 1.5 percent increase over last spring overall and a 2.5 percent climb in Victoria.
Enrollment grew in several areas, including the number of students taking face-to-face classes in Victoria and the number of online students.
UHV has added more face-to-face classes to accommodate students on the Victoria campus. According to preliminary numbers, more than 1,300 students are taking classes in Victoria this semester, a figure that is 18 percent higher than the spring 2015 semester.
“It’s really encouraging to see more students coming to campus to take classes and participate in events and student activities,” UHV President Vic Morgan said. “A cornerstone of being a regional, comprehensive university is having a vibrant campus where students come to learn, study and socialize.”
The university also made strides in retention. The number of freshmen from the fall who are returning to school in the spring is up 8 percent compared with a year ago.
“We are seeing really good retention rates across the board,” said Jay Lambert, UHV vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “We’ve implemented several measures during the past few years that are aimed at encouraging students to return. It’s wonderful to see students stick with it and progress toward graduation.”
In addition to having more students, UHV’s students are taking more courses. The number of total semester credit hours is nearly 37,000, a 2.5 percent jump from spring 2016.
UHV also continues to be a popular choice for online classes. In fact, online course enrollment grew 7.7 percent this spring compared with spring 2016.
A shake-up in UHV’s Houston-area teaching locations may have contributed to more online students. In the fall, UHV consolidated its Greater Houston operations to the UHV Katy Campus, 2002 W. Grand Parkway N., Building 2.
Lambert said some of the students who took face-to-face classes at UH Sugar Land – when UHV offered programs there – decided to take online classes instead of driving to Katy. While it’s going to take Katy residents some time to get familiar with UHV, Lambert expects to see growth long term.
“Our charge from the UH System chancellor is to grow Victoria, and we are doing that,” he said. “But Katy also is incredibly important to us, so we want to grow there as well. We absolutely want to serve students from that area.”
Final spring enrollment figures and a breakdown of student demographics will be released later in the semester after certification from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
