The University of Oregon welcomed 3,969 new freshmen and 1,161 new transfer students to campus this week, as the 2016 academic year gets underway. Preliminary figures show there is much to celebrate.

New freshmen have enrolled in an average of more than 15 credits for their first term, in line with the university’s goal of decreasing time to graduation, said Roger Thompson, vice president for enrollment management.

The new class is also the most diverse in the university’s history, with 31 percent of the UO’s freshmen class being minorities — surpassing last year’s mark of 28 percent. Additionally, the UO welcomed more than 100 black and African-American students to the incoming class, an increase of more than 50 percent from last year. Black and African-American students represent 3 percent of the freshmen cohort.

The UO’s dedicated efforts to increase accessibility and affordability — particularly for Oregonians — are evident with the continued success of PathwayOregon. This year’s freshman class marks the second year in a row in which the UO enrolled more than 700 students in the PathwayOregon program, which allows academically qualified, Pell-eligible Oregonians to attend the UO tuition-and-fees-free with comprehensive support and advising. More than 35 percent of in-state freshmen are Pathway Oregon recipients.

The university also welcomed 862 new graduate students this week, the most diverse in five years, with 21 percent representing a minority group and 16 percent from outside the United States. The total graduate enrollment, including all masters and doctoral students, is 3,120, with 16 percent of all graduate students coming from a minority group.

“Colleagues across enrollment management, academic departments and other portfolios have contributed to this success,” Thompson said. “I am immensely proud of these accomplishments and what they represent for our institution.”

The official enrollment reporting date to the Oregon Department of Education is approximately four weeks away, so there may be some fluctuation in the data, but as of Sept. 26:

• Undergraduate students are taking a total of 324,942 credit hours
• The average high school GPA is 3.58
• The average SAT/ACT (CR/MA) is 1123
• Twenty-six percent of new UO college students are first generation
• The entering doctoral class is projected to be the largest in two decades, which is largely attributed to significant new investment in the research mission of the university.

Additional specifics will be available after the official census date. For the first day on 2015, the university welcomed 4,049 new freshmen and 1,300 new transfer students.

—By Tobin J. Klinger, University Communications