OSU Hits Highest Oklahoma Enrollment Since 1984 With 37,411 Students

Oklahoma State University has enrolled 37,411 students across its five-campus system for the 2026-27 academic year, marking the university's highest in-state enrollment since 1984. Full-time enrollment hit an all-time high of 23,233 students, while 17,999 Oklahoma residents are enrolled this fall — the strongest resident headcount OSU has posted in more than four decades.

The figures, first reported by The Journal Record, also show a record 3,657 Native American students enrolled and online enrollment reaching a record 3,289 students. OSU welcomed 4,712 freshmen this fall, the third-largest incoming class in the university's history. OSU spans campuses in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Okmulgee, along with its online programs.

A President Points to Flexibility as the Draw

OSU President Jim Hess said the numbers reflect growing interest from students both on campus and beyond it. “More Oklahoma students are choosing OSU, and more students are finding a path to us in ways that fit their lives, including online,” Hess said, according to the same report. Hess added that the enrollment surge reflects growing demand from Oklahoma students and those seeking educational options that fit their lives.

Karen Chen, an OSU official cited in the report, said the university is focused on supporting students throughout their time on campus and expanding opportunities across its physical campuses and online programs. The comments came as OSU's A&M Board of Regents approved the university's new strategic plan, titled Answering the Call: A Strategic Vision for the State's University, in June 2026. That plan focuses on transforming the student experience, expanding educational opportunities, and strengthening OSU's service to Oklahoma, per the report.

Fundraising and a Statewide Enrollment Push

The enrollment milestone lands as OSU's Code Calls branding and fundraising campaign, launched in 2025, sits halfway toward its $2 billion goal, according to OSU. The campaign funds student scholarships, faculty research, and campus facilities across the OSU system, according to Oklahoma State University. The Code Calls reached its $1 billion milestone in July, achieving half its target within eight months of its public launch.

OSU's fall 2026 growth follows a then-record systemwide headcount of 36,934 students in fall 2025, which broke an enrollment high that had stood since 2013. That 2025 benchmark came alongside four consecutive years of record freshman enrollment on the Stillwater campus and internal highs of 3,843 students in the Honors College and 9,478 students in STEM programs. OSU also met its 2022 “We Are Land-Grant” strategic-plan target of enrolling more than 5,000 first-time freshmen two years ahead of schedule, with 5,184 incoming freshmen in fall 2024.

Affordability and a Statewide Mandate

University leaders have credited flat tuition alongside expanded scholarship programs for helping drive the growth. OSU froze tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduates for four consecutive academic years heading into 2025-26. An Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education report for the 2025-26 fiscal year found full-time undergraduate resident tuition and mandatory fees averaged $9,243 at OSU, compared with $10,181 at the University of Oklahoma.

OSU's expansion also unfolds against a statewide policy push. Governor Kevin Stitt challenged both OSU and the University of Oklahoma in his 2023 State of the State address to grow total enrollment to 40,000 students each by 2030, aiming to bolster the state's workforce pipeline in nursing, engineering, teaching, and software development, according to Oklahoma.gov. Meeting that goal has required both universities to overcome a steep decline in the state's college-going rate, which fell from 49% in the 2015-16 academic year to 36% in 2022, per data from the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

OSU's growth mirrors a similar surge across the state. The University of Oklahoma reported a record 6,437 freshmen for fall 2026, marking six consecutive years of enrollment growth, as detailed in Hoodline's earlier coverage of OU's record freshman class. With both flagship universities setting enrollment records simultaneously, questions remain about how campus housing, infrastructure, and faculty staffing will keep pace with the influx of new students across the state.