Lipscomb University has crossed the 5,000-student threshold for the first time in its 135-year history, with an official enrollment count of 5,007 students marking the school's largest first-day attendance ever. The Nashville university's undergraduate enrollment reached 3,061 students while graduate enrollment climbed to 1,946, giving Lipscomb record numbers on both fronts as classes got underway this fall.
The milestone follows three consecutive years of record-breaking freshman classes, according to WZTV, with Lipscomb setting an enrollment record for the second consecutive year running. University President Candice McQueen said the milestone reflects momentum across the institution, noting that Lipscomb has evolved for 135 years while remaining grounded in its mission. Byron Lewis, Lipscomb's vice president of enrollment, said the enrollment strength is occurring across multiple areas of the university rather than in any single program.
A Long Climb From Nine Students in 1891
Lipscomb was founded as Nashville Bible School, opening in 1891 with just nine students. The university first exceeded 4,000 enrolled students in 2011, and according to Lipscomb University, it set a previous overall enrollment record in Fall 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with 4,729 students, itself a jump from the 4,686 students recorded in Fall 2015. Nearly 750 first-time freshmen enrolled last fall, and total new undergraduate enrollment exceeded 900 students that same year, according to the university.
Retention has kept pace with recruitment. Lipscomb achieved a record first-day freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 87.4 percent entering the 2025-26 academic year, and school officials say survey measures show improvement of nearly 80 percent, pointing to gains in student satisfaction that have coincided with the retention climb over the past two decades. The broader Lipscomb community, including Lipscomb Academy's roughly 1,400 younger students from age 2 through 12th grade, now numbers nearly 6,500 people, per the university, while faculty and staff retention stands at 95 percent.
New Anesthesiologist Assistant Program Draws Hundreds of Applicants
Some of this fall's growth is tied to brand-new academic offerings. Lipscomb welcomed the first cohort of its Master of Science in Anesthesiology program, Tennessee's first Certified Anesthesiologist Assistant training program, after the state authorized CAAs to practice in January 2026. The program was built to meet current workforce demand, and it received over 300 applications for just 24 available seats, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
That healthcare push follows other workforce partnerships the university has built in recent years, including a nursing initiative funded by a $220,000 grant and, in July 2025, a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to launch Foundations to Futures, the state's first Early Childhood Education Apprenticeship Hub offering tuition-free bachelor's degrees, reported in earlier Hoodline coverage. That initiative came amid findings that only 30 percent of childcare center educators in Tennessee currently hold a bachelor's degree.
Impact 360 Wraps Up as Lipscomb Rising 2030 Begins
The enrollment surge caps the university's Impact 360 strategic plan, which finished in 2026 after aiming to boost academics, research, student life and campus updates. As part of that framework, Lipscomb launched Journey: Lipscomb Core in Fall 2025, a newly designed general education curriculum developed over three years to standardize learning outcomes across undergraduate disciplines. The university has now launched a successor plan, Lipscomb Rising 2030, which is intended to continue Lipscomb's progress over the next several years.
The university's momentum has translated into other markers of growth. Military-connected enrollment, including veterans and their dependents, reached an all-time school record of 407 students in Fall 2025, up from nearly 400 in Fall 2023. Lipscomb also had one of its strongest summer terms in years, the university said, and set undergraduate tuition and fees at $42,396 for the 2025-26 academic year, with Forbes reporting that 100 percent of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid or institutional grants and that the average net price after aid runs approximately $27,695.
National Rankings Bring Mixed Recognition
Lipscomb's growth has drawn wider notice, though not without caveats. The university was included in TIME magazine's inaugural America's Best Colleges list, which evaluates student results, academic environment and value, placing Lipscomb at No. 490 out of 500 recognized institutions nationwide under a scoring model that weighs post-graduation earnings and return on education at 75 percent. Lipscomb was one of eight Tennessee colleges on the list and one of two Nashville-area schools recognized, alongside Vanderbilt University.
The enrollment count is finalized on the 14th day of classes each term, per university reporting, giving Lipscomb an official benchmark for its record-setting numbers. Board leadership stability has accompanied the growth: the Board of Trustees granted McQueen a five-year contract extension through 2030 in July 2025, citing enrollment expansion and a nearly $30 million increase in the university's endowment since she took office in September 2021 as Lipscomb's 18th president.
