CHAPEL HILL — UNC-Chapel Hill trustees adopted targets to increase annual in-state first-year enrollment from about 4,300 students to 6,000–6,250 by 2030, directing university leaders to plan for the operating and infrastructure capacity required by the growth.
The resolution adopted Sept. 24 asks the chancellor to increase in-state first-year enrollment to 4,750–5,000 in fall 2027, 5,250–5,500 in 2028, 5,750–6,000 in 2029 and 6,000–6,250 in 2030.
By 2030, each annual in-state entering class would be at least 1,700 students larger than the approximately 4,300 enrolled in fall 2026. The 2030 target equals roughly 5% of North Carolina high school graduates, according to the resolution.
The trustees directed the chancellor to develop strategies for enrollment growth and university infrastructure while maintaining admissions standards and the quality of the student experience. The resolution does not approve a construction project, staffing plan or budget.
The board said the share of North Carolina high school graduates enrolling as first-year students at UNC-Chapel Hill declined from approximately 5% in the mid-1990s to 3.2% in 2026 even as the university received record application totals. North Carolina produces 120,000 to 130,000 high school graduates annually, the resolution says.
Triangle Business Journal reported Sept. 24 that the Board of Trustees approved the plan and that UNC-Chapel Hill is accelerating its undergraduate enrollment-growth strategy to expand access for North Carolina students.
The adopted targets create a multiyear expansion mandate for one of the state’s largest public institutions. Specific capital projects, appropriations and implementation plans would require later actions.
Image: UNC-Chapel Hill’s Old Well, photographed Aug. 23, 2017, by Martin Kraft and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. The file photograph identifies the university but does not depict the Sept. 24 board meeting. Naturally cropped for format; fixed NC Business Desk footer added; no generative content.