Campbell will welcome its largest incoming class of freshmen and transfer students in seven years, the University announced Friday on the eve of this fall’s Move In Day.
The class of 865 new students will include 700 freshmen and 165 transfers, according to Vice President for Enrollment Management Dean Clark. The students will represent 66 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 39 states and 16 different countries. The class will also include considerably more students from Harnett County (177), most of whom are taking advantage of Campbell’s Tuition Free Guarantee program launched this year for Harnett residents.
The numbers represent a positive start to President William M. Downs’ Strategic Plan — launched in the spring — which includes “enrollment growth” as its first of four major commitments (the others being financial strength, community impact and institutional identity). In his welcome message to faculty and staff on Thursday, Downs credited a number of factors that went into bucking a trend in declining enrollment — both nationally and at Campbell — specifically in undergraduate admissions.
He touted the aforementioned Harnett County tuition guarantee, which led to a 277 percent increase in enrollment of students from Campbell’s backyard this fall. Recent transfer pathway agreements with local community colleges, and a larger competition for the five full-ride J.A. Campbell Scholarships (which brought more than 200 candidates to campus last winter) also played a role in the spike, he said.
“It has been our challenge this past year, and it will continue to be our challenge in the foreseeable future, to stop the bleeding,” Downs said. “We have 197 more new freshmen than we had at this time last year. If these numbers hold, this is a huge win for Campbell.”
Several programs on campus are benefiting from the rise in enrollment. The School of Engineering took in 156 more applications this year and saw its freshman class grow from 65 in 2025 to 92 in 2026, representing 41-percent growth.
In addition to the University’s Strategic Plan and enrollment initiatives, Clark credited his team for its work over the past year.
“It’s been great work all around from not only the admissions team, but Housing, Financial Aid, Advising, Student Financial Services and more,” he said. “It’s been a true team effort.”
Downs said enrollment will continue to be at the forefront of Campbell’s five-year plan, but the short-term focus shifts from recruitment to retention in the coming weeks and months. In his message to faculty and staff, he challenged them to do their part in making new students feel welcome and given a sense of belonging as they start their college journey.
“This is where it takes the entire campus and village to ensure that our students get what they need, that they feel at home here and they get off to a fast start, academically, emotionally and spiritually,” he said. “We need to be welcoming. We need to be proactive if we notice a student who’s struggling. We need to encourage class attendance and participation. We need to remove barriers for students as best as we all can. And if we can’t remove those barriers, we need to guide those students to somebody who can.”