Shift in race on UT campus

AUSTIN (KXAN) - University of Texas President William Powers gave his annual State of UT address Wednesday afternoon.

There is a big change this year when it comes to the incoming freshman class.

For the first time ever, less than half of incoming UT freshman are white.

School officials announced that 47.6 percent of the incoming freshmen are white. That's down from more than 51 percent a year ago.

Hispanics are next at 23.1 percent, followed by Asians at 17.3 percent.

The freshman figures match the changing face of Texas because current state figures estimate that just more than 45 percent of Texans are white.

Enrollment for black students is also up to 5.1 percent, though it's an increase of only two-tenths of a percentage.

This year, the university is allowing students to label themselves as more than one race.

For example, if a student cites they are both black and Hispanic, the university will label them as Hispanic.

Or if a black student labels themselves as black in addition to other races not including Hispanic, they are labeled as black.

University officials said this is in accordance with new federal guidelines.

In addition to changes in the demographic, overall enrollment is up at UT to just more than 51,000. It's the third highest enrollment number.

University officials had looked to lower enrollment to improve class size, but since this year's tight budget had to be slashed by $14.6 million, lowering enrollment would lead to more cuts.