— Freshman class tops 2,000 for fall 2016 and a nearly 55 percent increase in the past four years —Louisiana Tech University has enrolled more students this fall than at any time in its history, and has achieved a nearly 55 percent growth in first-time freshmen since fall of 2012.According to its fall 2016 headcount announced Wednesday, Louisiana Tech has enrolled 12,694 students for the fall quarter – a 2.3 percent increase over last year and eclipsing the previous record enrollment of 12,414 students set last fall.Along with the record number of students attending Louisiana Tech, the quality of students in the freshman class has continued to increase. This year’s first-time freshmen have an average ACT score of 24.7 – a significant increase of two-tenths of a point over last year. A further indication of Louisiana Tech’s incoming student quality is reflected by an all-time high of 155 incoming students who have earned an ACT score of 32 or higher, and meet the qualifications for Presidential Scholar or National Merit Scholar designation.“The incoming freshman class of 2016 represents one of the largest and certainly the most academically accomplished in the history of Louisiana Tech,” said Louisiana Tech President Les Guice. “Student recruitment, retention and engagement is something our entire campus community promotes throughout the year, and we could not have achieved this milestone in quantity and quality without them. The growth of our institution and its high-caliber student body is a credit to the tireless efforts of our faculty and staff.”At the college level, Louisiana Tech’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences had the largest overall enrollment increase (amongst those who have declared a major) followed by the College of Engineering and Science, College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, and College of Education.“The campus-wide commitment to recruiting and retaining good students is a cornerstone of Louisiana Tech’s strategic plan and growth strategies,” said Dr. Jim King, vice president for student advancement. “Led by our admissions staff, we will continue to seek the best and brightest students, and provide them with educational opportunities and experiences they can find only at Louisiana Tech.”The record enrollment was accompanied by a slight increase in the retention of students to Louisiana Tech, from the 2015 freshman cohort. 80.6 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen from fall 2014 returned to Louisiana Tech this year, which is an increase of one-tenth percent increase over last year.