University Of Tampa Hits Record Enrollment: 5,800

Fresh from New Hampshire, Kier Barbour sat on the veranda of venerable Plant Hall at the University of Tampa late Monday, reveling in the warm weather, the stately oak trees and his financial accounting textbook.

"I sat over there in the sun," he said, pointing to the other side of a porch, "but I started to roast." The 18-year-old UT freshman was among more than 1,000 first-year classmates settling in at the scenic downtown university Monday.

The minaret-capped UT campus cranked up with nearly 6,000 students this fall - a record for the 75-year-old college.

Dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and sandals, and sporting sunglasses, Barbour said he arrived last week for freshmen orientation. He's the youngest in his family, and his mother had tears in her eyes when he said his goodbyes, he said.

But it's all good.

"I was sick of the cold," he said, glancing at the park across the brick street. "I like it here a lot."

The fly in the feel-good ointment: "It's kind of crappy that I got homework on the first day," he said.

School officials said things were running smoothly.

All the action really happened last week, said Eric Cardenas, UT's director of public information.

"We had freshman orientation and move-in last week with the new kids - and parents dropping them off," he said from his office on the campus, on the west bank of the Hillsborough River in the heart of Tampa. "Today, it's fairly normal around here.

"We have a lot of new construction on campus, so we have some traffic flow issues that people are figuring out."

He said this year's enrollment of 5,800 is a record. There are 4,800 full-time undergraduate students, and 70 percent of them live on campus. There are 1,300 freshmen, he said.

Despite a weak economy, enrollment continues to rise at UT, which traces its beginnings to 1933.

"Our academic reputation is increasing," he said. "People are seeing the value of getting an education at UT - in an intimate and challenging curriculum."