UT first participated in the National Student Exchange program as a function in the College of Arts and Sciences in fall 1982, when six students came to UT and six UT students went to a different college. The first UT students participating were Earl Alderson, Oregon State; Karen Connor, University of Montana; John King, University of Maryland; Mark Morse, Humboldt State University; Sharon Young, University of Alabama; and Kristin Reese, University of Massachusetts—Boston. UT participation was placed on hold in July 1987 because of inability to fund the institutional cost of participation. The program then became a centrally funded opportunity, and UT rejoined in 2001, placing 28 students who applied at various universities across the country.
The NSE was started in the 1967–68 academic year with three state-supported campuses exchanging seven students among their universities. The purpose was (and is) to provide students an opportunity to learn about new people and places through study in another part of the United States. Students participating in the National Student Exchange either pay their normal tuition and fees at their home campus or pay the in-state tuition and fees at the host campus. Students are charged a nominal application fee, part of which (along with the institutional membership fee) goes to support the Central National Student Exchange.