Roller Coaster Enrollment A Growing Issue for Northwest Colleges, Universities
According to a recent report, larger heritage universities in the Pacific Northwest and around the nation are seeing enrollment increases following the pandemic, but smaller schools are on a downward trend.
Officials trying to determine why
The study, conducted by the Washington State Student Achievement Council in 2023, shows schools such as Eastern WA University, as well as some community and technical colleges dropped anywhere from ten to 25 percent.
Enrollment at what are called flagship universities in 28 states are seeing enrollment jumps. University of Oregon figures are up 16 percent, WSU is up 6.5 percent. Some say following the pandemic, the answer is simple: fewer HS grads are going to college.
But others say it is not that simple. If that were the case, then nearly all schools would see dropping enrollments. Some say Universities reflect their regions. According to The Spokesman Review:
"Jens Larson, the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Eastern Washington University, cites an example of this trend. Eastern Washington has some of the state’s lowest-income ZIP codes, and the university serves the greatest percentage of low-income students, he said.
If an area has a low number of college attendees, then the regional university will, generally, have low enrollment numbers."
Larger flagship universities attract students from multiple states, and are not as affected regionally. Officials also say the after-effects of the pandemic are being seen. More students are opting to not attend college, and more HS student absenteeism rates are higher now than before 2020, often by large margins.
However, many community colleges, such as Community Colleges of Spokane, have enrollments that have increased 174 percent. More students view community college as an affordable educational option than before the pandemic.
Officials say schools need to realize higher education is a marketplace, and students have options. and universities need to appeal to students on their terms.