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Colleges With the Greatest Percentage Decreases in Full-Time Undergraduates

By Chronicle Staff December 9, 2018

Lingering effects of the Great Recession and its aftermath, reductions in state support, decreasing numbers of high-school graduates in states like Minnesota and Pennsylvania, and increased competition for older students were among the reasons colleges with on-campus residential housing gave for shrinking enrollment among full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students from the fall of 2006 to the fall of 2016. Among those hardest hit were public universities in Illinois, which were starved for funds during a state budget impasse; historically black colleges and universities, which were affected by changes in availability of student aid; and small religious institutions of various denominations. Many colleges on the list report that they are working to turn around the situation, and several showed that their enrollments have taken an upward turn since their lowest points. (Links on institution names lead to articles describing their latest efforts. Links on contributing factors lead to articles on issues colleges have been struggling with.)

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Lingering effects of the Great Recession and its aftermath, reductions in state support, decreasing numbers of high-school graduates in states like Minnesota and Pennsylvania, and increased competition for older students were among the reasons colleges with on-campus residential housing gave for shrinking enrollment among full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students from the fall of 2006 to the fall of 2016. Among those hardest hit were public universities in Illinois, which were starved for funds during a state budget impasse; historically black colleges and universities, which were affected by changes in availability of student aid; and small religious institutions of various denominations. Many colleges on the list report that they are working to turn around the situation, and several showed that their enrollments have taken an upward turn since their lowest points. (Links on institution names lead to articles describing their latest efforts. Links on contributing factors lead to articles on issues colleges have been struggling with.)

4-year public institutions

RankInstitutionFull-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, fall 2016Full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, fall 2006Change, 2006 to 2016Contributing factors
1. Chicago State U. 1,464 3,269 -55.2% severe reduction in availability of federal and state aid; enrollment drop in feeder Chicago Public Schools
2. Cheyney U. of Pennsylvania* 657 1,435 -54.2% financial and accreditation troubles
3. Elizabeth City State U. (N.C.) 1,190 2,283 -47.9% stricter admissions standards; drop in financial-aid and scholarship support; program cuts; police scandal; administrative turnover; weaknesses in admissions-to-enrollment process
4. Dickinson State U. (N.D.)* 904 1,729 -47.7% discontinuation of special international-program agreements; significant decrease in available scholarship support
5. Eastern Illinois U. 5,117 9,292 -44.9% state budget impasse; decreased state funding; border competition; student outmigration from Illinois
6. U. of Maine at Presque Isle* 647 1,098 -41.1% drop in Canadian students taking teacher education; decrease in the number of high-school graduates
7. Kentucky State U.* 1,045 1,748 -40.2% loss of many students in 2014 for unpaid bills
8. South Carolina State U.* 2,281 3,528 -35.3% uncertainty over the university’s financial future
9. Arizona State U.-West* 2,698 4,150 -35.0% change in how enrollment is reported to IPEDS; strategic programmatic changes
10. Southern U. (La.)* 4,328 6,606 -34.5% higher admissions standards set by the state Board of Regents; decreased state funds to cover scholarships
11. U. of New Orleans* 4,644 7,072 -34.3% tighter state-mandated admission standards; state budget cuts; impact from Hurricane Katrina
12. U. of Science and Arts of Oklahoma* 714 1,019 -29.9% change in 2006 from open to selective admissions; state budget cuts
13. Clarion U. of Pennsylvania 3,567 5,072 -29.7% changing demographics; lower state support
14. Minnesota State U. at Moorhead 4,235 6,000 -29.4% state decline in number of new high-school graduates; shift toward increased graduate enrollment
15. Western Illinois U. 7,482 10,337 -27.6% state funding decreases; increased competition; decrease in college-age students; outmigration
16. Mansfield U. of Pennsylvania 1,921 2,651 -27.5% state decline in number of new high-school graduates; reduced state support; trend toward attending urban universities
17. West Virginia State U. 1,762 2,428 -27.4% decline in adult students after the recession; opioid addiction; state population loss
18. Northern Illinois U. 12,323 16,942 -27.3% demographic changes; multiyear state disinvestment; budget impasse
19. Southern Illinois U. at Carbondale 10,509 14,441 -27.2% frequent leadership turnover; out-of-state recruitment of Illinois students
20. Florida A&M U.* 6,604 9,026 -26.8% effect of Great Recession on families’ finances; changes in eligibility requirements for key federal-aid programs
Over all for 499 institutions 4,709,965 4,108,113 14.7% growth at 68% of the institutions, especially those in states gaining new high-school graduates, like Arizona, Florida, and Texas

4-year private nonprofit institutions

RankInstitutionFull-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, fall 2016Full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates, fall 2006Change, 2006 to 2016Contributing factors
1. Cardinal Stritch U. (Wis.) 1,201 2,982 -59.7% drop in business-college enrollment after third-party provider missed targets for online and blended programs
2. Hebrew Theological College (Ill.) 177 410 -56.8% reduction in the college’s offerings
3. Oakland City U. (Ind.)* 450 1,014 -55.6% drop particularly among adult students
4. Paine College (Ga.) 389 859 -54.7% tightening of student-loan regulations; financial and accreditation troubles
5. Southern Wesleyan U. (S.C.)* 785 1,725 -54.5% restructuring of academic term that shifted many students from full- to part-time status
6. Central Christian College of the Bible (Mo.) 201 433 -53.6% higher enrollment standards; competing scholarship options at other colleges; demographic changes
7. Urbana U. (Ohio) 417 896 -53.5% the Great Recession; less state aid available for students at private nonprofit universities
8. Brewton-Parker College (Ga.)* 404 813 -50.3% the Great Recession; cuts in majors; smaller pool of students with conservative Christian values
9. Fontbonne U. (Mo.) 819 1,546 -47.0% phase-out of a flexible degree-completion program for working adults
10. Friends U. (Kan.) 920 1,725 -46.7% adult-enrollment changes; discontinued associate degrees; increased hours for full-time status
11. Robert Morris U. Illinois 2,253 4,218 -46.6% disinvestment in Illinois that disproportionately affected the university’s students, two-thirds of whom have limited financial resources
12. Lincoln Christian U. (Ill.) 357 661 -46.0% declined comment
13. Centenary College of Louisiana* 473 874 -45.9% program cuts; move from NCAA Division I to III; financial and accreditation issues
14. Clarks Summit U. (Pa.) 354 653 -45.8% significant shift from traditional to nontraditional education
15. Sweet Briar College (Va.)* 316 574 -44.9% financial challenges; near closure in 2015
16. Baptist Bible College (Mo.) 285 513 -44.4% undisclosed
17. Tusculum U. (Tenn.) 1,417 2,545 -44.3% impact of 2008 recession on adult programs; declining regional population
18. College of New Rochelle (N.Y.) 2,490 4,458 -44.1% enrollment decline in nontraditional adult-learners program, partly offset by considerable growth in nursing school
19. Montreat College (N.C.)* 523 931 -43.8% financial struggles in 2012-13; program cuts; crowded marketplace for adult students; drop in percentage of undergraduate adult students considered full time
20. Marlboro College (Vt.) 188 332 -43.4% affordability; perceptions about value of liberal-arts degrees; changing demographics
Over all for 898 institutions 2,015,970 1,847,520 9.1% growth at 61% of the colleges, with big jumps at a few large universities that offer online degrees

* Preliminary 2017 enrollment figures for these institutions show increases from their lowest points in the previous decade. Gains ranged from one full-time degree-seeking undergraduate student to 383.

Note: Only degree-granting four-year public and nonprofit colleges that were eligible to receive Title IV federal financial aid and that offered primarily bachelor’s degrees and above were considered for this list. Colleges in the comparison group were also limited to those with the following additional characteristics: they enrolled full-time, first-time undergraduate students in 2017-18; they offered on-campus residential housing in 2006 and 2016; and they enrolled at least 300 full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students in the fall of 2006. The enrollment comparison is between the number of full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates. Part-time students and graduate students are not represented in the table. A full-time student is one who is taking at least 12 semester or quarter credits or who has at least 24 contact hours a week in a given term. Percentage decreases are rounded, but institutions were ranked before rounding. All colleges on the list were invited to offer an explanation of why the above-described portion of their enrollment had declined, and most of them did. Officials at some institutions pointed out that the overall picture was not as discouraging as it might appear by considering enrollment of full-time degree-seeking undergraduates alone. The “contributing factors” column includes remarks from college spokespeople and/or information culled from news-media reporting or the college’s reported data. An online version of this table at chronicle.com includes links to articles about colleges’ enrollment troubles and their efforts to turn them around. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.

Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data; feedback from colleges; news reports

A version of this article appeared in the December 14, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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