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
| 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
| 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
