The largest growth outside the for-profit sector occurred at two private nonprofit master’s institutions that offered classes entirely or largely online: Western Governors University and Southern New Hampshire University. The third-largest increase in enrollment among public and private nonprofit institutions from 2005 to 2015 was at the University of California at Merced, which has grown more than sevenfold since its first class of undergraduate students arrived on the campus in 2005.
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Public doctoral institutions
1. | U. of California at Merced | 878 | 6,685 | 661.4% |
2. | Utah State U. | 14,458 | 28,622 | 98.0% |
3. | U. of Alabama at Tuscaloosa | 21,793 | 37,098 | 70.2% |
4. | U. of Texas at Dallas | 14,480 | 24,554 | 69.6% |
5. | U. of Massachusetts at Lowell | 10,666 | 18,047 | 69.2% |
6. | U. of Texas-Pan American | 17,048 | 28,584 | 67.7% |
7. | Rowan U. | 9,762 | 16,155 | 65.5% |
8. | U. of Texas at Arlington | 25,432 | 41,988 | 65.1% |
9. | Missouri U. of Science and Technology | 5,600 | 8,886 | 58.7% |
10. | U. of Mississippi | 14,901 | 23,212 | 55.8% |
11. | Northern Arizona U. | 18,773 | 29,021 | 54.6% |
12. | Oregon State U. | 19,224 | 29,576 | 53.9% |
13. | City U. of New York Graduate Center* | 4,554 | 6,954 | 52.7% |
14. | U. of Arkansas at Fayetteville | 17,821 | 26,754 | 50.1% |
15. | Texas A&M U. at Commerce | 8,777 | 12,928 | 47.3% |
16. | Georgia Institute of Technology | 17,135 | 25,034 | 46.1% |
17. | U. of Massachusetts at Boston | 11,862 | 17,030 | 43.6% |
18. | Rutgers U. at New Brunswick | 34,449 | 49,428 | 43.5% |
19. | Ohio U. | 20,461 | 29,157 | 42.5% |
20. | Texas A&M U. at College Station | 44,910 | 63,813 | 42.1% |
| Over all for 189 institutions | 4,043,819 | 4,651,352 | 15.0% |
Private nonprofit doctoral institutions
1. | Liberty U. | 12,458 | 80,494 | 546.1% |
2. | U. of the Cumberlands | 1,843 | 6,276 | 240.5% |
3. | Maryville U. of Saint Louis | 3,223 | 6,414 | 99.0% |
4. | American International College | 1,815 | 3,539 | 95.0% |
5. | Wilmington U. (Del.) | 7,911 | 15,002 | 89.6% |
6. | Lipscomb U. | 2,517 | 4,680 | 85.9% |
7. | Regent U. | 3,961 | 6,950 | 75.5% |
8. | Benedictine U. | 3,400 | 5,954 | 75.1% |
9. | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 3,917 | 6,573 | 67.8% |
10. | California Institute of Integral Studies | 1,057 | 1,488 | 40.8% |
11. | Florida Institute of Technology | 4,745 | 6,631 | 39.8% |
12. | Drexel U. | 18,466 | 25,595 | 38.6% |
13. | Stevens Institute of Technology | 4,690 | 6,359 | 35.6% |
14. | Georgetown U. | 13,652 | 18,459 | 35.2% |
15. | Spalding U. | 1,641 | 2,202 | 34.2% |
16. | U. of Southern California | 32,836 | 43,401 | 32.2% |
17. | Rice U. | 5,095 | 6,719 | 31.9% |
18. | Carnegie Mellon U. | 10,017 | 12,963 | 29.4% |
19. | U. of Rochester | 8,588 | 11,105 | 29.3% |
20. | Clarkson U. | 3,045 | 3,910 | 28.4% |
| Over all for 116 institutions | 1,177,574 | 1,370,078 | 16.3% |
Public master’s institutions
1. | U. of Washington at Bothell | 1,534 | 5,277 | 244.0% |
2. | California State U.-Channel Islands | 2,575 | 6,167 | 139.5% |
3. | U. of Washington at Tacoma | 2,189 | 4,599 | 110.1% |
4. | Florida Gulf Coast U. | 7,249 | 14,833 | 104.6% |
5. | Indiana U. East | 2,459 | 4,716 | 91.8% |
6. | California State U.-Monterey Bay | 3,773 | 7,102 | 88.2% |
7. | U. of Maryland University College | 27,429 | 50,248 | 83.2% |
8. | U. of Texas of the Permian Basin | 3,406 | 6,077 | 78.4% |
9. | Arkansas Tech U. | 6,842 | 12,054 | 76.2% |
10. | California State U. at San Marcos | 7,502 | 12,793 | 70.5% |
11. | Texas A&M International U. | 4,298 | 7,192 | 67.3% |
12. | U. of Houston-Victoria | 2,491 | 4,152 | 66.7% |
13. | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 1,008 | 1,674 | 66.1% |
14. | Fort Hays State U. | 9,019 | 14,210 | 57.6% |
15. | Savannah State U. | 3,091 | 4,800 | 55.3% |
16. | U. of Texas at Tyler | 5,777 | 8,785 | 52.1% |
17. | State U. of New York Maritime College | 1,294 | 1,860 | 43.7% |
18. | Weber State U. | 18,142 | 25,955 | 43.1% |
19. | Eastern New Mexico U. | 4,033 | 5,725 | 42.0% |
20. | California State U. at Los Angeles | 20,034 | 27,680 | 38.2% |
| Over all for 261 institutions | 2,178,280 | 2,397,333 | 10.1% |
Private nonprofit master’s institutions
1. | Western Governors U. | 4,715 | 70,504 | 1,395.3% |
2. | Southern New Hampshire U. | 6,186 | 61,285 | 890.7% |
3. | Bethel U. (Tenn.) | 1,381 | 5,951 | 330.9% |
4. | Saint Joseph’s College (N.Y.) | 1,318 | 4,749 | 260.3% |
5. | Russell Sage College | 838 | 2,897 | 245.7% |
6. | Mid-America Christian U. | 743 | 2,540 | 241.9% |
7. | Colorado Christian U. | 2,122 | 6,879 | 224.2% |
8. | King U. (Tenn.) | 970 | 2,920 | 201.0% |
9. | Baker U. | 916 | 2,689 | 193.6% |
10. | California Baptist U. | 3,105 | 8,541 | 175.1% |
11. | U. of New England | 3,312 | 7,794 | 135.3% |
12. | U. of Charleston | 1,006 | 2,327 | 131.3% |
13. | Keiser U. at Ft. Lauderdale | 7,371 | 16,579 | 124.9% |
14. | Central Methodist U., College of Graduate and Extended Studies | 2,065 | 4,516 | 118.7% |
15. | Tiffin U. | 1,605 | 3,496 | 117.8% |
16. | Concordia U. (Calif.) | 2,092 | 4,505 | 115.3% |
17. | Bay Path U. | 1,456 | 3,107 | 113.4% |
18. | Concordia U. at St. Paul | 2,069 | 4,380 | 111.7% |
19. | Concordia U. Texas | 1,211 | 2,559 | 111.3% |
20. | Maharishi U. of Management | 741 | 1,530 | 106.5% |
| Over all for 387 institutions | 1,292,699 | 1,517,989 | 17.4% |
Public baccalaureate institutions
1. | U. of Hawaii-West Oahu | 858 | 2,692 | 213.8% |
2. | Nevada State College | 1,556 | 3,534 | 127.1% |
3. | Purdue U. North Central | 3,519 | 6,158 | 75.0% |
4. | Colorado Mesa U. | 6,062 | 9,448 | 55.9% |
5. | U. of South Carolina at Beaufort | 1,319 | 1,980 | 50.1% |
6. | City U. of New York York College | 5,899 | 8,511 | 44.3% |
7. | Oregon Institute of Technology | 3,347 | 4,777 | 42.7% |
8. | Granite State College | 1,540 | 2,179 | 41.5% |
9. | Indiana U. at Kokomo | 2,895 | 4,090 | 41.3% |
10. | City U. of New York, New York City College of Technology | 12,439 | 17,424 | 40.1% |
11. | Valley City State U. | 1,035 | 1,422 | 37.4% |
12. | State U. of New York College at Farmingdale | 6,461 | 8,648 | 33.8% |
13. | U. of South Carolina-Upstate | 4,484 | 5,996 | 33.7% |
14. | U. of Minnesota at Crookston | 2,134 | 2,823 | 32.3% |
15. | U. of Maine at Fort Kent | 1,193 | 1,559 | 30.7% |
16. | City U. of New York Medgar Evers College | 5,211 | 6,765 | 29.8% |
17. | Wright State U. Lake Campus | 910 | 1,172 | 28.8% |
18. | Pennsylvania State U. at Abington | 3,142 | 3,966 | 26.2% |
19. | Virginia Military Institute | 1,369 | 1,717 | 25.4% |
20. | Cal State Maritime Academy | 859 | 1,075 | 25.1% |
| Over all for 88 institutions in category | 217,946 | 260,247 | 19.4% |
Private nonprofit baccalaureate institutions
1. | Brigham Young U.-Idaho | 13,047 | 43,803 | 235.7% |
2. | Everglades U. at Boca Raton (Fla.) | 502 | 1,498 | 198.4% |
3. | Trine U. | 1,172 | 3,395 | 189.7% |
4. | Edward Waters College | 839 | 2,254 | 168.7% |
5. | Young Harris College | 532 | 1,204 | 126.3% |
6. | U. of Pikeville | 1,129 | 2,531 | 124.2% |
7. | William Jessup U. | 532 | 1,161 | 118.2% |
8. | Chowan U. | 796 | 1,532 | 92.5% |
9. | Concordia College (N.Y.) | 649 | 1,156 | 78.1% |
10. | Midland U. | 926 | 1,646 | 77.8% |
11. | Adrian College | 972 | 1,715 | 76.4% |
12. | Wisconsin Lutheran College | 691 | 1,188 | 71.9% |
13. | Brescia U. | 621 | 1,060 | 70.7% |
14. | Belmont Abbey College | 887 | 1,495 | 68.5% |
15. | High Point U. | 2,753 | 4,573 | 66.1% |
16. | San Diego Christian College | 553 | 916 | 65.6% |
17. | William Peace U. | 668 | 1,038 | 55.4% |
18. | Marymount California U. | 726 | 1,099 | 51.4% |
19. | Jarvis Christian College | 572 | 863 | 50.9% |
20. | Concordia U. (Mich.) | 600 | 899 | 49.8% |
| Over all for 407 institutions | 556,758 | 609,891 | 9.5% |
Public associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions
1. | Northwest Louisiana Technical College at Minden | 554 | 2,924 | 427.8% |
2. | Delaware Technical and Community College-Terry | 2,569 | 13,471 | 424.4% |
3. | South Louisiana Community College | 1,880 | 6,958 | 270.1% |
4. | South Central Louisiana Technical College-Young Memorial Campus | 786 | 2,669 | 239.6% |
5. | Blue Ridge Community and Technical College | 1,711 | 5,552 | 224.5% |
6. | Wichita Area Technical College | 1,044 | 3,318 | 217.8% |
7. | Metropolitan Community College Longview (Mo.) | 5,667 | 17,821 | 214.5% |
8. | Ranger College | 756 | 2,063 | 172.9% |
9. | Kent State U.-Geauga (Ohio) | 931 | 2,531 | 171.9% |
10. | Saint Louis Community College at Forest Park | 7,276 | 18,902 | 159.8% |
11. | Bluegrass Community and Technical College | 4,049 | 10,388 | 156.6% |
12. | West Georgia Technical College-Murphy Campus | 2,888 | 6,431 | 122.7% |
13. | Arkansas State U.-Newport | 1,217 | 2,651 | 117.8% |
14. | Crowder College | 2,615 | 5,584 | 113.5% |
15. | South Texas College | 16,233 | 34,371 | 111.7% |
16. | Sandersville Technical College | 765 | 1,569 | 105.1% |
17. | Georgia Northwestern Technical College | 2,893 | 5,874 | 103.0% |
18. | Harrisburg Area Community College | 9,505 | 19,121 | 101.2% |
19. | York County Community College | 874 | 1,758 | 101.1% |
20. | East Georgia State College | 1,503 | 3,001 | 99.7% |
| Over all for 995 institutions | 6,253,415 | 6,992,954 | 11.8% |
2-year and 4-year for-profit institutions
1. | Ashford U. | 814 | 42,452 | 5,115% |
2. | Grand Canyon U. | 7,969 | 69,444 | 771.4% |
3. | Post U. | 1,101 | 7,429 | 574.8% |
4. | San Joaquin Valley College at Visalia | 876 | 5,605 | 539.8% |
5. | Florida Technical College at Orlando | 796 | 4,575 | 474.7% |
6. | Full Sail U. | 4,511 | 20,025 | 343.9% |
7. | Miller-Motte Technical College at Wilmington (N.C.) | 707 | 3,065 | 333.5% |
8. | Northcentral U. | 2,820 | 11,029 | 291.1% |
9. | Colorado Technical U. Online | 6,734 | 22,757 | 237.9% |
10. | Waldorf College | 647 | 2,001 | 209.3% |
11. | Pima Medical Institute at Tucson | 690 | 2,023 | 193.2% |
12. | Harrison College at Indianapolis Downtown | 1,048 | 3,040 | 190.1% |
13. | Herzing U. at Madison (Wis.) | 1,082 | 2,753 | 154.4% |
14. | Capella U. | 13,907 | 34,365 | 147.1% |
15. | South College (Tenn.) | 544 | 1,335 | 145.4% |
16. | Walden U. | 22,168 | 52,799 | 138.2% |
17. | Art Institute of California-Hollywood | 520 | 1,198 | 130.4% |
18. | Kaplan U. at Davenport (Iowa) | 20,042 | 45,355 | 126.3% |
19. | Alliant International U. at San Diego | 1,584 | 3,509 | 121.5% |
20. | ECPI College of Technology | 5,301 | 11,735 | 121.4% |
| Over all for 1,246 institutions | 661,544 | 1,345,559 | 103.4% |
* The figure for the City University of New York Graduate Center includes enrollment at four administratively linked university programs: the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (including the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies), the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and Macaulay Honors College.
Note: Data are based on a fall head count of full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The table includes only U.S. degree-granting institutions with at least 500 students in 2005. Growth at some colleges reflects a jump in online-only students. Colleges vary in whether they report enrollment of all campuses and programs together or separately; changes in reporting methods could account for part of the increases in some cases, and some fast-growing institutions may not appear on the list because they did not use the same Unit ID number to report enrollment in 2005 and 2015. Institutions are grouped by the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Institutions may fall into different categories than they did in a similar table in the previous year’s Almanac, which used 2010 Carnegie Classifications. The category of public associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions includes public colleges that grant primarily associate degrees but also offer some bachelor’s degrees, as well as special-focus two-year institutions. Private nonprofit associate and baccalaureate/associate institutions are excluded from the table.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data
Correction (8/24/2017, 4:24 p.m.): The original version of this table listed the outdated name of Bay Path College for Bay Path University. The table has been corrected.