WSU sees increased Fall 2024 enrollment despite national downward trend

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PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University (WSU) saw increased enrollment in the fall of 2024 despite a national downward trend in first-year matriculation.

According to WSU, the university experienced a 2.4% uptick in first-year enrollment in the fall. That’s in contrast to a 5% decrease in national freshman enrollment.

Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Saichi Oba attributed the strong showing to competitive scholarship offers and an aggressive marketing campaign on the Common App, which is how most high school students apply to college.

Universities have faced an uphill climb throughout the 2020s as a post-recession demographic cliff and have made it more difficult for undergraduate institutions to attract potential students.

Those problems were exacerbated ahead of the national fall 2024 enrollment cycle due to a disastrous Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) rollout that to

A June 2024 report published by The Century Foundation found that the delayed FAFSA timeline was followed by a significant dropoff in applications, which disproportionately impacted Black and low-income students.

Some colleges and universities have shuttered due to the challenges facing higher education, with the 16 that closed in 2024 being primarily small and tuition-dependent according to Inside Higher Ed. Others have opted to undertake major changes to court donors and students.

Seattle University (SU) announced that it would build a museum to house a $300 million dollar art collection donated by property developer Richard Hedreen in July. Just months later, SU announced its intent to subsume the Cornish College of the Arts, marking the end to a significant 2024 for the Jesuit school.

Eastern Washington University (EWU) took a different approach last year, opting to lean away from the humanities and rebranding itself as a polytechnic university. The shakeup in enrollment strategy came after budgeting issues during the COVID-19 pandemic motivated cuts to academic programs and caused contentious disagreements amidst administrators.

Despite University of Washington and WSU having healthy application cycles in the fall of 2024, leaders at smaller schools are weary of the financial and social pressures that could strain admissions offices in 2025.

While the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer present crises, their combined impact on birth rates and family finances continues to shape higher education trends.


 

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