Enrollment has fallen across universities due to a plethora of reasons; this can be seen in the statistics at UW, where enrollment fell significantly after Covid-19 and never quite came back up to where it was.
Undergraduate enrollment at UW fell by roughly 20% from 2019 to 2020 according to university reports. This loss of numbers jumped up in 2022 but then fell to near Covid rates again in the fall of 2023.
This has been the result of lower college enrollment rates across the country as well as a loss of trust in colleges.
Matt Burgess, a new member of the economics department at UW, shared that there are a few factors at play when considering falling enrollment rates nationally.
In addition to lowered birth rates and the effects of the 2008 recession, Burgess identified three primary factors affecting trust in universities, which in turn likely affect enrollment, those being: high costs at universities, a loss of marketable skills in curriculum, and a perceived hyper-politicization of university campuses resulting in lowered trust.
Burgess noted that UW is uniquely positioned within the context of these issues. Despite falling enrollment, the university has a comparative advantage over many others in these three categories.
Burgess elaborated, “UW is one of the cheapest universities in the country, our out-of-state tuition is comparable to a lot of places’ in-state tuition. We have good skills curriculum with schools like the engineering, ag, and business colleges. We have also made big strides in terms of politicization at UW. We have the principles regarding constructive dialogue and free expression and the task force for DEI that handled that situation while still making sure we are doing the important thing to support students from all backgrounds and emphasizing belonging.”
The University of Wyoming’s comparative advantage is large, as other universities have experienced significant difficulty navigating problems that UW already has a head-start in approaching.
The best way to maintain this advantage is to emphasize the ways in which UW excels above other universities. Not only are the problems other universities are facing seen to a lesser extent at UW, but the university is also making strides to continue improving and building upon this advantage.
Marketing, building on strengths, and continuing to push the principles and skill-based curriculums UW has employed are the best way to increase enrollment rates in the midst of the impending enrollment cliff.
Kyle Moore, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management, added that President Seidel has put together a strategic enrollment management working group. This five person group will identify opportunities to increase recruitment and retention on campus and assemble committees made up of campus experts to respond to these opportunities.
Moore cited that the Board of Trustees is aware and engaged in the enrollment conversations and his unit is excited about the president’s elevation of this important topic through the working group.
The execution of these ideas and the pursuit of institutional excellence in regards to enrollment increases are a project that is being supported by all facets of campus.
From student organizations, to faculty and classwork, to administrative decisions, all sectors of the UW campus are doing what they can to encourage more students to attend the university.
