After years of declining enrollment at universities across the country, there are some signs the tide could be turning in our area.
There are new numbers showing an enrollment increase for the first time in a decade.
The executive director of admissions at Central Michigan University, Bob Garcia said the preliminary numbers show that about 40 more students joined for fall semester than last year.
“This is the first time since 2014 that we’ve seen an increase in overall enrollment. there’s been some challenging times for colleges and universities, but we’ve been able to turn that around,” said Garcia.
And it’s not just overall enrollment where they are seeing gains.
“This is the third consecutive year that we’ve seen growth with freshman students as well as transfer students,” said Garcia.
Garcia said the reason for the decline in recent years is partly because of Covid-19 and because fewer students are graduating from high school in Michigan.
Garcia said the preliminary numbers show that what the university is doing is working.
“Our university communications department has done an outstanding job, particularly in the digital space of really finding students where they’re at, letting them know what we have to offer them,” said Garcia.
A similar trend is happening over at Ferris State University, where they are seeing their first increase in overall enrollment for the first time since 2015.
They enrolled 41 more students from the previous year, with additional jumps in first year students and for African American and Hispanic students.
Dave Murray, the associate vice president for marketing and communications at Ferris said their advantage is smaller class sizes and unique hands-on programs.
“We offer some very unique programs. We are for things like the Michigan School of optometry, the College of Pharmacy. Kendall College of Art and design all offer programs that lead right to careers,” said Murray.
Murray said the university also attributes the increases to the special offerings they have for students.
“We have a program now where we are connecting with students who just fell shy of graduation, reaching out to them and saying, you’re so close. Let us help you, get you over the edge and help you advance in your career. Also, there are support services,” said Murray.