Post by The Cats on Sept 4, 2020 9:13:02 GMT -5
For the ninth time out of the past 10 years – and this fall by a small margin – Western Carolina University has experienced an increase in total enrollment, with a new record of 12,243 students enrolled for the 2020 fall semester and an all-time high retention rate.
The modest increase comes despite earlier concerns that WCU might actually see a decrease in enrollment if students decided to postpone their educational plans because of uncertainties related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on university operations.
The slight uptick in total headcount is the result of increases in the number of continuing undergraduate students, new graduate students and distance education students. Enrollment growth in those areas helped offset COVID-related decreases in the number of new first-time, first-year students and undergraduate transfer students.
“I believe that Western Carolina University’s reputation for offering a high-quality college education at an affordable price has helped us weather the storm that many institutions across the nation are facing this fall because of the pandemic,” said WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “We also are seeing a larger than usual number of applications for the coming spring semester, which I believe indicates that some students have opted to stay on the sidelines this fall to see how things shake out with the pandemic.”
According to preliminary census data, total enrollment at WCU grew by 0.62 percent this fall semester, up 76 students from last fall’s total of 12,167, which marked the first time in the institution’s history that the number of students enrolled topped 12,000.
WCU also has hit an all-time high in the percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who have returned for their sophomore year, as 81.57 percent of last year’s freshman class is back in school this fall semester. The previous record retention rate was 80.06 percent.
www.wcu.edu/stories/posts/News/2020/08/wcu-ekes-out-new-enrollment-record.aspx
The modest increase comes despite earlier concerns that WCU might actually see a decrease in enrollment if students decided to postpone their educational plans because of uncertainties related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on university operations.
The slight uptick in total headcount is the result of increases in the number of continuing undergraduate students, new graduate students and distance education students. Enrollment growth in those areas helped offset COVID-related decreases in the number of new first-time, first-year students and undergraduate transfer students.
“I believe that Western Carolina University’s reputation for offering a high-quality college education at an affordable price has helped us weather the storm that many institutions across the nation are facing this fall because of the pandemic,” said WCU Chancellor Kelli R. Brown. “We also are seeing a larger than usual number of applications for the coming spring semester, which I believe indicates that some students have opted to stay on the sidelines this fall to see how things shake out with the pandemic.”
According to preliminary census data, total enrollment at WCU grew by 0.62 percent this fall semester, up 76 students from last fall’s total of 12,167, which marked the first time in the institution’s history that the number of students enrolled topped 12,000.
WCU also has hit an all-time high in the percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who have returned for their sophomore year, as 81.57 percent of last year’s freshman class is back in school this fall semester. The previous record retention rate was 80.06 percent.
www.wcu.edu/stories/posts/News/2020/08/wcu-ekes-out-new-enrollment-record.aspx
