Western Washington University has a smaller freshman class than in the previous couple of years, but overall post-pandemic enrollment has remained stable.
The number of students attending the university hasn’t recovered to its pre-pandemic highs, but Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Shelli Soto characterized the total enrollment figure as an “upward trajectory.”
This fall, Western welcomed 3,019 freshmen and its total enrollment sits at 14,700, just above last fall’s total enrollment of 14,651. In the years before the pandemic, Western’s total enrollment hovered near 16,000.
In his fall 2023 address, Western President Sabah Randhawa said enrollment and retention were top priorities for the university. Western was running a $2.2 million deficit that year after a 3% budget cut across the board due to enrollment declines since the pandemic. He echoed that message again this September, when he emphasized the dire financial state of the university.
This year’s freshman class is the sixth-largest in Western’s history, but is smaller than first-year classes in 2019 (3,117), 2022 (3,222) and 2023 (3,184.) Nationwide, first-year enrollment fell by more than 5% this year, according to Inside Higher Ed, while overall university enrollment is up by 3%.
Western’s graduate student population has remained above the number seen right before the pandemic, at 806 this fall.
The total enrollment numbers this year include the 66 students enrolled in the College in the High School program, a program started at Western last winter. When these are removed, Western’s total enrollment is down 17 students from fall 2023.
However, Western’s number of full-time equivalents (which shows how many students would be enrolled if all students were enrolled as full-time students) is up from fall 2023, indicating students are taking more classes overall.
Retention is down slightly from 79% last year to 78.7% of last year’s freshmen returning this fall.
The delays and issues with the new federal financial aid application at the end of 2023, intended to simplify the process, worried Western officials. As a result, nationally, only 52.4% of high school seniors completed a FAFSA this year, down from 58.8% the year before.
But the university weathered those challenges, Soto said.
Through a messaging campaign, she said, “It was our goal to keep students and families informed about what our timeline was, what we knew and what we didn’t know at that time, and how we could assist them at whatever point in the process it was. We believe that had some results.”
More than 86% of Western’s first-year students this fall completed a FAFSA, up from 83% last year, according to a news release from Western. But Soto said the effect of the FAFSA issues can really be seen in the FAFSA filing rates for admitted students — that number was down in the spring, she said.
This year, there could be more challenges. FAFSA didn’t open on Oct. 1 as expected and will again be delayed until on or before Dec. 1, as the Department of Education works on the application’s functionality, according to the Federal Student Aid office.
Despite challenges with FAFSA, Soto highlighted the amount of money disbursed in federal Pell Grants to students this year — in October 2023, the university had disbursed $4.3 million in the grants to 2,400 students. This fall so far, the university has disbursed $6.3 million in Pell Grants to nearly 3,200 students.
A pending “enrollment cliff” due to declining birth rates and fewer 18-year-olds will sharpen recruitment efforts over the next few years, Soto said. She highlighted the need to convince people of the value of a college degree, and to encourage students who go out of state to college to stay in Washington.
“If families are looking for a high quality, lower cost option for higher ed, they don’t need to look outside the state,” Soto said. “We're here.”
Out-of-state enrollment at Western is up to 15.1%, the highest the university has ever seen, Soto said.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
