Enrollment still lagging at Portland universities
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Enrollment at colleges in Portland has been trending downward — quickly accelerated by the pandemic — leading educators to adopt hybrid and online learning options in an attempt to persuade students to return with little success.
Why it matters: Despite expanding its tuition-assistance programs and online learning options post-pandemic, Portland State University has struggled along with other public colleges in the state to bring enrollment back up to pre-pandemic peaks.
- 3,426 new PSU undergraduates were welcomed onto campus this quarter — a nearly 19% decrease compared to 4,208 in 2021.
The big picture: However, undergraduate enrollment nationally grew this fall for the first time since the onset of the pandemic despite a decline in freshmen enrollment, according to preliminary data released last month by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
- "This is good news for community colleges and for the growing numbers of continuing and returning students who had lost momentum from the start of the pandemic," Douglas Shapiro, executive director of the center, said in a statement.
What they're saying: "Any enrollment drop is disappointing," PSU vice president of enrollment Chuck Knepfle told Axios in a statement, adding that "there are some very positive signs embedded in the data."
- Knepfle points to higher retention rates this year compared to last as well as higher community college enrollment locally — as half of PSU's students transfer from other two-year colleges within the state.
- "With those on the rise, we project that our enrollments will follow suit in the near future."
Separately, some of Portland's private schools are also feeling the pinch — they rely on enrollment numbers because they don't have large endowments or government funds to support them as big-name universities and public schools do.
- Before the pandemic, Reed College — the small, liberal arts school nestled in SE Portland and briefly attended by Steve Jobs and James Beard — had seen an overall decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2009.
- Just 377 new undergraduates (including transfers and visiting students) enrolled this fall, down from 412 in 2019.
- The University of Portland, a private Catholic university, enrolled 3,090 degree-seeking undergraduate students in the fall 2023 semester — a 13% drop from 2021.
- Spokespeople for both Reed and the University of Portland declined to comment.
The intrigue: Lewis & Clark College attributes its recent enrollment bump to its decision to continue in-person classes, even during the first few months of the pandemic, when other schools shuttered.
- "At the start of the pandemic, high school students experienced what online learning would look like and they hated it," Eric Staab, vice president of admissions, told Axios.
- In 2019, Lewis & Clark enrolled 507 undergraduates. In 2022, that number jumped 23% to 626.
The bottom line: A growing lack of confidence in higher education as an institution may also be contributing to low enrollment rates among freshmen.