PULLMAN – WSU showed a strong increase in both overall enrollment and diversity in the 10th day enrollment numbers released Friday, Sept. 11.
The number of students enrolled in classes at WSU’s four campuses is 25,965, 830 more students or an increase of 3.3 percent from the previous record set in fall 2008. The university’s fastest-growing campus is WSU Tri-Cities, where enrollment is up by 133 students, or 9.7 percent. WSU Vancouver also showed a significant increase of 157 students, up 5.6 percent. The Pullman and Spokane campuses, which are considered one campus for state reporting purposes, showed an overall increase of 2.6 percent, or 540 students.
Enrollment in the WSU Graduate School is up across the university by about four percent.
“I am pleased that we are experiencing continued high demand for WSU’s programs,” President Elson S. Floyd said. “Given the tough financial times facing our university, our students and our parents, these numbers represent a strong endorsement of the continued value of a WSU education.”
“In many ways, this year has presented some of the most difficult circumstances I have faced during my years in enrollment management,” John Fraire, vice president for enrollment management, said. “However, we have achieved our enrollment goals while increasing our enrollment of students from traditionally underserved groups, so we are happy with the outcome.”
Each of WSU’s four campuses showed an increase in the percentage of minority students. As a percentage of total enrollment, minority enrollment has grown from 14.7 percent last fall to 16.2 percent this fall across the university.
All three of the WSU campuses that admit first-time freshmen – Pullman, Tri-Cities and Vancouver – reported increases in their minority freshmen numbers. Minority freshmen make up 18.2 percent of the Pullman class, compared with 14.4 percent last year. The Tri-Cities’ class is 33.9 percent minority students, compared with 21.3 percent last year. In Vancouver, minority students comprise 21.1 percent of the incoming class, compared with 13.3 percent last fall.
When students reporting two or more races are included in the minority calculations, the percentages are higher, with Pullman at 21.4 percent, Tri-Cities at 38.5 percent and Vancouver at 22.2 percent.
The Pullman campus is welcoming a class of 3,372 first-time freshmen, which is the second largest in campus history only to the 3,411 first-time freshmen who began in fall 2008. Overall, the reported enrollment on the Pullman campus is 20,127, compared to 19,360 last fall.
Part of that increase is the result of students in landscape architecture, architecture and engineering, and technology management who are now being counted in the Pullman, rather than the Spokane totals.
The Pullman campus showed an almost equal distribution of men and women, with men representing 50.1 percent of the total enrollment. Students of color represent 16.4 percent of the total Pullman enrollment compared to 15.1 percent last fall.
WSU Spokane Chancellor Brian Pitcher said while most programs on that campus have stable or slightly increased enrollment, program closures in leadership and professional studies and school psychology, consolidation of landscape architecture to Pullman, reassignment of engineering management enrollments to the College of Engineering and Architecture in Pullman and reductions in College of Education programs account for a decline in official headcount.
Pitcher said most of these are planned changes to consolidate resources and focus on priority programs for the campus, which serves as headquarters for WSU’s programs in the health sciences.
As a result of those program realignments, the WSU Spokane head-count enrollment is 1,349 as compared with 1,576 reported last fall. Students of color represent 15.3 percent of Spokane enrollment, compared with 14.5 percent last fall. Enrollment in health professions including nursing, pharmacy, medicine, nutrition/exercise and health policy continues to be strong.
WSU Tri-Cities continues to see marked growth as it welcomes its third freshman class since beginning to offer a four-year undergraduate program. Student headcount at the Tri-Cities campus moved from 1,372 students in fall 2008 to 1,505 students this fall. Students of color represent 17.7 percent of total enrollment compared with 14.9 percent last fall.
WSU Vancouver, which is now in its fourth year of welcoming freshmen, increased its enrollment from 2,827 in fall 2008 to 2,984 this fall. Students of color represent 13.8 percent of the total Vancouver enrollment compared to 11.9 percent last fall.
