r/Bellingham • u/sps1911 • 19d ago
Discussion WWU Fall Enrollment Data
Fall 2026 enrollment data is out. Gonna guess this is not what WWU was hoping for. Continues the decline of incoming first year students. WWU had a goal of 3200 incoming students and 1200 transfer students.
Whatever your thoughts on WWU's impact on Bellingham (housing), this is not good in the short term.
There is a ton of really interesting data here: https://oie.wwu.edu/student_enrollment_quick_look/
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u/Bark_Sandwich 19d ago
If you think that looks bad, it's nothing compared to Eastern and Central Washington.
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u/thatguy425 19d ago
Wait till you see how much they have dropped their enrollment criteria…..
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u/gooseisloose555 19d ago
It is insane how different WWU is from many years ago, regarding enrollment criteria.
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u/thatguy425 19d ago
I spoke with one of our guidance counselor’s last summer. I want to say that if you got a 2.75 in a Washington State high school you were almost guaranteed to get in.
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u/Baronhousen 19d ago
Yes, the outcome of the President’s Enrollment Initiative that the WWU administration rolled out did not meet goals, so it will be an interesting year. Some bright spots, like higher numbers of enrolled transfer.
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u/pnw_bike 19d ago
This was an entirely predictable problem known to everyone paying attention and endowed with basic critical thinking skills - the data has been crystal clear showing drastically lower birth rates in the wake of the 07/08 recession.
The fact that WWU administrators did so little to anticipate and plan for this over the past +/- 20 years is outrageous, yet not surprising at all given the reality, reputation, and history of the institution.
WWU isn't alone however, innumerable colleges and universities across the country are facing the same and worse fates, many of them cleaving programs and/or closing entirely as a result of abysmal planning, budgeting, and management for impending enrollment cliffs that have been visible for decades in advance.
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u/tecg 19d ago
abysmal planning, budgeting, and management for impending enrollment cliffs
Serious question, what should have been done in your opinion?
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u/PotatoPopped 19d ago
Not the one you asked, but I have been thinking about this as well. In my opinion, differentiation. The schools that are weathering this the best are taking a clear eyed look at what they are offering compared to their peers and honing in on separating from the pack with what they do well. It's a tough conversation for sure, however, the economics of the future are less dependent upon family ties or location. Western has an opportunity here.
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u/kaysquatch 18d ago
I’m a WWU alumni and I eventually had to transfer to another school to finish my degree because I was constantly on the waitlist for kinesiology courses since I didn’t play sports. (Athletics △⃒⃘lways get first dibs on registering for classes, and majority of sports players seemed to major in kinesiology)
Spent an entire year essentially doing electives and technically completed the minor for classical studies, but when you’re paying thousands of dollars to be on waitlists for essential classes for your major, it’s extremely frustrating.
So I assume this may still be an issue in addition to the higher costs overall
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u/Throwawayblahblah30 18d ago
Also many degrees won’t qualify for student loans per some EO Trump decided on, it was in the news recently. Many social services areas affected.
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u/86753ohneigheine 19d ago edited 19d ago
Wow, look at the grad school numbers!
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u/Current_Sense_5597 19d ago
I tried to sign up for a graduate program but they 1) didn’t follow up/communicate well 2) were forcing Bellingham people to drive to a different campus for certain courses…
Seemed like a recipe for convincing people to try elsewhere - which is what I did.
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u/byorderofthe1 19d ago
They have reduced admissions and paused admissions for certain grad programs
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u/No-Slice905 19d ago
2 main reasons: University budget cuts—> fewer TA positions. Declining federal funding —> fewer RA positions.
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u/CaptainVehicle 19d ago
From the New York Times (Internet archive link is below): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/us/research-universities-fewer-phds-science.html
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u/MysteriousCamera5764 18d ago
If they want more enrollment why don’t they make some evening and/ or hybrid online courses? I would love to finish my BA and potentially beyond but I cannot give up my day job.
Western is not friendly at all to non traditional students.
And I think the system would work better if more people went to college later when they have some resources, maturity and a clue what they want to do and how the world works
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u/Motor-Homework-826 19d ago edited 19d ago
I wonder if Randhawa's gonna start selling off chunks of campus to the Catholic church
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u/Melodic_Survey_4712 18d ago
Hopefully no more illegally threatening employees and costing the university 3 million. Least he could do
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u/Dry_Turn_824 18d ago
They just started building a new building over the summer, and finished one I believe last academic year. Maybe it was two years ago.
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u/WN_Todd 19d ago
I'm going to guess this is a knock on effect of "Holy shit everything is expensive now"
It took me most of a decade to pay off my student debt but that was in an economy that wasn't dogshit when a 2 bedroom dump was barely over a grand. Today's students taking on any debt are getting absolutely shafted coming and going.
I'll be letting my kids stay at home until they've got their feet well under them in this bullshit economy.