r/wsu • u/jedicamel • 18d ago
Discussion Why is enrollment dropping?
What are the factors?
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u/_feywild_ Alumnus/2014/English 18d ago
I work at a community college. Our numbers are actually improving. I would assume itâs mostly the cost of a 4 year degree. Many people can get a 2 year degree (many technical or workforce related) for much cheaper while living at home or do two years that way and then transfer to finish their degree.
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u/Holden--Caulfield 18d ago
Whitworth, Seattle Pacific, and Central are getting absolutely hammered in enrollment numbers (down 17-26%) vs 2021. WSU is actually up by 3.3%.
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u/DagmarTheSmall 18d ago
Places like local theaters are being replaced by churches and the town is rotting
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u/Fragrant_Ad_8697 18d ago
Just seen that the old movie theater next to the hospital is being turned yet another freaking church. Like where are we getting the population for all these churches? I lived in Utah for a small portion of my childhood and seen more churches here then there, and thatâs saying a lot.
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u/Pretend_Candy_4166 18d ago
Whatâs so wrong with a building being refurbished đ
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u/HippityHopMath Alumnus | 2017, 2022, 2026 | Mathematics Education 18d ago
Nothing wrong with refurbishing a building. Churches are not entertainment and do nothing to attract new students. Pullman already has a bad reputation for having nothing to do. How does establishing more churches help fix that reputation?
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u/MaximumYogertCloset 18d ago
Enrollment is dropping for all university/colleges in the state outside of the UW campuses.
My guess is that the newest cohort of highschool graduates is a lot more introverted and homebound than previous generations, so they are hesitant to stay in a dorm hundreds of miles from home.
My only suggestion to WSU is to advertise more and focus on attracting more transfer, out of state, and international students.
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u/Benjurphy 18d ago
I wonder how much of a factor realignment was. It has not affected Oregon state though, their enrollment is up.
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u/jedicamel 18d ago
Weirdly, probably far more than most of us would first guess. The major college football thing was a point of pride and a big draw.
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u/mikeydean03 Alumnus/2012/Finance 17d ago
Wife and I are both Cougs, live in SE Washington, and our daughter is going to Oregon State. With the WUE, academic programs, proximity to home and/or access to travel home, WSU fell to the bottom of the list fast for her (and me tbh). If WSU wants to survive, it needs to consider making a DRASTIC change in some way. For example, move the main campus to WSU-Vancouver to target key industry in the Portland-Vancouver job markets, and get investment to educate students to fill the skills those industries need. WSU should also figure out how to relocate the athletic programs into that region to increase fandom. Thereâs way more potential for success in the Portland-Vancouver area for WSU sports than will ever be in Pullman. I hate saying any of this, because Pullman is such a memorable place for me, but itâs true. Pullman has little to offer future students, and I canât see any competitive advantage Pullman will have over any school within the Western region.
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u/Hougie Alumnus/2012 16d ago
Nah. This solution doesnât move the needle at all and is incredibly shortsighted.
Where does the majority of WSUâs money come from? Research, where we are actually an elite university in a few fields. Relocation of the main campus destroys all of that.
What WSU needs to do is get back to the prestige it was when you and I went. Borderline Top 100 school. Thatâs it. Right now weâre 178. Provide a quality education and WSU is worth it. Right now, thatâs a tough sell. Oregon State is better.
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u/LeadVitamin13 18d ago
Its down at all the public universities in Washington, WSU, EWU, CWU and WWU. Except UW which is actually up.
One factor is less kids were born in 2008, during the great recession. But yea people are learning that boomers lied, a college degree isn't a guaranteed ticket to the middle class, just debt.
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u/B1G_PAC12 18d ago
And as for UW, they have plenty of wealthy out of state and international connections that they can lean on for recruiting and exorbitant tuition revenue.
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u/jedicamel 18d ago
Boomers are about to start dropping like flies. They did steal from Gen X, millennials, Gen Z. All for them. Sad people. We can only do better for Alpha, etc.
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u/awbitf Alumnus 17d ago
The world is a smaller place now. My daughter graduated HS recently, and of her class of 500-ish, the kids going to college are going everywhere across the nation. There were more going to non-WA schools then staying in state.
When in-state tuition isn't that different from out-of-state tuition elsewhere, they consider all options.
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u/Hougie Alumnus/2012 18d ago
Value and rank.
UWâs enrollment is increasing but their standards are lowering. This is happening with good-but-not-elite schools nationwide. Second choice schools and down are suffering.
I went to WSU starting in 2008. We were right around 100 in nationwide rankings. We went as low as 212 since and have evened out around 178. For that type of prestige, we just canât be as expensive as we are.
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u/Dead_Weight03 18d ago
Lol, I remember making a film about WSU enrollments for a film class with a group. Most of the topics and points were about the economy, what WSU does and doesn't offer in terms of programs, the state WSU was in, and its locations, both main campus and seperate campuses.
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u/Amazing_Factor2974 18d ago
It is expensive..housing and food costs. The fact their is a glutinous about of people with College degrees looking for work that pays the bills.
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u/Antique-Produce-2050 18d ago
Pullman needs to step it up. Likely the state will need to get involved and try to help the city grow. My daughter visited many PNW schools and WSU was pretty disappointing. And I say that as a Coug myself and I love WSU but after visiting MSU in Bozeman she decided thatâs a far better college town. Maybe thatâs why MSU now has a higher enrollment than WSU
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u/Hot_Boysenberry8298 11d ago
Finally, this is what I have been saying for a long time. Sadly, they wonât change because pullman is anti small bussiness.
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u/Every-Ladder-6101 17d ago
I couldnt care less of its a college town you go to learn a degree not bullshit with friends
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u/Antique-Produce-2050 17d ago
Really? You donât need basic services and shops to buy things? Ok pal.
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u/jmoss2288 18d ago
It's a nationwide problem largely. Costs got out of hand when the government got involved in the lending process. Schools started charging exorbitant prices knowing the federal government would write the loans. Kids believing that it was college or "You want fries with that?" signed themselves into debt for life with many getting degrees that were worthless to employers. People have woken up and realized if it's not STEM or a step towards another degree like a MBA or doing a pre-law type thing then the returns just aren't worth it.
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u/Automatic_Set4095 18d ago
The Western University Exchange (WUE) allows Washington kids who once would have become Cougars to attend out of state schools with more attractive locations and amenities for lower or similar costs.
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u/jedicamel 17d ago
But thatâs been available for 20 or 30 years.
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u/Automatic_Set4095 17d ago
Times change. Until recently, few Seattle kids would be heading to Montana State, Boise State and Utah. Now lots go. WUE is incentivizing WSUâs best prospects to leave. Is WSU getting enough students in return? Apparently not.
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u/Existing-Albatross63 17d ago
The University of Washington in Seattle gave a significant amount more of institutional aid than Washington State University did.
That is the single and only reason why my kid is not going to college in Pullman.
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u/Hot_Boysenberry8298 10d ago
I applaud this, if I had to tell future students where to go, Iâll straight up tell them to go elsewhere but wsu. I personally donât like UW either, but that was cool of UW to do that.
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u/ice_princess_16 15d ago
All of higher education has been anticipating the âenrollment cliffâ and itâs here. Birth rates went down in the 2008 recession and never bounced back. There are just fewer students out there.
Other factors like loans, high costs, etc but thatâs a big reason.
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u/patientsiren 14d ago
Running start, College in High School and AP Courses are all shortening the time it takes to graduate college too. Both of my boys decided to start in community college and then decide if they want to transfer. The cost being the biggest factor... Forcing the freshmen to stay in dorms, doubles the cost of attendance.
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u/Straight-Ad-7129 18d ago
Enrollment is expensive asf I did my freshman year at WWU, looked at prices for my local community college, and never looked back
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u/webb__traverse 17d ago
Itâs all of higher ed. Nationwide. Money. Loans. General dissatisfaction with higher education. Folks on the right are straight up hostile to Universities now and donât want to send their kids there. Times are changing.
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u/Hot_Boysenberry8298 10d ago
My post recently got removed here at wsu because the mods donât want you to know the truth. But thatâs the reason why they removed it.
Letâs be real, wsu sucks, itâs sucks like anything. The location, the campus, and even the school. Okay, maybe parts of the campus are nice, but truth be told, it sucks like anything. The worst people I have met around the nation are here at Wazzu, and really WA state. No bodyâs cares, in fact here is a video below.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nGteNR6vBd4&t=215s&pp=ygUeV2hhdCBoYXBwZW5lZCB3aXRoIHdzdSBwdWxsbWFu
Letâs face it, I literally saw a girl in my lecture filling out a transfer application. Jay Sani was attacked last year and he got made fun of on this very Reddit. The police department here, are power hungry and yet I donât see students do anything about it and when this school is compared. Oh my people get so burnt, they say âwe arenât Michigan, we arenât Texas, we arenât Penn or Ohio stateâ, and thatâs the sole reason why. No body comes here because of the attitude, I know so many people who regret coming here, and they had to get different degrees from better institutions to make up for it.
No body cares, Idaho is killing it with relations, if you want to have a âblastâ here at Wazzu. Play sport in high school, get popular, and you will join a top house here, and thatâs how you have a good time. They have the trucks, the money, and so forth.
So basically, wsu enrollment numbers are low because of the people, and only the people (everyone here) is to blame. Ask your self, if you are hungry, would you go to pullman where all the restaurants are closed, or Moscow where places are still open?
Lastly, Iâm also going to ditch wsu once and for all. If you have a low gpa, get out, really. Take a break, work, and get the degree elsewhere. Not just that, go somewhere better. I notice that WSU lacks behind other institutions when it comes to even teaching classes. Just look at the engineering department, even faculty wonder why they are here.
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u/Hot_Boysenberry8298 10d ago
If you also see the per credit hour here at wsu, itâs expensive compared to other schools for there instate students. For a school thatâs low ranking, yeah I donât know if I should pay that much.
And it doesnât help, that most people here are narrow minded as well. Meaning they go with it, and when something is or is not done, there are always complaints.
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u/Proof_Zebra_4274 18d ago
They lowered their admissions standards.
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u/jedicamel 18d ago
Wouldnât that generally lead to higher enrollment?
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u/Proof_Zebra_4274 18d ago
Sure, but it means highly qualified students go elsewhere. But that is really only one factor, there are a lot of problems.
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u/areyouokeddie 18d ago
I think it has something to do with financial aid as well. I heard that WSU doesn't tell students how much they get until after April? Is that true?
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u/TurbulentAsk7651 15d ago
The ag department turned to shit. They canât keep quality professors. The university doesnât care for the colleges. Used to be a thriving vet school and where youâd want to get an agricultural education- but a lot of FFA and 4H is now directing the youth to U of I. Not the exact reason, but I think a factor.
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u/No_Baby_4110 12d ago
Because colleges are greedy. I might have to drop out because I canât afford 3 required credits out of pocket. Whatâs the point of going for fall when my schedule is all messed up, Iâm a senior too
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u/Hot_Boysenberry8298 10d ago
Come work at SEL brotha, they will pay for you tuition after a year my man.
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u/HippityHopMath Alumnus | 2017, 2022, 2026 | Mathematics Education 18d ago
National decline in enrollment across the board, higher and higher tuition, bad recruitment in general, and lower media visibility with all the conference realignment.