Nationally, undergraduate enrollment declined in fall 2022

by Alivia Ogle

News Editor

State colleges in northwest Arkansas increased enrollment significantly for the fall semester in a departure from some national enrollment trends in 2022.

 NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s unofficial fall enrollment jumped more than 10%. The college announced an unofficial fall 2022 credit enrollment of 7,839, according to a news release from Liz Kapsner, associate director of communications at NWACC. That figure was up 10.7% from the fall 2021 number of 7,037. The news release also incorporated figures from enrollment in industry and workforce classes and the adult education program. Those additions brought the total number enrolled to 9,475 students. 

The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville posted a record enrollment of 30,936 students, an 8.3% increase over the previous academic year. Other state institutions saw mixed results. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock reported an enrollment decrease of nearly 3% compared to last year, according to reporting from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The University of Arkansas, Fort Smith reported a 1.6% dip in fall enrollment, from 5,447 last fall to 5,360 this year. Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas reported a 1.5% increase in students this fall, adding 10 students to last fall’s enrollment of 663.

Nationwide, undergraduate enrollment continued to decline by 1.1% in fall 2022 compared to 2021, but the decline has slowed to pre-pandemic rates, according to research by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

The NWACC enrollment approaching 8,000 represents a big increase from the early days of the community college.

Known at the time as the “college without walls,” NWACC started with holding classes in rented facilities in Benton and Washington counties with more than 1,200 students enrolled for fall semester of 1990, according to NWACC’s website. Five years later the first permanent building was created later and opened its doors to more than 2,400 students in August of 1995. It was first called the Central Education Facility, but later named Burns Hall after the first NWACC president, Bob Burns.

Becky Paneitz was the institution’s second president and early in her tenure, 2003, the college’s student enrollment was 4,915. During her time, a Student Center and Center for Health Professions were added. The enrollment during the final academic year of her presidency registered 8,341 students in 2012 fall semester. 

Evelyn Jorgenson became NWACC’s third president in 2013 and in 2016, NWACC became the largest community college in the state. The Integrated Design Lab opened in 2019. In that fall, academic enrollment was 8,383.

In an article from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 2020 enrollment dropped 12% because of COVID and 2021 dropped 6.6% with 7,081 students. 

In 2021, NWACC’s most popular areas of study were business and health professions, according to the NWACC Fact Book for 2021-22.

The Integrated Design Lab opened in 2019 with 8,383 students, according to the Fact Book. In 2020, the global pandemic sent college instruction nationwide to remote learning.

An article from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette notes that 2020 enrollment dropped 12% because of COVID and 2021 enrollment dropped 6.6%. That was similar to some of the trends nationwide. Nearly 1.3 million students disappeared from American colleges during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Justin White, NWACC vice president of student services, discussed steps the college took during the semesters when COVID was a significant concern. 

 “Throughout the pandemic,” White said, “NWACC prioritized the health and safety of students, faculty and staff by adjusting course modalities, offering flexible options to connect to student services, and installing a state-of-the-art air filtration system.” He added, “We believe these factors have assured and encouraged students to reconnect with the community college that has always been here for them.”

NWACC and other schools have adjusted how students take courses to work around student schedules and offer additional distance learning opportunities. 

Delaney Reaves took classes at NWACC during COVID and said the adjustments made it a challenge to be social and be around people as much because of the immediate change to distance learning.

 “Going completely virtual was an adjustment; now it is a very big thing to say I can do this online and this in person,” says Delaney Reaves, Liberal Arts and Sciences. This fall semester is her second year at NWACC, and she is taking three in-person classes and one online class and says now it feels as if she is taking college all over again.

“NWACC faculty and staff continue to ensure that there is truly a place for everyone at NWACC by meeting them where they are, and successfully helping them reach their higher education goals,” White said.

Also in the region, Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, had an increase of 1.12% in fall 2022 student enrollment, which was more than 4,000 students counted on Sept. 14. Crowder College’s President, Katricia Pierson, expressed the encouragement and excitement student enrollment increase made. 

“It is encouraging to see enrollment increasing with todays environment,” said Pierson, “the efforts made by our staff and faculty to create a valuable education while maintaining academic standards is demonstrated through the success of our students as they transfer to the universities or enter the workforce.”

Data provided by NWACC.