A decline in enrollment at Utah State University Eastern has administrators concerned, but not alarmed. The numbers have come to light in the wake of published reports of a dramatic drop in enrollment at colleges and universities around the state. Some reports noted a drop of more than 25 percent in student enrollment at USU Eastern between fall and spring semesters. But Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Greg Dart said the figures should be looked at from one year to the next to get a fair comparison.
Dart said in comparing spring semester 2016 to spring semester 2017, total enrollment at both the Price and Blanding campuses declined by 79 students, going from 1,820 to 1,741 for a four percent decline. He pointed out, “If you look across the state and really across the nation, fall enrollment is always higher than spring enrollment and that’s even more in the State of Utah.” He noted there is more student movement in Utah because of things like LDS missions and military enlistments. “And so when we look at numbers we compare fall to the previous fall, spring to the previous spring. If we look at summer compared to spring, we would say, ‘we lost all these students,’ because our summer enrollment is significantly lower than any other semester,” he explained.
Work or school?
Chancellor Joe Peterson said the college enrollment trend in Utah is counter-cyclical. That is, it goes opposite of the economy. About half the students enrolled at USU Eastern come from the Wasatch Front, and if the economy is flat they naturally turn to education. But with the current vibrant economy there, it’s hard to attract students. “When there are lots of opportunities and the workforce demand is just booming, we have an enrollment decline because we’re competing against work opportunities,” he observed.
Chancellor Peterson said despite some negative perceptions about Carbon County, he is hearing a lot of positive comments as he travels around the state, which helps with recruitment and enrollment efforts. He said there are also a lot of legacy students who have grown up hearing good things about the college and have made it their choice for higher education.
The cost of tuition at USU Eastern is also a positive. It’s not the lowest in the state, but is essentially tied with Snow College in Ephraim. Resident tuition and fees at Snow College for 15 credits total $1,796.00. At USU Eastern it’s $1,797.28- one dollar and 28 cents higher. That compares to $3,432.79 at USU in Logan, and $4,258.84 at the University of Utah, which is the highest in the state.
Tuition will increase by five percent at all Utah colleges and universities next year.