CASPER, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming said on Monday that a total of 11,479 students were enrolled at the university as of September 15, a 3% drop from fall 2020 enrollment numbers.
UW said that the biggest decline is among nonresident student enrollment numbers. 3,644 students from out of Wyoming are attending UW this fall, 200 less than in fall 2020.
UW Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Kyle Moore said in UW’s release that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely behind the drop in nonresident enrollment numbers.
“Across the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused many students to stay closer to home to start their college experience,” Moore said. “It also has resulted in large decreases in community college enrollments in Wyoming and nationwide, which impacts transfer numbers.”
“The pandemic seriously hampered our ability last year to do face-to-face recruiting out of state and bring nonresidents in for campus visits, and that is reflected in our current numbers. We’re redoubling our efforts to recruit students from outside the state while still making recruitment of Wyoming students our No. 1 priority.”
While overall enrollment is down, UW said that it has seen a rise in the number of first-time students enrolling.
“Some 909 students from Wyoming have enrolled in the state’s university for the first time, up from 815 the year before and topping the pre-pandemic number of 902 in fall 2019,” UW said. “As a result, the total number of first-time students this semester has grown to 1,477 from 1,424 last year.”
Moore said that UW sees the increase in first-time student enrollment as a “sign that we are on our way to recovering from the losses incurred by higher education institutions nationwide.”
“After we enrolled the two largest freshman classes in UW’s history in 2018 and 2019, the financial and other uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been impactful and significant,” Moore said. “We’re working hard to rebound as quickly as possible.”
While first-time student enrollment is up overall, first-time enrollment of nonresident students is down 6.7% compared with 2020. One area where nonresident enrollment is up is among transfer students, increasing 12.6%.
UW said that enrollment is up 4.9% among graduate and professional students. Moore said that marketing and recruitment efforts are likely behind these increases.
UW said it reports enrollment numbers as of September 15 because that date falls after the deadline to drop or add classes and comes after the first tuition and fee payments are due.
“For additional information or questions about UW enrollment, call Moore at (307) 766-4286 or email kyle.moore@uwyo.edu,” UW said. Students interested in scheduling campus visits should call UW Admissions at 800-DIAL-WYO or go online at www.uwyo.edu/visit.”
