BOISE, Idaho — Good news for higher education – overall enrollment rates at Boise State University, University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College and Idaho State University increased.
Boise State University the number of first-time resident undergraduates increased by 20% over last fall, which is about 314 students. Overall, total enrollment increased by about 1%.
Nearly 70% of first-time undergraduates started this fall with college credit. Similarly, Dean Kahler, vice provost for enrollment management, said they are seeing a lot of high school students prioritize college.
Kahler said they visited several high schools across the state encouraging high school students to attend college. It worked. U of I’s fall 2022 freshman class is the largest in history – up 17.8%.
“We're really pleased our numbers seem to indicate that the message was heard by them,” he said. “I think students and their families see that it is important that they continue their education.”
He said acknowledging the impact of COVID-19 on secondary education plays a big role in increasing enrollment numbers.
“Students are having different experiences, and we wanted to be able to make be able to accommodate them, and kind of help them with their needs,” Kahler said. “I think our students are seeing that we really are caring for them, and we want them to succeed in their education.”
But Idaho State University is not seeing that same success with its first-year undergraduates. While overall enrollment increased by 1.3%, there was a 6.5% decrease in first-time undergraduate students.
On the other hand, Lewis-Clark State College’s overall full-time enrollment increased by 0.7%. Idaho Education News released a report in 2021 stating Idaho’s public colleges and universities lost more than 5,000 students since the pandemic.
So, while university administrators like Kahler are optimistic looking at this year’s enrollment rates, they also know there is still work to be done.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: