Cleveland State University’s enrollment decline has finally halted this year with a small increase from the 2023-24 school year, the university reported Thursday.
CSU’s enrollment is up by about 35 students, to 14,210 students; that number is still about a thousand less from what it was four years ago, and 3,000 less than it was in 2010. But the university in a statement said its transfers and first-year students are up.
“We are CSU, proudly serving as the link between our students and our community partners,” Cleveland State President Laura Bloomberg said in the statement. “The majority of CSU grads stay in our region and become significant contributors to Northeast Ohio’s economy and major industries. They strengthen our communities. The rise in our first-year and transfer student enrollment, along with growth in our online graduate programs, reflect Cleveland State’s ongoing commitment to providing excellent learning opportunities for all students, no matter where they are in their respective educational journeys.”
The university said studio art, film and media arts, psychology, chemical engineering and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College programs saw "substantial" increases in enrollment, along with online class enrollment.
Elsewhere in Northeast Ohio, Baldwin Wallace University reported its overall enrollment was down just nine students compared to the start of the previous school year, with 3,318 students, but its undergraduate enrollment was up by a little less than 50 students. The decline was largely driven by a decrease in graduate students, the college reported on Wednesday. BW's enrollment is also down by about 1,000 students compared to about a decade and a half ago.
"BW now has the highest full-time undergraduate enrollment since 2019, when pre-pandemic full-time undergraduate enrollment was almost exactly the same as it is today. That full-time undergraduate growth is unusual in our market!" Scott Schulz, vice president for enrollment management, said in a statement.
Both Baldwin Wallace and Cleveland State announced job cuts earlier in 2024, with colleges and universities across the country contending with a long-term slide of enrollment that has just started to stabilize in the last two years, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Elsewhere in Northeast Ohio, Notre Dame College in South Euclid closed outright earlier this year and Eastern Gateway Community College in Youngstown and Steubenville will close its doors permanently Oct. 31 after its final students complete their studies.
Colleges and universities in Ohio are required to report their enrollments to the state by the 15th day of their fall semester. Ideastream Public Media will have additional reporting on those numbers as the information is released over the coming weeks.
