Southwestern Pennsylvania’s small colleges are hurting.
An analysis by the Post-Gazette found that over four-fifths of small, private institutions in the region experienced overall enrollment declines between fall 2013 and fall 2022.
Of the private schools that have experienced enrollment drops, some lost just small fractions of their student bodies.
Others have watched upward of 37% of their student bodies diminish over the past decade.
Enrollment challenges have also hit Penn State’s regional commonwealth campuses and the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus, where enrollments fell anywhere between 21% and 50% in a decade.
Institutions with enrollments of under 5,000 total students were included in the analysis. Colleges’ fall 2022 numbers were analyzed, as the Department of Education has yet to release fall 2023 enrollment data, and most of the schools have not individually released these data.
While small colleges that are selective and have reasonable endowments can likely weather challenges, other schools are at risk — particularly those with a larger share of first-generation students and Pell Grant recipients, said Joni Finney, an education consultant and the former director of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research on Higher Education.
Ms. Finney believes that, to attract more students, institutions need to “show the public” that their educational opportunities are worth it. In part, this can be completed through student and community cooperation, she said.
“Small institutions can revitalize the local communities around them,” Ms. Finney said. “[They should put] students in positions at different companies and have them [complete] internships, or [offer] structured internships on campus through student work.”
As small colleges navigate an ever-changing higher education landscape, it could be key for many of these institutions to rethink and reform the ways that they recruit students.
Which schools have seen enrollment decreases?
Of 13 small, private colleges and universities in the region, only two saw their overall enrollments increase between fall 2013 and fall 2022.
Those universities were Chatham University, which had a 10% enrollment increase during that time frame (from 2,170 students to 2,387), and La Roche University, which saw a 40% spike (from 1,481 students to 2,068).
Both of those schools underwent transformational changes in the 2010s. Chatham, a former women’s college, began enrolling men in 2015, while La Roche achieved university status in 2019. That helped the Catholic school support a growing student population and new academic programs, university officials said at the time.
The remaining 11 colleges and universities saw their student populations fall during that decade.
While some enrollments dwindled moderately, others plummeted.
Waynesburg University, Robert Morris University and Allegheny College experienced the most dramatic declines: Each saw their student populations fall about 37%.
Robert Morris had over 5,400 students in fall 2013. In fall 2022, it enrolled 3,431 students, according to Department of Education data.
Meanwhile, Waynesburg saw its student population fall from nearly 2,200 students to 1,366, and Allegheny College’s enrollment dropped from over 2,100 students to 1,353.
Other enrollment declines occurred at Geneva College (33% enrollment decrease between 2013 and 2022), Carlow University (30% decrease), Seton Hill University (16% decrease), Saint Vincent College (15% decrease), Point Park University (14% decrease), Washington & Jefferson College (13% decrease), Westminster College (11% decrease) and Grove City College (7% decrease).
It’s worth noting that enrollment at Carlow and Grove City remained stable over the last five years. Carlow’s enrollment increased slightly, by 1%, from 2,076 students to 2,104 in fall 2022. The Catholic university reported an enrollment uptick in the fall with over 2,300 total students.
Grove City’s enrollment decreased slightly, by 0.9%, in five years. The Christian college enrolled 2,338 students in fall 2018 and 2,316 in fall 2022.
Enrollment declines are also occurring at local Penn State commonwealth campuses and the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus.
Penn State Shenango and Penn State Fayette watched their enrollments drop by about half during the 2013-22 time frame. Shenango enrolled 281 students in fall 2022, while Fayette enrolled 424. (Shenango did see an 18% increase in students in fall 2023, for a total of 332 students.)
Other commonwealth campus enrollment declines were 42% at Penn State Greater Allegheny (363 students enrolled in fall 2022), 32% at Penn State New Kensington (460 students enrolled) and 26% at Penn State Beaver (522 students enrolled).
At Pitt-Greensburg, enrollment fell 21% between 2013 and 2022, from 1,677 students to 1,328.
How can these colleges attract more students?
Experts have attributed these enrollment drops to a variety of factors, including rising tuition costs, dwindling trust in higher education and a drop in the college-aged population in Northeastern states.
A looming demographic cliff exacerbates concerns for both private and public institutions. The number of traditional-age college students is expected to peak by 2026, and then steeply decline. In Pennsylvania, the share of younger residents has already diminished faster than 46 other states.
Because of this, attracting older students could be key for these institutions. A January report by National Student Clearinghouse in part attributed nationwide increases in fall 2023 freshman enrollment to a 6% boost in freshmen aged 21 or older.
Jennifer Causey, a senior research associate with National Student Clearinghouse, said that, based on these data, schools might want to consider targeting older students through methods like revamping pipelines from community colleges to four-year institutions.
“Could [colleges] be working more closely with local community colleges to improve transfer pipelines? How can [colleges] make transfer pipelines more efficient in order to help ease that process?” Ms. Causey said. “It's not necessarily trying to go and grab older students per se.Technically you are, but it's not as if you're just trying to grab them from the freshman standpoint.”
That National Student Clearinghouse report also found that, nationally, enrollment at private, nonprofit colleges and universities increased slightly, by 0.6%, between 2022 and 2023. Those data accounted for both large and small institutions.
But in the Keystone State, enrollment at all private, nonprofit institutions slightly decreased, with a 0.1% decline in students.
“This growth is more of a national trend,” Ms. Causey said. “Pennsylvania is seeing a little bit of a slightly different story.”
To maintain the health of private colleges and universities, Barbara Mistick, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said it’s important to ensure these schools are affordable.
NAICU, which has over 1,000 institution members, works to ensure aid is directed toward students, rather than institutions, so students can choose the “best institution” for them, Ms. Mistick said.
And, from a recruitment perspective, Ms. Mistick believes it’s important for small schools to differentiate themselves from other institutions. That could mitigate environmental challenges like the demographic cliff, she said.
“The institutions that I see that are successful have a very well-defined mission and they have a very well-defined market,” Ms. Mistick said. “They know what they're good at, they recruit students that are interested in those subjects and they recruit broadly.”
First Published: March 17, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 18, 2024, 3:54 p.m.
