College enrollment slide is finally letting up. What’s driving the change in Tri-Cities

A large crop of new college students are driving overall enrollment increases at Tri-Cities campuses this fall.

For the first time since 2017, overall enrollment at Washington State University Tri-Cities grew.

And Columbia Basin College’s first-day headcount showed 13% more students in attendance.

The promising numbers could be a sign that enrollment trends at local post-secondary institutions are finally readjusting after students postponed college during the COVID pandemic in favor of working in the hot job market.

A nationwide decline in college enrollment has slowed, according to a spring estimate from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, and the trend has been driven by new university freshmen and young students seeking dual enrollment to earn high school credit.

Still, enrollment across the board remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Classes at WSU Tri-Cities and Heritage University started Aug. 21, while CBC classes began this week.

CBC sees double-digit bump

Columbia Basin College is seeing a double-digit increase in fall enrollment.

That’s according to a rough first-day tally the college reported Monday, which showed 5,362 full-time students enrolled.

The 13% increase comes out to 604 more students taking classes compared to the same week last year.

“We could not be more excited to see our campus come alive with students,” CBC President Rebekah Woods said in a statement. “The continued increase in enrollment over the last two years and this year is encouraging. We are looking to be back on track with pre-COVID enrollment.”

Like other colleges, CBC will officially report their fall enrollment numbers on the 10th day of classes, after most students have finalized their schedule for the rest of the quarter.

CBC is getting close to the enrollment it saw prior to the pandemic, but it’s not quite there yet.

Similar to last year, the community college expects an additional 200 full-time students will enroll later this quarter for apprenticeships and for the college’s transitional studies program, which offers students pre-college and English language instruction, said Elizabeth Burtner, assistant vice president for communications and external relations.

A year ago, the college reported an official year-over-year increase of about 5% with 6,934 full-time and part-time students enrolled. The highest fall enrollment seen in recent years was in fall 2019, when there were 8,070 students.

The last day for CBC students to withdraw from a class and receive a 100% refund is Sept. 29. The final day of the fall quarter is Dec. 7.

WSU Tri-Cities breaks 5-year enrollment slump

WSU Tri-Cities grew by 0.8% this year compared to last fall’s enrollment.

The increase breaks a five-year enrollment slump at the Richland branch.

Fresh faces were the driver. First-year students grew by 26% this fall. New transfers are up by nearly 7%, and the number of new master’s and doctoral students rose 7%.

Retention of students from last year dipped, but the university did not cite any figures. The university has not yet publicly released its fall data on its website.

“The increases in new first-year and transfer students this fall is exciting — you can feel a new energy on campus,” said WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes in a statement. “I am confident in our momentum moving forward, especially as we intentionally develop programs to meet students’ needs.”

Tri-Cities saw the highest increase of all WSU campuses in first-year and transfer student enrollment.

That’s thanks, in part, to the Richland campus’ new director of admissions, Jamie Owens, said officials. The position had been vacant for several years before the university filled it last year.

Owens said the campus used technology to retain and attract prospective students. They also held more on-campus events, which gave students the opportunity to correct any admissions or financial aid roadblocks.

WSU and other public universities — including University of Washington and Eastern Washington University — also dropped their requirement for a COVID-19 vaccine for in-person students earlier this year.

But across all WSU campuses, the university’s fall enrollment fell by about 3.8%.

It’s the fourth consecutive year of declining total enrollment for the university, which teaches more than 26,000 students across six different campuses.

About half of all WSU Tri-Cities students are students of color or first-generation college students.

WSU’s fall semester ends Dec. 15.

Heritage University up 6% at CBC site

Enrollment at Heritage University’s CBC site is up 6% with a total 100 juniors and seniors taking classes there, said David Wise, vice president of marketing and communications.

“We’re encouraged by what we’re seeing now and we do fully anticipate we’ll be on an upswing for years to come as students continue their education from CBC and on to Heritage,” Wise said.

Students who earn their associate’s degree from CBC can move on to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree from Heritage at the Pasco campus. The site offers five undergraduate programs (criminal justice, education, psychology, accounting and social work) and one graduate program (teaching).

The Toppenish-based, four-year university also opened a new campus this fall in downtown Kennewick at the former Tri-City Herald building to serve freshman and sophomore students.

Wise said they have 10 freshmen taking classes there. They expect to see that figure rise in the spring and next fall.