Enrollment at UND rises again; systemwide enrollment is up, too
Sep. 22—GRAND FORKS — Enrollment this fall at UND has surpassed 14,000, riding an increase of a little more than 2% from last year's fall semester.
UND's headcount is the largest of all of the state's 11 higher-education institutions, with North Dakota State University second, at 11,952 students. Altogether, enrollment is up 1.6% at North Dakota's state-run colleges and universities.
At UND, enrollment is 14,172, up 296 students in a year-over-year comparison. It's the fourth straight year of growth, rising from 13,581 in 2019.
Over the previous five years, UND's fall enrollment was:
* 2022: 13,876
* 2021: 13,772
* 2020: 13,615
* 2019: 13,581
* 2018: 13,847
A UND news report said it's the "strongest growth — in both absolute terms and percentage figures — in more than 10 years" and that it bucks a national trend. The report cites National Student Clearinghouse Research Center numbers that show undergraduate enrollment nationwide fell 7% from spring 2019 to spring 2023.
A number of national news reports also have outlined the national declines, including one published in March by Forbes.
"What first looked like a pandemic blip has turned into a crisis," Forbes reported.
In the UND release, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Eric Link said it appears UND is standing out to prospective new students.
"In a time when higher education enrollment has been declining nationally, more students are seeing UND as a place of educational excellence, one that features a vibrant and meaningful community with rewarding student life experiences and a caring and engaged faculty and staff," he said.
Elsewhere in North Dakota, four other universities also saw fall enrollment increases, including Bismarck State College (4,065 students, up 988 from last year); Dakota College at Bottineau (1,180) students, up 100 from last year); Lake Region State College (1,810 students, up 131 from last year) and Valley City State (1,754 students, up 96 from last year).
Institutions that saw decreases were North Dakota State (11,952 students, down 290 from last year); Minot State (2,741 students, down 36 from last year); Mayville State (1,048 students, down 75 from last year); Dickinson State (1,453 students, down 20 from last year) and Williston State College (912 students, down 12 from last year).
Overall, the North Dakota University System is at 44,227 students, up 682 students from a year ago.
NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott told the Grand Forks Herald that he's pleased with the increase. He attributes the rise to work being done on the state's campuses.
"I am proud of the work our 11 campuses and their respective presidents have been doing to provide higher education programs that meet workforce and student demands in our state," he said. "This is the third year of being above national enrollment averages and systemwide, the second year of overall growth in enrollment."
