Fueled by online classes, Arizona’s public universities tally record enrollment in 2023
Arizona’s public universities saw their highest enrollment numbers in the schools' history this semester, led primarily by growth in online programs.
The new enrollment numbers, presented to the Arizona Board of Regents earlier this month, show shifting demographics suggesting Arizona's student body is becoming older and more racially diverse. While universities across the country are seeing rises in enrollment as well, Arizona's public schools still outpace them, according to the 2024 regents' report.
The regents said they are putting particular focus on the topic in order to support the state's financial well-being. Arizona needs 26,300 more people with bachelor’s degrees annually to support its economy, according to the report.
There was a 14% enrollment increase across the three-school system this year, for a total of 251,194 students. Both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona saw an enrollment increase while Northern Arizona University's stayed mostly unchanged after it had fallen by more than 10% since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Substantial growth among online students
Much of the 2024 report, as presented by ABOR Chief Academic Officer Andrew Comrie, focused on changes to enrollment brought by the University of Arizona’s new online school. The University of Arizona Global Campus makes up about 10% of the entire system's numbers after UA acquired the school in 2020.
The number of online students in Arizona's public university system has nearly doubled over the last five years, making it the most online public university system, Comrie said. In comparison, there was only a 4% increase in in-person enrollment over that same time frame.
“Virtually all of the substantive growth in the system is in online students,” Comrie said.
The UAGC program serves more than 24,000 students who are primarily out-of-state and older than the average Arizona college student. In addition, the school's enrollment has more students from underrepresented groups, such as Black and Hispanic students.
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The growth in enrollment comes as UA grapples with what some board members described as a "financial crisis" resulting in impending cash flow issues. The development puts pressure on university leaders to make spending cuts that could affect university employees and the school’s future guaranteed tuition program.
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Varying numbers of out-of-state students
Over the several years, Arizona has attracted more out-of-state students, a meaningful change for funding, Comrie said.
“Out-of-state enrollment is an especially important revenue source for Arizona’s public universities,” Comrie said.
Over the last five years, the number of out-of-state students increased by nearly 60%. ASU and UA’s enrollments are primarily out-of-state students, with 59% and 64% respectively. Such students only make up roughly a third of NAU's student body.
Arizona students becoming older, more racially diverse
Among public Arizona universities, the portion of older students and students from underrepresented groups has grown since 2020.
The number of students over the age of 25 grew by 50% compared with 17% among younger students. And the number of underrepresented students grew by 40% compared with 16% growth across the entire student body.
The number of international students attending public universities in Arizona has rebounded somewhat since a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. While ASU had 3,000 more international students over the last five years, international enrollment at NAU and UA dropped slightly.
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Helen Rummel is a reporter for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona’s public universities reach enrollment high water mark in 2023
