Oregon colleges see enrollment growth, but smaller schools struggle to attract students

Nearly four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, many smaller universities and colleges are still feeling the impact.

During the pandemic, enrollment numbers dropped nationwide for higher education institutions, but numbers are trending upwards once again, with some private universities seeing even higher enrollment compared to before.

In Oregon, enrollment is still a mixed bag.

Larger universities like the University of Oregon and Oregon State University have made gains in enrollment, despite a drop during the height of the pandemic. Both schools reported higher enrollments in 2022 than in 2019, with OSU reporting a record-high enrollment number.

Other public universities are still struggling. Portland State University, Western Oregon University, Eastern Oregon University and Southern Oregon University have not yet seen full enrollment recovery compared to 2019.

Bushnell University

Bushnell University, a private Christian university in Eugene, announced its enrollment populations for the 2023-24 academic year.

The school boasted a graduate student enrollment of 223 and an undergraduate enrollment of 403.

In fall 2022, graduate enrollment was 190 and undergraduate was 395. Pre-pandemic in 2019-20, Bushnell enrolled 213 graduate students and 376 undergrads.

Linfield University

Linfield University, a private college with campuses in McMinville and Portland, has had fluctuating numbers over the past few years.

For 2023, Linfield's preliminary enrollment count totaled 1,726 students − 1,672 undergrads and 55 graduate students.

In fall 2022, Linfield reported 1,754 total students − 1,704 undergrads and 50 graduate students.

The 2021 numbers, 1,798 students − 1,762 undergrads and 36 graduate students, was a high for the school in the past five years.

While there's been some enrollment fluctuation post-pandemic, Linfield has seen a clear upward trend in enrollment overall. In 2019, the school reported 1,414 students and in 2018 it had 1,376.

Willamette University

Some schools have not seen a bounce back to pre-pandemic numbers.

Willamette University, a private college with campuses in Salem and Portland, had seen a decline in enrollment that began prior to COVID-19. While the Salem campus averaged just under 3,000 students during the 2010s, it saw its first dip in enrollment in 2018.

By 2019, their Salem campus enrollment was at 2,265, and the school took a major hit in fall 2020 as enrollment dropped to 1,865.

Willamette's enrollment has been making a comeback, reporting a preliminary count of 2,074 students − 1,524 undergrads and 477 graduates − for the 2023 fall term. This is an increase from its 2022 enrollment of 1,915 − 1,367 undergrads and 548 graduate students.

Lane Community College

Even pre-COVID, Lane Community College's enrollment had been on the decline, with credit enrollment reaching nearly 20,000 students in the early 2010s and dropping to just over 10,000 by fall 2019.

LCC reported enrollment numbers decreased by almost 35% during the pandemic, and the institution is just beginning to see signs of recovery.

However, the school this term has seen the most significant enrollment increase in more than a decade.

Credit students − not including CollegeNow credit − enrollment was 10,520 in fall 2019. Fall numbers dropped to 6,790 in 2020, then 6,103 in 2021 and rose slightly to 6,124 in 2022.

Preliminary enrollment for fall 2023 is 6,518, but is likely to fluctuate before the end of the term.

Umpqua Community College

Although enrollment has not been released for the fall 2023 term for Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, past years have shown a steady upward trend.

In fall 2022, UCC reported 2,325 undergraduate students. This was the college's highest enrollment since 2012.

Overall, UCC's enrollment has been on the rise after a small drop in enrollment from 2,284 students in 2019 to 2,140 students in 2020. In 2021, UCC reported 2,236 students.

Chemeketa Community College

Similarly to many Oregon community colleges, Chemeketa Community College in Salem has been seeing enrollment declines for the past decade.

In fall 2022, CCC reported 9,462 undergraduate students.

CCC's enrollment has remained fairly steady since 2020, in the 9,000-10,000 range, according to Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission reports. This came after a 2,000-student drop from 11,869 in 2019.

Preliminary fall 2023 enrollment numbers show a dip in students to 8,924 students. CCC stated that they expect enrollment to go up as the year goes on.

Linn-Benton Community College

Linn-Benton Community College in Albany is also still working towards recovery.

Based on preliminary numbers for fall 2023, the total headcount is 5,037 students, including 1,145 full-time equivalent students. These numbers may change as the add/drop course period is still ongoing.

However, LBCC stated that this was a 10% increase in FTE enrollment from 2022.

According to reports from the HECC, LBCC had a headcount of 8,303 students in 2019.

"We are optimistic with this growth as fall 2022 and fall 2021 were essentially flat," LBCC stated in an email. "LBCC's overall enrollment has not fully recovered from the pre-pandemic numbers, however, so while this 10% is positive, we are still hoping to recruit and grow our student population."

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon private universities, community colleges slowly regain students