UNI's 10-year high, Iowa's record GPA highlight latest enrollment numbers

Enrollment is up at all three of Iowa’s state universities, according to numbers released Thursday morning, with two schools reporting at least a 2% increase in first-year students.

The University of Iowa welcomed its fourth-largest freshman class in August while the University of Northern Iowa enjoyed its largest enrollment increase in a decade. Iowa State University reported a 2.3 percent bump in incoming freshmen compared to last year, which is an eight percent increase over a two-year span.

Numbers at each university still haven't reached pre-pandemic levels, however.

University of Iowa welcomes record-setting class

The University of Iowa's incoming first-year students tallied 5,064, a slight decrease compared to last year's class of 5,178, the third-largest class in history. Iowa's largest incoming class was in 2016, when they reported 5,643 new students.

The Class of 2027 enters college with a UI-record average GPA of 3.83, continuing a trend dating back to 2020. Twenty percent of Iowa's newest class of students identifies as part of an underrepresented group (1,019).

The Iowa City school experienced a slight rise in total undergraduate enrollment, reporting a total of 22,130 students, an increase of 157 students compared to last year.

Fifty-three percent of Iowa's undergraduate population identifies as female, while 44% identify as male.

“We’re so excited these newest Hawkeyes are here and settling in for a great year,” University of Iowa President Barbara J. Wilson said in a news release. “What they’ll find on campus are the three C’s: Comprehensive excellence across disciplines—from nonfiction writing, to neuroscience, to nursing; Creativity— we have enormously creative faculty and staff who will help students find their own inspiration to solve problems; and Community—this is a place where everyone loves and supports the University of Iowa.”

Roughly 52% of Iowa’s incoming first-year students are Iowa residents (2,657), while 1% of the total are international students.

The total professional, graduate and undergraduate enrollment is 30,042 students, an increase of 17 students from a year ago. The school remains slightly behind the pace of pre-pandemic levels, with Iowa reporting 31,240 students in 2019.

The University of Iowa continues to draw in numbers similar to pre-COVID levels. The 2020 first-year class dropped by 456 students for a total of 4,530, though Iowa reported a first-year class of 4,986 students in 2019, signifying a 22-person increase in 2023.

Iowa State experiences continued growth

Iowa State University experienced a steady rise in enrollment over the past two years. There are 30,177 undergraduate, professional and graduate students enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year.  The Ames school experienced its largest first-year enrollment increase since 2018, welcoming 5,859 students, an increase of 131 students from a year ago.

The 2027 class sports an average high school GPA of 3.73.

Overall, ISU saw an increase of 208 students from 2022, drawing attendees from all 50 states.

“This growth is a direct result of Iowa State University’s commitment to provide innovative programs that meet student interest and workforce needs,” Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen said in a release. “Through our Degrees of the Future initiative, we are continuing to develop new programs and majors that will prepare students for high-demand careers and help Iowa businesses and industry thrive.”

While Iowa State’s total enrollment has risen compared to last year, the school is well behind pace of pre-pandemic levels. The local university reported 33,391 total students during the fall 2019 semester, 3,000 more students than this fall.

A total of 8,715 new students enrolled for the fall semester, while 54% (16,297) of Iowa State’s student body hails from the state of Iowa. The university now enlists 2,718 international students.

Nearly 46% of the student body classifies as female, while 54% of ISU students identify as male.

UNI sets 10-year new student high

The University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls experienced quite the student growth compared to last year, reporting its largest enrollment increase in more than a decade.

The Panthers broke through the 9,000-student barrier by reporting 9,021 undergraduate and graduate students, thanks to an 8% increase over last year’s freshman class. A total of 1,552 first-year students began their studies last month, 1,399 of which are native Iowans.

Though UNI reported an increase in students, it remained behind the pace of pre-pandemic levels when the university saw a total enrollment of 10,497 in 2019.

UNI also reported an increase in transfer students this fall, totaling 857, which was up 12% from last year, its highest mark since 2017. The school also is experiencing an influx of on-campus residents, reporting a 7.5% increase in dorm occupants for a total of 3,114 students.

“We are grateful to all of these students and families for selecting UNI as their college home,” UNI President Mark Nook said in a release. “Our faculty and staff are staunchly committed to student support and success. As UNI’s degree programs continue to respond to the needs of Iowa’s workforce in regards to health, nursing, engineering and other in-demand areas, our education and business programs are among many areas of study that remain vital to our state, its students and Iowa’s economy. We are excited about UNI’s positive trajectory for these and many more reasons.”

UNI also reported a significant increase in graduate students this fall, enrolling 632 new students, an increase of 42% compared to 2022.

Brandon Hurley is editor of the Ames Tribune and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He covers higher education and the Iowa Board of Regents. He can be reached at bhurley@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: State universities fail to reach pre-pandemic numbers despite enrollment increase