by Katherine O'Brien, Certified College Planning Specialist, Founder of Celtic College Consultants
Despite nationwide college enrollment declines, enrollment growth at authentically Catholic colleges offers powerful signs of hope!
“College enrollment has been declining since 2010 by approximately 12%.[1] Enrollment at private four-year colleges decreased by 54% from 2010 to 2021.[2] Meanwhile, enrollment nationwide declined by 7% from 2019 to 2022.”[3] Additionally, more than 70 colleges have closed since 2020, while others have merged, and more face uncertain futures in light of their precarious financial situations.[4] Notably, this all comes BEFORE the expected drop off of college students, due to the drop in number of high school graduates (due to lower birth rates) which is expected in the next couple of years. Overall college enrollment is up this year, despite the significant shrinkage of the freshman class.[5]
In light of these bleak circumstances, the growth of 11 Catholic colleges with a “strong Catholic identity” and the opening of several more such colleges is truly remarkable!
From a recent Catholic News Agency article, we learn, “University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, had its largest incoming class for its second year straight, the media relations specialist for “UMary,” Tom Ackerman, told CNA. This fall, enrollment increased from 3,805 students in 2023 to 3,861 students.”” UMary has 24-hour-a-day adoration at its Benet Chapel and offers eight different Catholic student groups, including the Knights of Columbus and FOCUS.
“Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte, announced its fourth-highest enrollment rates in the college’s history. The college had a 2% increase in enrollment since last year, with 1,687 students enrolled, including in-person and online undergraduate and graduate students.
“Belmont Abbey College as well as UMary both feature maternity programs for student mothers. Belmont’s maternity program for pregnant college students is known as MiraVia.[6] UMary’s St. Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers program made headlines last year after its first student mom graduated with her daughter.[7]
“Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio has hit its 10th consecutive year of record-breaking enrollment, John Romanowsky, director of marketing and media relations, told CNA. FUS welcomed its largest-ever incoming class of 812 students. The university has a total of 3,977 students enrolled in both its in-person and online programs. FUS has continued its growth by launching a Washington, D.C., program this fall for students that prioritizes evangelization, formation, and bringing a Catholic perspective to the capital.[8]
“The Catholic University of America (CUA), America’s oldest Catholic research university, experienced slight growth in enrollment amid challenges, Vice President for University Communications Karna Lozoya told CNA. “Like many Catholic universities nationwide, this enrollment cycle presented challenges in first-time fall enrollment due to the well-documented FAFSA delays and the resultant cost uncertainty,” Lozoya said. “Despite these obstacles, we are pleased to report a slight increase in overall student enrollment.” Additionally, CUA has added an undergraduate business program in Tucson, working jointly with Pima Community College, in order to empower local students.[9]
“Ave Maria University in Florida also had record-high enrollment in fall 2024 while increasing its GPA standards for applicants. “Students want to come here,” Susan Gallagher, vice president of marketing and communications, said, “especially when they visit and see the Ave joy — joy in the truth.” Ave Maria also has the highest percentage of Catholic students in more than a decade, at 93%.
“Another university that has seen increased enrollment is the University of Dallas, where freshman enrollment was up significantly over last year, with a class of nearly 400 — a 14% increase from last year, Clare Venegas, vice president of marketing and communications, told CNA. “Our strong Catholic identity coupled with the academic rigor of our curriculum are both key reasons students cite for choosing UDallas,” Venegas said.
“University of St. Thomas, Houston, another Catholic university in Texas, also welcomed a record-breaking undergraduate class this fall, with 683 freshmen and more than 200 new transfer students, according to Sara Nevares Johnson, dean of admissions.
“A liberal arts college in a small city of 10,000 has been growing for the past 20 years. Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, has seen “another year of record enrollment, with 2,213 full-time undergraduates,” Benedictine College’s Director of Marketing and Communications Stephen Johnson told CNA. “This is a continuing trend of positive enrollment growth over the past 20-plus years,” he added. Benedictine is seeing growing freshmen classes as well as “large increases” in transfer students, Johnson noted.
“The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, which keeps its student body intentionally small, hit its largest number of students this year: 98, the college president, William Edmund Fahey, told CNA. The college’s student body has more than doubled since 2009.Fahey said the college is “at the point at which we will need to run a building campaign so as to house the increase.”
“Another school that is intentionally small but growing is Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. Christendom reached its enrollment cap for the past four years, instituting a waiting list each year. “We had to institute a waiting list for the fourth year in a row this year, due to the continued high demand for a Christendom education,” Christendom Director of Communications Zachary Smith told CNA. “In fact, over the past 10 years, Christendom has grown by 40%, helping us to achieve our cap of 550 students. We keep the school intentionally small in order to keep class sizes smaller,” Smith explained. “This fosters more discussion in the classroom and better connections between students, their peers, and their professors.”
“Another intentionally small school, Thomas Aquinas College, has expanded to two campuses to grow. “TAC” keeps its student body intentionally small given its Socratic style classes and focuses on a tight-knit community. TAC has two campuses, one in California and one in New England. The two campuses combined hit record-high enrollment this fall at 566 students, Christopher Weinkopf, the college’s executive director for college relations, told CNA. The California campus was near capacity, at 372 students, and the New England campus has its largest student body yet, at 194 students, about a 13% increase since last year, according to Weinkopf.
John Paul the Great Catholic University in California is another school that focuses closely on a small number of students, with 288 students enrolled this year. Known as “JPCatholic,” the university focuses on creative arts and business innovation. The school has seen growth in the past year, despite uncertainty. “The flawed new FAFSA rollout caused great uncertainty to college-bound students in 2024, and this impacted JPCatholic,” James Crowell, mission advancement officer at JPCatholic, told CNA. “Despite this, JPCatholic had a 1% increase in fall student enrollment over 2023. We are a niche school, so our focus is a small number of kids but the highest quality of education,” he added. JPCatholic has also recently added a fashion program and plans are underway to double the school’s academic space through its new creative arts academic complex.[10]
Additionally a number of new faithfully Catholic colleges have opened.
The Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum (College of the Holy Angels) in Maryland offers a classical liberal arts education that is “faithful to the intellectual, moral, spiritual, and liturgical traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, and a formation in Catholic living – ora et labora, both at affordable rates.”[11]
Catholic Polytechnic University in Los Angeles accepted its first class in fall 2024, initially offering an undergraduate degree in computer science. Many more STEM degree offerings are expected, as well as graduate studies in theology, as the college grows.
Pontifex University, a graduate school in theology, is run completely online and has been steadily growing. They currently have over one hundred students in their doctoral program in theology.
The Augustine Institute, the largest US graduate school in theology recently moved to Florissant, MO, a St. Louis suburb, and will be expanding its degree offerings soon.
The College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, OH offers training in the trades as well as a combined trades/ bachelor in Catholic studies program. Their students work as they study, thus graduating without crippling debt. They teach carpentry, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical trades. Their mission is to equip people for effective lay vocations, proclaiming the gospel to the world.
Another college in the Benedictine tradition (like U of Mary, Benedictine College, & Belmont Abbey College), Rosary College in Greenville, SC has also opened its doors to its first class of students. A two year liberal arts college, they offer an associates degree in Catholic studies in integrated humanities. They offer in person and online courses, along with dual enrollment courses for high school students. They have partnered with both Ave Maria University and Thomas More College to transfer up to 60 credits (two full years of college) toward a BA.
The San Damiano College for the Trades in Springfield, IL is in the formation stage and hopes to be able to start educating students in the next year or so. They plan to initially offer tracks in carpentry, church restoration, electrical, arborist, and roofing trades, with plumbing and HVAC, welding, and masonry to follow in subsequent years. They also plan to offer an associate’s degree in liberal arts.
Once again, the light of Christ shines forth brightly!
To explore getting college prep services from a faithful Catholic, email Katherine today: KOB@CelticCollegeConsultants.com and ask to schedule an initial consultation for your family.
[2] https://www.collegetransitions.com/blog/college-enrollment-decline/#:~:text=US%20College%20Enrollment%20Decline%20%E2%80%93%20Enrollment%20Cliff%20(Continued)&text=Enrollment%20at%202%2Dyear%20public,54%25%20between%202010%2D2021.
[3] Kate Quiñones, “UPDATE: Colleges with strong Catholic identity see record enrollment in fall 2024”, October 11, 2024, Catholic News Agency website. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259765/colleges-with-strong-catholic-identity-see-record-enrollment-in-fall-2024 accessed 22 October 2024. https://educationdata.org/college-enrollment-statistics
[5] https://www.chronicle.com/article/undergraduate-enrollment-is-up-this-fall-but-the-number-of-freshmen-fell-sharply
[6] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256565/with-every-woman-how-catholic-maternity-homes-are-serving-mothers
[8] https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259207/franciscan-university-launches-new-hub-in-washington-dc-after-multimillion-dollar-gift
[10] https://jpcatholic.edu/news_press/fashion-design-program-announced.php All the above are quotations from Quiñones’ article https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/259765/colleges-with-strong-catholic-identity-see-record-enrollment-in-fall-2024 22.10.24.
