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Declining enrollments have hit some of Michigan’s public universities hard, although Michigan Tech is holding its own.
Figures released by the state and compiled by the MLive website show that the number of students at Michigan’s 15 public universities this past fall were more than 2 percent below 2018, and 7 percent below 2010.
Over the past decade, only three universities have fared well – the University of Michigan, with a 15 percent enrollment increase, U of M Dearborn with a 7 percent rise, and Michigan State with a 6 percent bump. Oakland University and Michigan Tech did a little better than break-even.
Most are on the negative side. Wayne State, Ferris State, Western Michigan and Northern Michigan have lost at least 10 percent of their enrollment. Eastern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Saginaw Valley State have seen erosion of at least 20 percent. Central Michigan’s enrollment has dropped 31 percent over the past decade.
The only two universities that had more students this past fall than they did in the fall of 2018 were the University of Michigan and Northern Michigan.
Officials blame the enrollment slide primarily on the declining number of high school students in Michigan, and also on the increasing trend among those students to start their four-year college degrees at more affordable community colleges.
