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Enrollment down from previous years

By Aaron Eshelman, Staff Writer

Newman University’s enrollment for traditional students has been decreasing for the past couple years, and that trend continues this year according to the 20 day enrollment report.

The number of degree seeking traditional students is 885, down from 895 in 2018 and 997 in 2017.

The university has a total student body of 3,205, slightly down from the 2018 total of 3,373. This number includes the 1,636 high school students that are enrolled in the Advanced Standing program which allows them to get college credit for high school classes through Newman.

The number of degree seeking students enrolled in Newman’s outreach campuses in western Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Arkansas totals 157.

The number of students taking Newman classes strictly online is 175.

Newman’s enrollment is growing in other areas, such as the university's online graduate programs which have increased in two of the last three years.

But the graduate program as a whole is losing students.

“We have a pretty significant and steady decline since 2015 in our graduate students,” Director of Institutional Research Dr. Lori Stiener said.

Steiner said one reason for the decline in graduate students might be the strong economy.

“When the economy is strong people don't feel the need to go back and get a graduate degree... And that particularly hurts small private schools that really rely on the income from their graduate student population,” she said.

Cammie Kennedy director of admissions enrollment management said that the university is trying to put more emphasis on programs that are the most popular among prospective students in order to try and increase enrollment.“By analyzing past data, it helps us know what activities bring the most interest and that is where we will focus our efforts.”

PHOTO: Courtesy Photo, usnews.com