KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Michigan has seen college enrollments drop four-times the national average since the pandemic. Only Alaska and Mississippi have worse numbers, due to birth rate declines and other demographic factors. One way to keep enrollment up if they aren’t coming in the front door is to keep them from slipping out the back door, and that’s one strategy Western Michigan University plans to pursue.
President Edward Montgomery announced this week during his State of the University address that he is setting a goal to make the university among the best in the state when it comes to graduation and retention rates, particularly for historically underrepresented students. He says this year’s numbers, announced to the Board of Trustees, puts them in third place. Montgomery says last year’s freshman class was the biggest in several years.
He says numbers are also up for black and brown students.
He says that means more scholarships, and programs to help struggling students achieve, and other initiatives that are already underway at WMU.
He announced this week that he wants to improve on all those numbers and graduation rates too, to help them thrive in this increasingly competitive landscape.
