Several colleges saw enrollment hold steady or grow this fall, despite ongoing pandemic-era rebuilding and changing attitudes around higher education.
Over the past several years, colleges and universities have been bracing for an enrollment cliff, a declining number of college-age students that’s exacerbated by nationwide discussion about whether getting a bachelor’s degree is worth the high price tag.
The State Council on Higher Education for Virginia has not yet released fall census data it collected from colleges and universities this fall; a spokesperson said Oct. 20 that data would likely be released in mid-November.
Cardinal News requested enrollment numbers from 14 private and public four-year colleges and universities in Southwest Virginia. Some provided data directly; others have disclosed their fall enrollment via institutional data available online.
Some of the brightest outlooks this year are from colleges taking new approaches to recruitment and admissions, and in one case, embracing new academic scheduling.
Randolph: Students drawn to new course schedule
Randolph College set a second consecutive enrollment record this fall. The incoming freshmen class of 273 this fall topped last year’s high point of 266. Undergraduate enrollment this fall hit 743, up from 703 last fall.
The private college in Lynchburg credits much of its growth to its scheduling model. Randolph shifted to a “Take2” model in 2021. Instead of taking four or five classes each semester, Randolph students take four courses per semester, but have them divided into two seven-week blocks.
“It’s a real game-changer,” said Travis Carter, vice president of enrollment management at Randolph. Students appreciate focusing on fewer classes at a time, and that their fall and spring breaks are true rest periods between course blocks, he said.
The college has 905 students between undergraduate and graduate programs, and has a goal of about 1,200 overall, Carter said. But keeping the college small is part of maintaining “what makes Randolph special,” he said. Too much growth would mean losing the intimate atmosphere for which the college is known.
Hollins: Direct admissions aims to boost marketing
Another small school is working to make it easier for students to enroll.
In 2024, Hollins University in Roanoke expanded its scholarship program offering free tuition, room and board to some financially qualifying students from the Roanoke region to applicants nationwide.
Now, the private women’s university is proactively reaching out to some high school seniors with admissions offers. Starting with fall 2026 admission, Virginia students using the Common App online platform to submit applications to multiple colleges may receive a notification offering them direct admission to Hollins and inviting them to submit their application for formal review.
“The student does still have to take action and raise their hand” to complete the process, said Ashley Browning, vice president for enrollment management at Hollins.
Hollins hopes direct admission will provide greater exposure to students outside the Roanoke region who may not have considered applying to Hollins or didn’t realize the school could be an option either from an admissions standpoint or a financial one, Browning said. She hopes the direct admissions option cuts through some of the noise high school juniors and seniors experience when considering their college options.
The university costs about $60,000 a year for tuition, fees, and room and board before financial aid is applied. Hollins saw 676 undergraduate students enroll this fall.
The growth over last year’s 665 undergraduates is primarily thanks to an incoming class of 222 students. Last fall, Hollins welcomed 187 first-year students.
Browning didn’t share a specific GPA threshold for direct admission but said it was set based on the typical academic profile for accepted students. She said it got its first direct admissions candidates in mid-September.
Hollins is among a dozen Virginia colleges offering Common App direct admission. The University of Virginia’s College at Wise also added it for fall 2026 applicants.
Radford: Promoting programs for in-demand careers
Radford University also began offering direct admission in 2023. Eligible students include prospective freshmen who have a minimum GPA of 3.3 and a passing grade for algebra II. Transfer students with transcripts from all previous institutions and at least a 2.5 GPA can also be offered admission automatically.
The public university promotes its programs in in-demand fields where “the job market will be there whether there’s a recession or not,” said Dannette Gomez-Beane, vice president for enrollment management and strategic communications. Radford’s most popular academic programs for bachelor’s degrees include nursing, criminal justice and business administration.
The university’s approach to the enrollment cliff includes targeting prospective students who aren’t in that “college-age” bracket, Gomez-Beane said. Radford has students in their late 20s who joined the workforce right out of high school, but later decided they wanted to attend college.
Undergraduate increases were modest at Radford University this fall, with 6,206 students enrolled. That’s about 40 more than last fall.
The university launched a last-dollar program in 2023 that promises to cover tuition for in-state students from households with incomes of $100,000 or less. Beyond direct admissions, it has tossed other elements of its application: Radford doesn’t require application essays, recommendations, or SAT scores.
One of Radford’s best qualities, though, is harder to demonstrate to applicants, Gomez-Beane said.
“Radford really serves introverts well.” Some other state schools have a more extroverted atmosphere, Gomez-Beane said, while Radford seems to be the perfect fit for many quieter students. “It’s big enough to where you feel like you have tons of options, but small enough to know people care about you and acknowledge you as a person,” she said.
It’s something prospective students might not see until they visit in person. “It’s hard to sell that on a brochure,” she said.
Schools quiet on Trump compact offer
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise was the only school in the region willing to comment on the compact that President Donald Trump has offered broadly across higher education institutions. The compact would require a five-year tuition freeze, assurances that race and sex would not be considered in hiring and admissions practices, and caps on international enrollment. In return, the schools would get preferential treatment for federal funding.
“Currently, the University is investigating the compact and we are awaiting their findings,” a UVA Wise spokesperson said prior to the University of Virginia’s rejection of the compact on Oct. 17. “The College is also having a further discussion and will have more information in the next few weeks.”
UVA Wise is a part of the University of Virginia system. UVA was among an initial group of nine public and private universities the Trump administration asked to commit to the compact by Oct. 20. Seven of the nine rejected the offer.
Federal funding for higher education tends to go to research universities. Virginia Tech is the only “R1” top-tier research school in Southwest Virginia.
Also of note:
Virginia Tech added about 500 undergraduate students over last year, for a total of 31,536. Tech is approaching its limit for undergraduates at its main campus in Blacksburg, spokesperson Mark Owczarski said. (Campuses in Roanoke and Northern Virginia primarily serve graduate students.) In its June meeting, the board of visitors at Tech discussed its plan to limit its enrollment growth to between 1% and 1.5% over the next four years. In the same four years, the university plans to increase its spending on athletics by more than $229 million, part of which would be funded by mandatory student fees.
Sweet Briar College enrollment dropped to 373 compared to 438 in fall 2024. President Mary Pope Hutson told alumni on a Zoom Q&A in early September that low enrollment was due primarily to international students who couldn’t get visas in time for the fall semester. In May, the Trump administration abruptly halted visa interviews for foreign students, then resumed them in June under stricter parameters. Delays under the new system have created uncertainty at many schools that enroll substantial numbers of international students. Last fall, eight percent of students came from outside the U.S.; this fall, that rate was 5.4%. The private women’s college in Amherst County changed its admissions policy in 2024 to bar transgender and nonbinary students from its incoming classes.
Three schools that saw enrollment declines have faced recent financial scrutiny. Averett University is trying to rebuild after its endowment was drained to cover expenses over the course of several years. In an August financial filing relating to its municipal bonds, the university said it anticipated total fall enrollment of 1,326, a decrease of about 120 from the year prior. Emory & Henry University was put on probation by its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, in July. The University of Lynchburg, which received a warning from the same accreditor in December 2024, provided enrollment numbers after publication. The university said its incoming first-year class of 454 was impacted by visa interview delays that prevented more than 40 anticipated international students from attending.
Ferrum College reported that its incoming class of 398 students was its largest since 2018.
Updated 9:50 a.m. Oct. 31: This story has been updated with enrollment information from Ferrum College that was provided after publication.
Updated 11:15 a.m. Nov. 12: This story has been updated with enrollment information from the University of Lynchburg that was provided after publication.