Columbia’s fall enrollment fell by more than 1,000 students, dropping to 4,461 from 5,571 last fall, even as senior leaders said the total came in higher than expected.
The college enrolled 278 new transfer students and 632 first-year students this semester. In Fall 2024, Columbia enrolled 416 transfer students and 959 first-year students, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
“These numbers underscore the importance of continued effort,” Emmanuel Lalande, the senior vice president of enrollment strategy and student success, told the Chronicle in an email.
He said Columbia is now on a path to “stabilize enrollment, elevate our brand, strengthen philanthropic engagement and improve operational efficiency.”
At a Faculty Senate meeting on Friday, Oct. 3, President and CEO Shantay Bolton told faculty that while the number of new students may seem low compared to previous years, college enrollment declines are happening nationally, and Columbia is not alone.
“It’s not a story that we’re all in love with right now, but I think it also tells a story of the things that we can do to get ourselves out of this,” she said. “It’s not going to be a one-solution fix to getting enrollment stabilized.”
Although Columbia has a fixed-cost business model that relies on tuition for its revenue, Bolton said she hopes to “stabilize and grow beyond this” by being more intentional about whom the college attracts and different ways to deliver its programs. Nearly 90% of Columbia’s students received some sort of financial aid last year.
“I really do believe that together, with open collaboration, we can get there,” she added.
In 2019, before the pandemic, Columbia’s enrollment was 6,947, which was an increase from the year before. However, it has been steadily declining ever since, as the Chronicle previously reported.
Though enrollment in Fall 2023 was still 6,529, since then, the college has faced enrollment challenges partly as a result of the part-time faculty strike that semester and also because of financial issues that have led to a ballooning deficit.
To cut costs and focus on what Columbia offers, the college eliminated and consolidated nearly half of its programs in 2024. This year, it laid off 43 full-time faculty.
The college anticipates that Spring 2026 enrollment will be right around 4,000 students, a further drop. To try to retain students, the college has launched a number of student retention initiatives, including one called “C3” that matches faculty with a small group of new students to help them navigate college, answer questions and build community.
Columbia typically loses between 10 to 15% of its students from fall to spring, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
Faculty Senate President Karla Fuller, a professor in the School of Film and Television, told the Chronicle she will take whatever good news she can get amidst everything going on.
“I just can’t say enough about what a seemingly small good news point can do for folks that have been hearing a lot of stuff that’s not been going our way,” she said.
Fuller said she is looking forward to hearing more about Columbia’s strategy moving forward at the State of the College address next week, where faculty members expect “clear guidelines” regarding what’s to come.
“We were waiting with bated breath for this number to come through,” she said, “it’s a very hopeful sign.”
Student Government Association President Jenna Davis, a junior fine arts major, said even though the student body is smaller, she appreciates the administration is taking the steps it needs to steady student enrollment.
“Every student matters, and I am happy to hear it is higher than expected,” she said.
Bolton is set to deliver the State of the College address at 9:30 a.m. next Thursday, Oct. 9 in the Student Center.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
