Greenstein said the economic toll on families' incomes also could have contributed to the decline among Pennsylvania state colleges. The 3.5% drop was the largest spring semester enrollment decrease since 2011. State System Chancellor Dan Greenstein told PennLive that the declines seen across most of the schools were caused by pandemic-related reasons that have impacted schools nationally.įorbes reported that overall college enrollment fell to 16.9 million students last spring, down more than 600,000. Cheyney officials could not be reached for comment. The Delaware County school is the smallest in the system and earlier this year announced it would use its pandemic federal aid to forgive student loan debt accrued from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021.

Applications for next year are on par with the numbers typically found at this time during the early recruitment cycle.'Ĭheyney University of Pennsylvania saw a 2.9% increase in enrollment. 'WCU's enrollment continues to be impressive as the institution remains the destination of choice for more than 17,000 students. 'Amidst a pandemic, this year's 'flat enrollment' was the goal for thriving institutions like West Chester University,' the university said in a statement to PhillyVoice. West Chester University, the largest school in the system, lost just 29 students, bringing its student body to 17,640.

The two Philadelphia-area state colleges didn't see as dramatic of enrollment losses. While this overall drop continued a 12-year enrollment decline, it's the highest percentage of students lost in more than 20 years. Travelers at Philadelphia airport impacted by Southwest Airlines flight cancellations.Wawa debuts self-checkout station in Northeast Philly as part of post-pandemic plan.Lucy the Elephant receives $500,000 grant from National Park Service for restoration project.The number of students at the 14 universities within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education plummeted 5.4% during the 2020-21 academic year, a loss of more than 5,000 students, data shows. Enrollment at Pennsylvania state colleges has dropped to its lowest point in more than two decades amid a turbulent period that has prompted enrollment declines across the United States.

West chester university demographics