Many colleges and universities have seen steady declines in enrollment over the past few years, with a drop of 4.1% overall in spring 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Community colleges were especially hard hit with a 7.8% decrease.
Norfolk State University (NSU), however, increased its enrollment of new students this fall by enrolling 1,302 new freshman students and acquiring 345 more new students through the transfer process. This represents a 17% total increase in new incoming students over last year.
Among the five colleges and schools on campus, the School of Business experienced the largest enrollment increase, with 16% more students this year.
In addition, Norfolk State is currently educating a total of 5,786 students, an increase of 6% over last year’s enrollment.
Among these students, 4,918 take at least one online class, an increase of 5% over last year. This increase is also a reflection of the investment NSU has made in online education through faculty training, the Spartan Academy, and improved online education delivery systems, such as the shift to Blackboard Ultra over the summer.
Moving forward, NSU has a first-time freshman retention rate of 69% but hopes to increase student retention over the coming academic years through student support systems and efforts provided by the Dr. Patricia Lynch Stith Student Success Center, Student Pathways and Academic Formation, the Summer Bridge program, the Writing Center, the availability of professional academic advisors, Learning Communities, and more.
The School of Education currently maintains the highest retention rate on campus at 72%.
For more information on attending Norfolk State University, please visit https://www.nsu.edu/Audience/Prospective-Students.
For more information on student retention and success, please visit https://www.nsu.edu/academic-engagement.