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Colleges nationwide are struggling with declining enrollment, and West Virginia’s flagship higher education institution is no exception.
Between its Beckley, Keyser and Morgantown campuses, West Virginia University’s student population declined by roughly 7 percent between the fall 2023 and fall 2024 semesters.
That is a decline of more than 2,000 students, with the university system’s current enrollment now sitting at 24,788, WVU Vice Provost Mark Gavin announced Monday during a meeting of the WVU Faculty Senate.
WVU received national attention last year for sweeping program cuts that aimed to address budgetary issues, partially caused by declining enrollment.
Gavin said national trends — including difficulties surrounding the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known more commonly as FAFSA — played a part in declining numbers this year.
“Certainly FAFSA didn’t do anybody any favors,” he said.
Gavin said university administrators are developing new strategies to bolster numbers, including an easier transfer process for students at community or technical colleges.
“We recognize that we had a drop in first-time freshmen relative to our projected budget,” he said. “We are actively developing strategies to counter that.”
