UPDATE: Colleges with strong Catholic identity see record enrollment in fall 2024

CNA Staff, Oct 11, 2024 / 07:00 am

Amid low enrollment at academic institutions across the country, Catholic colleges and universities with strong Catholic identities have bucked the trend, boasting high enrollment for fall 2024.

College enrollment has been declining since 2010 by approximately 12%. Enrollment at private four-year colleges decreased by 54% from 2010 to 2021. Meanwhile, enrollment nationwide declined by 7% from 2019 to 2022.

But at 11 Catholic colleges, enrollment is up, some with record enrollment rates. What these thriving colleges have in common is a “strong Catholic identity,” according to the Newman Guide, an education resource for Catholics by the Cardinal Newman Society. CNA caught up with some of these Catholic schools to ask their leaders why they believe their schools are thriving.

University of Mary (North Dakota)

University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, had its largest incoming class for its second year straight, the media relations specialist for “UMary,” Tom Ackerman, told CNA. This fall, enrollment increased from 3,805 students in 2023 to 3,861 students.

UMary Vice President for Public Affairs Rachael Brash credited the growth to UMary’s “authentic” Catholic identity.

“When you are mission-centric in everything that you do for students, it shows,” Brash told CNA. “It goes in direct opposition to what’s happening in so many parts of our culture today.” 

UMary has 24-hour-a-day adoration at its Benet Chapel and offers eight different Catholic student groups, including the Knights of Columbus and FOCUS. 

“I think that the students, prospective students, and their families are seeking authenticity,” she said. “At the University of Mary, what we hear the most out of our students is that we are who we say we are. And that’s why I think so many places, including the University of Mary, are succeeding in bucking against that trend of declining enrollment. It’s because we have kept ourselves ordered correctly and understanding who we’re serving.”

“We want our students to feel like they come home when they come to our campus,” Brash said of UMary. 

“We have an environment where we want students to flourish throughout the whole of their life,” Brash said. “And so our students come prepared, not just with the current relevant skill sets and the newest technology, but the ability to understand the world and interact in it in a way that is true to both our mission, but that’s true to serve them throughout the whole of their life.” 

Belmont Abbey College (North Carolina)

Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte, announced its fourth-highest enrollment rates in the college’s history. The college had a 2% increase in enrollment since last year, with 1,687 students enrolled, including in-person and online undergraduate and graduate students.

Belmont Abbey College as well as UMary both feature maternity programs for student mothers. Belmont’s maternity program for pregnant college students is known as MiraVia. UMary’s St. Teresa of Calcutta Community for Mothers program made headlines last year after its first student mom graduated with her daughter.

“It’s providing these young mothers with a great opportunity to go to school and get their bachelor’s degree,” Brash said of UMary’s program. “But we’re equally as blessed to have these young children on our campus and for students to be babysitting them and for these mothers to be helping each other and for their opportunity to go to a job here on campus.”

“We talk about being pro-life, and of course, you know this, that in our culture, that’s talked mainly about abortion and end of life,” she said. “But for life, so much of it happens between birth and death.”

Franciscan University of Steubenville (Ohio)

Franciscan University of Steubenville (FUS) in Ohio has hit its 10th consecutive year of record-breaking enrollment, John Romanowsky, director of marketing and media relations, told CNA. FUS welcomed its largest-ever incoming class of 812 students. The university has a total of 3,977 students enrolled in both its in-person and online programs. 

At least four Masses are offered daily on campus, often with standing room only, Stephen Hildebrand, vice president for academic affairs and a theology professor at FUS, told CNA last December. 

FUS has continued its growth by launching a Washington, D.C., program this fall for students that prioritizes evangelization, formation, and bringing a Catholic perspective to the capital.

The Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.)

The Catholic University of America (CUA), America’s oldest Catholic research university, experienced slight growth in enrollment amid challenges, Vice President for University Communications Karna Lozoya told CNA. 

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“Like many Catholic universities nationwide, this enrollment cycle presented challenges in first-time fall enrollment due to the well-documented FAFSA delays and the resultant cost uncertainty,” Lozoya said. “Despite these obstacles, we are pleased to report a slight increase in overall student enrollment.”

CUA has had increased interest in applications as part of “an upward trend in interest we’ve seen over the past several years,” Lozoya noted.

Ave Maria University (Florida)

Ave Maria University in Florida also had record-high enrollment in fall 2024 while increasing its GPA standards for applicants.

“Students want to come here,” Susan Gallagher, vice president of marketing and communications, said, “especially when they visit and see the Ave joy — joy in the truth.” 

Ave Maria also has the highest percentage of Catholic students in more than a decade, at 93%. 

University of Dallas (Texas)

Another university that has seen increased enrollment is the University of Dallas, where freshman enrollment was up significantly over last year, with a class of nearly 400 — a 14% increase from last year, Clare Venegas, vice president of marketing and communications, told CNA. 

“Our strong Catholic identity coupled with the academic rigor of our curriculum are both key reasons students cite for choosing UDallas,” Venegas said.

University of St. Thomas, Houston (Texas)

University of St. Thomas, Houston, another Catholic university in Texas, also welcomed a record-breaking undergraduate class this fall, with 683 freshmen and more than 200 new transfer students, according to Sara Nevares Johnson, dean of admissions.

She said the school has been taking steps to increase enrollment and development. 

“At the University of St. Thomas, we’re witnessing a growing desire among students to develop holistically — in mind, body, and spirit,” Nevares Johnson told CNA. “Our year-over-year increase in inquiries and applications reflects a rising interest in pursuing a liberal arts education right here in the heart of Houston, standing in contrast to the national trend of declining university enrollment.”

“Rooted in the traditions of the Basilian Fathers, our mission resonates with students seeking a deeper understanding of their purpose and place in the world,” she said.

Benedictine College (Kansas)

A liberal arts college in a small city of 10,000 has been growing for the past 20 years. Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, has seen “another year of record enrollment, with 2,213 full-time undergraduates,” Benedictine College’s Director of Marketing and Communications Stephen Johnson told CNA. 

“This is a continuing trend of positive enrollment growth over the past 20-plus years,” he added. 

Benedictine is seeing growing freshmen classes as well as “large increases” in transfer students, Johnson noted.

Benedictine highlights Catholic values such as being “Christ-centered” and community- and faith-oriented, according to its website.

The small but mighty

Most liberal arts colleges are on the small side, with numbers in the thousands, compared with public universities, which can reach tens of thousands. Some Catholic liberal arts colleges are designed for an even smaller number of students. In spite of being small by design, these colleges are still setting records.

Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (New Hampshire)

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, which keeps its student body intentionally small, hit its largest number of students this year: 98, the college president, William Edmund Fahey, told CNA. The college’s student body has more than doubled since 2009.

Fahey said the college is “at the point at which we will need to run a building campaign so as to house the increase.”

Christendom College (Virginia)

Another school that is intentionally small but growing is Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. Christendom reached its enrollment cap for the past four years, instituting a waiting list each year. 

“We had to institute a waiting list for the fourth year in a row this year, due to the continued high demand for a Christendom education,” Christendom Director of Communications Zachary Smith told CNA. “In fact, over the past 10 years, Christendom has grown by 40%, helping us to achieve our cap of 550 students.”

“We keep the school intentionally small in order to keep class sizes smaller,” Smith explained. “This fosters more discussion in the classroom and better connections between students, their peers, and their professors.”

Thomas Aquinas College (California and Massachusetts)

Another intentionally small school, Thomas Aquinas College, has expanded to two campuses to grow. “TAC” keeps its student body intentionally small given its Socratic style classes and focuses on a tight-knit community. TAC has two campuses, one in California and one in New England. 

The two campuses combined hit record-high enrollment this fall at 566 students, Christopher Weinkopf, the college’s executive director for college relations, told CNA. The California campus was near capacity, at 372 students, and the New England campus has its largest student body yet, at 194 students, about a 13% increase since last year, according to Weinkopf.  

“These numbers are very much in keeping with the overall trend: California has been at maximum capacity for years, and the number of students on our New England campus has nearly quadrupled since its launching in 2019, in keeping with our campus growth plan,” Weinkopf explained. 

John Paul the Great Catholic University (California)

John Paul the Great Catholic University in California is another school that focuses closely on a small number of students, with 288 students enrolled this year. Known as “JPCatholic,” the university focuses on creative arts and business innovation. The school has seen growth in the past year, despite uncertainty. 

“The flawed new FAFSA rollout caused great uncertainty to college-bound students in 2024, and this impacted JPCatholic,” James Crowell, mission advancement officer at JPCatholic, told CNA. “Despite this, JPCatholic had a 1% increase in fall student enrollment over 2023.”

“We are a niche school, so our focus is a small number of kids but the highest quality of education,” he added.

JPCatholic has also recently added a fashion program and plans are underway to double the school’s academic space through its new creative arts academic complex.

Other Newman Guide schools including Wyoming Catholic College are known for their Catholic identity but did not respond with enrollment data in time for publication.

This story was updated on Oct. 11, 2024, at 5:42 p.m. ET with information on John Paul the Great Catholic University.