MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University’s overall enrollment for the fall semester dropped by less by 1 percent when compared to last year university officials said Wednesday.
“Across the state and the country, this has been a challenging year and the first of many to come as the number of high school graduates decline,” Brenda Thompson, associate vice president for Enrollment Management and Services said in a university release. “We are very pleased with how our fall enrollment shaped up at WVU and with the campus-wide effort involved in getting us there.”
Enrollment at WVU’s three campuses is 32,348. The main campus in Morgantown has 29,466 students including 4,913 freshmen.
The university said those making up the new group of freshmen came in with better test scores and GPAs than previous groups entering the university.
WVU international student enrollment is at a record high on the Morgantown campus at 1,802, which is up more than 10 percent from last year. Diversity in the student body also grew.
“I am very pleased with this year’s enrollment picture,” WVU President Jim Clements said in WVU’s news release. “It reflects important progress on our strategic plan goals of academic excellence, diversity and inclusion and globalization. Enrollment is just one part of our focus. Retention and graduation of students are priorities, and we have really worked to put new structures and systems in place to help students achieve their dreams of a college degree.”
WVU Tech in Montgomery now has 1,222 students, which represents a 10 percent increase from last year. Potomac State in Keyser is at 1,660 students.