The University of Wyoming says enrollment is stable this semester after six years of consistent decline.
This fall, UW has a student headcount of 10,819 students – six more than last fall. Its freshman class also has 10 more first-year students than last fall, for a total of 1,444.
"These are not big increases, but any increases are welcome and celebrated at a time when higher education enrollment nationwide has been struggling to rebound from the pandemic – and when the number of high school graduates is declining," UW President Ed Seidel said in a news release announcing this year’s official student headcount.
Nationwide, colleges have seen falling enrollment, brought on by a declining birthrate, the subsequent decrease of high school graduates, shifting perceptions about the value of college and the economic hardships of the pandemic.
UW enrollment has fallen year-over-year since before the pandemic. Today, UW has about 2,900 fewer students than it had a decade ago, according to historical enrollment figures. In recent years, its put money and people power behind recruiting more students.
Now the university is celebrating its first year of stable enrollment.
"We have worked very hard to improve our recruitment and retention of students, and those efforts are starting to bear fruit," Seidel said in the release. "We also continue to graduate students in large numbers – well over 2,800 in the past year. We are encouraged about the progress we’re making."
In the release, UW partially credited the slight uptick in enrollment to an 8.5% increase in students pursuing online degrees. Nationwide, for the first time ever, more college students will be attending school online than in-person.
"The national trend is for growth in online programs, and we expect that will continue to be the case for UW," Shelley Dodd, interim vice provost for enrollment management, said in the release. "At the same time, we offer an incredible residential student experience, and we will prioritize on-campus student recruitment."
UW's retention rate, which measures whether students stay in college, also improved. More than 79% of those who attended UW for the first time in 2024 returned for fall 2025. That's up from 76% in 2020.
International students also went up to 629, a nearly 14% increase over last fall's 586 international students. The number of international students has grown in recent years even as overall enrollment and the number of domestic students fell, but 2025 marks the highest international student headcount for UW since 2018.
This boost comes despite uncertainty surrounding student visas and Pres. Trump's stepped up deportation efforts.
