CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland State University has seen notable increases in undergraduate and graduate enrollments for the fall 2021 semester, the university announced Monday.
The university has 1,834 new freshmen enrolled this fall, a 5% increase over the fall 2020 semester. Graduate enrollment has increased by 20% compared to the fall 2020 semester, with 4,352 graduate students enrolled this fall, the university said in a news release.
Overall enrollment at CSU has increased by 1% compared to the fall 2020 semester, the news release says.
“Our unique brand of engaged learning continues to attract more and more students from our region and beyond – and not even a pandemic can slow us down,” CSU president Harlan Sands said in the release. “Now more than ever, our community and the higher education marketplace are discovering the tremendous value of a CSU education and have made us a first choice for undergraduate and graduate programs.”
Cleveland State attributed part of its freshman enrollment growth to its partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District, as the university saw a 40% increase in the number of CMSD graduates enrolled. Many of those students used the Say Yes to Education Cleveland program, which provides full tuition scholarships to eligible CMSD graduates.
Summer transition programs that help students prepare for college have also helped drive freshman enrollment, along with the 2-for-1 tuition promise, where CSU pays spring semester tuition for freshmen who earn a 3.0 GPA or better.
The university pointed to CSU Global as a reason for its increase in graduate enrollment. CSU Global is an international program that has welcomed 900 additional students from overseas, and most of them are pursuing degrees in STEM or business-technology fields such as computer science, the news release says.
The jump in international students represents more than double the number of international students from three years ago, the news release says.
The university’s enrollment increases are in contrast to a nationwide trend of college enrollment numbers declining as the COVID-19 pandemic endures. According to a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, spring 2021 enrollment fell by 3.5% compared to last year.
Cleveland State announced in a separate release that U.S. News & World Report ranked the university as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for social mobility.
“As an urban, public university, supporting our community is both our mission and our passion,” Jonathan Wehner, the university’s vice president of enrollment and dean of admissions, said in the first news release. “Seeing our reputation grow as an accessible, affordable, first-choice institution to students in Greater Cleveland and beyond is critical to the long-term economic vitality and health of Northeast Ohio. We are so excited about where we are and where we are going.”