First-year student enrollment down at Michigan universities

• Michigan public universities have more first-year students than during the pandemic but less than last year
• A messy federal financial aid process had officials worried that enrollment would be significantly affected 
• The figures are the first statewide look at enrollment since the federal government’s botched rollout of a new federal financial aid form that led to delays and errors.

After a tumultuous federal financial aid cycle, Michigan’s public universities enrolled fewer first-year students this fall than last. 

Across the state’s 15 public universities, there are 40,764 first-year students this fall, down 1.1% from last year, according to the Michigan Association of State Universities 2024 enrollment report. 

Still, despite the drop in first-year student enrollment, the total student headcount is up from last year, with more students returning. 

Michigan enrollment “could have been better, but it absolutely could have been worse,” said Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities.

Some Michigan schools enrolled more first-year students than last year, and the state’s two largest — Michigan State University and the University of Michigan — have each grown over the past decade. 

Central Michigan University has struggled enrollment for years but enrolled 9.2% more first-year students this year. First-year student enrollment climbed 4.7% at Ferris State University, 5.7% at Saginaw Valley State and 4.1% at the University of Michigan-Flint.

The figures are the first statewide look at enrollment since the federal government’s botched rollout of a new federal financial aid form that led to delays and errors. Schools got students’ financial information later and students had less time to weigh financial aid offers from different schools. 

Experts worried fewer students would seek financial aid and ultimately, attend college. 

Michigan’s public universities had made gains in first-year students last year, thanks in part to a new state scholarship program that pays up to $5,500 a year for students to attend a public university.

“I do think the state, for the most part, did a really good job of fighting through this financial aid debacle,” said Grand Valley State University vice president for enrollment development and education outreach B. Donta Truss. “I think it was helped tremendously by the Michigan Achievement scholarship…we could have been in a much tougher space if we didn't have that going.” 

Regional public universities have suffered enrollment declines over the last decade for a combination of reasons, including a declining birth rate that contributes to higher competition among universities and a lower share of in-state students choosing to attend college after high school graduation.

Disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, higher wages and the costs of college all likely play a role as well. 

In total, public university first-year enrollment is higher than during the pandemic but lower than last fall. 

At Eastern Michigan University, there are 1,621 first-year students, down 12.5% from the previous year and 23.6% from five years ago. 

“We serve a high percentage of students that require federal aid,” said vice president of enrollment management Katie Condon. “And so we may have seen an impact that was greater than some other institutions that don't serve as many students that need that federal and state aid in order to be able to go to college.” 

Last year, about 48% of EMU’s first-year students were eligible for federal Pell grants, said Condon. 

The university would like to return to a baseline of about 2,000 first-year students and is increasing the number of high school visits this fall, Condon said.

“Ideally, we would not see any loss in new students choosing college, especially going to our four-year publics,” she said. 

Grand Valley State University had roughly a 25% increase in first-year students in fall 2023. This year, they are down from that number, but the university is still in a strong position, said Truss, the vice president for enrollment development and education outreach.

GVSU is doubling down on academic support, finding new markets in Michigan and ensuring there are good options for adult learners who did not recently graduate high school, he said. 

This summer, lawmakers made changes to the Michigan Achievement Scholarship so that students who live in a community college district can attend tuition-free. It’s not yet clear whether the lower first-year counts at public universities are a reflection of students choosing to start at a community college instead.

The state typically releases data on the share of Michigan high school graduates who choose to enroll in college within six months early the following year from high school graduation. 

Hurley said it’s possible that regional universities will suffer enrollment declines as high school students learn more about the tuition-free community college program. But a smoother federal financial aid process could boost college enrollment overall, he said. 

Editor’s note: This headline and story were changed at 11:40 a.m. Jan. 15, 2024, to reflect that enrollment for first-year students at Michigan public universities declined at a rate worse than the national average. Bridge made the change after the National Student Clearinghouse acknowledged a data error prompted it to report that nationwide enrollment declined when it actually increased. The Michigan data is unchanged.