The fall 2024 semester has been underway for several weeks here at Langston. There was chatter that LU had lower enrollment numbers than they have had in previous years. This would be very unfortunate seeing as Langston is already considered a small university with a population under two thousand students annually. However, according to the office of institutional research this information is untrue and no more than just a rumor.
The student population increased from last fall, bringing the population from 1,910 to 1,937. This is following a trend of a slowly increasing size student body; in fall of 2022, the student population was 1,903. The data shows that within the last 3 years, this semester has the highest enrollment numbers Langston has seen. However, taking a moment to go back a few more years, we can see that there is more going on when it comes to enrollment at Langston.
According to the Langston Fact Book 2023-2024, in the past 10 years Langston had its highest enrollment numbers back in 2015, reaching 2,542 student’s total. The years following saw fewer students with the exception of 2019, which saw an increase from 2018 going from 2,119 to 2,190. The transition from fall 2019 to fall 2020 showed decreases in almost every school except the school of Arts and Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy. The school of Physical Therapy increased by one student during this time.
This decline lines up with the emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak, so this could potentially be the reason for declining numbers. However, while that may explain the changes in those surrounding years, there are still some things that need to be looked at. Looking at the freshman matriculation rate for 2022, you can see that almost eight thousand people applied to the school and over five thousand were admitted; out of all students admitted, only 500 were enrolled.
These numbers were a little lower for the fall 2023 semester seeing only five thousand applicants, two thousand admissions, and four hundred enrolled students. The Langston University recruitment team has taken the initiative to reach out to more states like Georgia (specifically the Atlanta alumni base) and Louisiana while also offering on the spot admissions to students with a transcript showing a GPA of 2.4 or higher, according to Heath Burge, the assistant vice president for strategic enrollment and advising services.
Burge believes that when it comes to enrollment numbers the retention rate is something that is very important. Elizabeth Albright, who is the Chair of the retention committee, feels that when it comes to the retention rates it is imperative to focus on how Langston operates and what Langston does well.
Albright and Burge gave some insight into the ways of Langston mentioning how the staff has been doing more social events like “Donuts with the Dean” to help connect with students while also establishing a sense of belonging and making sure everyone feels like they matter. These are just some of the pieces that go into what is keeping students at Langston, which is in turn getting the numbers back up.
Ajayln Allen
Ajayln Allen is a junior broadcast journalism major
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