Chancellor Scott Olson attributes Minnesota State system enrollment growth to affordability and quality programs; Dakota County Technical College enrollment increases 21% 2020–2024
The following news story was originally published in the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal.
Chancellor Scott Olson | SOURCE: Nancy Kuehn, MSPBJ
These Minnesota colleges have grown the most since 2020
By Ethan Nelson
Data Reporter
Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
November 14, 2024
Colleges across the country are facing an enrollment crisis. Declining birth rates and the lingering aftereffects of the pandemic have led to the closures and mergers of some institutions. Forty public or nonprofit colleges and universities have closed or have disclosed plans to close since March 15, 2020, and another 31 have merged or plan to merge with another institution, according to a report by BestColleges.
SOURCE: MSPBJ
Minnesota seems to be bucking that trend.
More than half of the state’s largest colleges and universities have seen at least small enrollment gains since 2020, according to Business Journal research. The state’s biggest schools by fall 2024 enrollment include everything from the state’s flagship University of Minnesota Twin Cities to the much smaller Carleton College in Northfield.
While the average change for the 40 largest schools in Minnesota between fall 2020 and fall 2024 is just 2%, many colleges have grown much more than that. The biggest increase in the state was at a school in the Minnesota State system: Alexandria Technical & Community College saw a 28% increase in enrollment.
Rounding out the rest of the 10 schools with the largest gains in enrollment are mostly Minnesota State colleges. The school system saw its first small increase in enrollment in a decade last year, and as a whole, its enrollment is up nearly 10% from fall 2023.
SOURCE: MSPBJ
“We believe the increase in enrollment was driven by a number of factors,” said Scott Olson, chancellor of Minnesota State, in a statement. “Quality academic programs; keeping our colleges and universities the most affordable, most accessible higher education options in the state; and outstanding relationships with the communities we serve were clearly among the keys.”
The for-profit Capella University was the only top 10 school for enrollment gains that isn’t in the Minnesota State system. The Minneapolis-based online school has 46,000 students, up from 39,000 in 2020, according to regulatory filings.
The state’s biggest school by enrollment, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, also has more students now than in 2020. The 57,000 students attending the U as of fall 2024 is an increase of about 4,600 students compared to 2020. The school also recently said its new first-year class is its largest ever.
The College of St. Scholastica, Minnesota State University Moorhead and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota all reported the biggest decreases in enrollment this year compared to 2020.
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Learn more about enrolling at Dakota County Technical College by contacting:
Admissions
admissions@dctc.edu
651-423-8266
Room 2-110
