College is among fastest growing degree-granting Utah colleges
EPHRAIM—With enrollment peaking above 6,000 for the first time, Snow College was near the head of the pack in enrollment growth among Utah’s degree-granting colleges and universities this fall.
Based on numbers submitted to the Utah System of Higher Education, the fall-semester headcount on the Ephraim and Richfield campuses combined is 6,106 compared to 5,800 in Fall 2020. That represents a 5.3 percent increase.
In the past five years, the fall headcount at Snow has grown by about 750 students.
Among traditional colleges and universities, only Southern Utah University reported higher growth than Snow this semester. Fall headcount at SUU was up 8.2 percent from 2020.
| College | % Change 2020-2021 |
|---|---|
| Southern Utah University | 8.18 |
| Snow College | 5.28 |
| University of Utah | 4.18 |
| Dixie State University | 1.85 |
| Utah Valley University | 0.81 |
| Salt Lake Community College | -0.25 |
| Utah State University | -0.96 |
| Davis Technical College | -5.16 |
Teri Clawson, associate vice president for enrollment management, said one factor that might have helped Snow this fall was its “Up to 14 for Free” initiative.
The college asked students to cover their first six credits with scholarships, financial aid or other resources. The college then covered up to eight more credits at no additional charge. The program will also be offered during spring semester.
“We are No. 1 in student success (in national ranking for students completing their programs at Snow or transferring to a four-year institution) for a reason,” Clawson said. “Our staff and faculty genuinely care about each student’s success and that [word] is getting out there. My hope is that we can reach even more students in the future.”
The Utah system as a whole, which includes technical schools, community colleges and universities showed a 2.24 percent increase from 2020.
Total enrollment this fall at 16 state institutions, including eight technical colleges, was 211,954, up from 207,305 in Fall 2020.
“We’ve come out of a challenging year, and I am pleased that enrollments have increased overall,” said Dave R. Woolstenhulme, commissioner of higher education.
“It is imperative that we continue to work with students statewide to access and complete higher education to provide a qualified workforce and to achieve continued individual and statewide success.”
In percentage terms, the biggest jumps in the Utah system were at the technical colleges. One of those eight schools, Davis Technical College, experienced a 5 percent enrollment drop. But the other seven had increases ranging from 8.3 to 20.7 percent.
However, the raw numbers at the technical schools were small compared to the degree-granting institutions. The seven technical schools that registered growth added just 1,700 students combined.
