The Woods continues to buck the higher education trend in the most important categories – residential and online enrollment growth
(story first appeared in the 2024 William Woods Alumni Magazine, The Woods)
If you decided to take in one of William Woods’ cherished traditions on campus this past August, the Fall Semester Ivy Ceremony for new incoming students, chances are you had a tough time finding a parking space.
You might have had to wait in a line longer than you remembered. Or just had to set aside more time moving from one end of campus to the other, navigating the crowds of new students, their families, current students, faculty and staff.
These are the kinds of inconveniences that every college or university across the U.S., particularly the small, independent institutions, would love to have on Move-In Day. But with higher education prognosticators warning for years of an enrollment “cliff” on the horizon for around 2025, when college admissions nationally were predicted to fall due to declining high school graduate demographics, difficulty rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic or other possibilities, colleges and universities across the country have had a challenging few years in terms of enrollment.
Evidence of this trend can be found in the 62 colleges across the country that opted to close their doors or merge with another institution just since 2020, according to Best Colleges.com, almost all of them small, private institutions. Or data from entities such as the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which studies higher education enrollment trends, that found that freshman undergraduate enrollment dropped 3.6 percent nationally during the Fall 2023 semester, in the latest numbers available.
But while storm clouds have seemed to be threatening on the higher education horizon for some time, the picture at William Woods has been, in contrast, remarkably brighter. And that is not just the bright late Summer sunshine that shone high overhead on the William Woods campus on August 15, Ivy Ceremony Day and what is now the largest new student move-in day in the University’s 154-year history.
“We are thrilled to welcome another outstanding class of new students to The Woods, the largest in University history, for the second consecutive year,” said President Jeremy Moreland about the record new class. “Our mission of providing a student-centered, professions-oriented, personal college experience here at William Woods continues to resonate in a big way with both prospective students and their families.”
You might say that The Woods has been riding an enrollment “roll” over the past three years. Others might look at the long, proud history of the University and come up with another “r” word – resurgence.
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Officially, 556 new undergraduate students, including a University record 368 residential students and 188 students enrolling online, constituted the largest class of incoming new students in William Woods history. The incoming class included students from 23 nations (up from 18 the year before), 32 U.S. states and represented a 9% increase in students of color. Not to mention that the overall GPA of the incoming class was up three percent over the year before.
But what was telling was that the incoming class that enrolled at The Woods during the Fall 2024 semester was not only the largest incoming class in University history, it was the second consecutive year that William Woods welcomed the largest incoming class in the institution’s 154-year existence, following the record 456 who enrolled for the Fall 2023 semester. Taking into account the smaller increase that occurred for the Fall 2022 semester, 2022-2024 now marks the largest three-year growth period in William Woods history.
The resurgence of William Woods has placed the University in some rarified air in terms of its peers.
In the state of Missouri, William Woods saw the third largest enrollment increase among the state’s 24 independent four-year institutions in 2023, with a growth rate of 20 percent, according to data from Missouri’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE), a rate that figures to grow when the 2024 record numbers are factored in. And the two institutions that had a higher rate of growth in the CBHE? Both are located in the state’s two metro areas of St. Louis and Kansas City, making William Woods the clear leader among small town institutions.
“We are clearly Missouri’s fastest-growing small-town university,” said Moreland, “and could not be more excited about the strength we are seeing in both our residential and online degree programs.”
At The Woods, the enrollment surge is noticeable on campus in a number of ways beyond more people, longer lines and harder-to-find parking places. In September, the University officially broke ground for the construction of the first new residence hall on campus in a decade, a facility overlooking the North Campus Athletic Complex that will house 201 students. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in time for the Fall 2025 semester.
And the University’s growth extends to students who may never set foot on campus. Through Woods Global, The Woods had 254 students enroll for the Fall 2024 semester, and increase of 40 students (16%) over Fall 2023. For the three additional enrollment periods for the Fall of 2024, the University was already ahead by 90 additional students enrolled as of September 15, 2024.
“The enrollment growth we have seen at William Woods can be attributed to four factors: people, processes, partnerships and technology. All are constantly being developed, assessed, and implemented with the intent to serve the student, and the combination of these things has really spurred and fast-tracked the growth we’re experiencing,” said Dr. Andy Otto, Vice President of Enrollment Management at WWU. “We have an admissions staff that is passionate about the student experience and providing pathways for their student’s goals and aspirations. With the team and processes we have in place, we expect continued growth in the coming years.”
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So the question becomes, why has The Woods been able to grow its enrollment, while the trend nationally has been the opposite? Perhaps it can be summed up simply as the University offering the ideal, small-town college experience, at once pursuing a lot of growth and change but while maintaining the same unique culture that so many of students have embraced for generations.
Take new incoming student Elena Serrano ‘28, for example. Elena chose to attend The Woods as much for something that has put WWU on the map for decades – she is majoring in WWU’s nationally-renowned Equestrian Science program – as for something else that is brand new this year, the chance to be part of the cheer team for the first-ever William Woods Owls football team.
“I cannot wait for the college game days here, where I’ll be on the sidelines cheering with the Owls’ dance team, which will be something that will be completely new for me,” said Serrano, a native of Lexington, Oklahoma. “It’s exciting to be here at a growing school, right now I am just trying to meet everyone and learn their names!”
Marcus Cottrell ’28, another incoming student from nearby Jefferson City, Missouri, echoed Serrano’s excitement at being an Owl.
“I knew that William Woods had a history of being an all-women’s college, but when I found out it was now bigger, more open and more diverse, I needed to check it out and I am so glad I did,” Cottrell said. “I am very happy with choosing to come here!”
Since 2021, William Woods has been adding new opportunities, including academic, athletic and cultural, and prospective students and their families have been noticing. In the past three years, the University has added seven new degree programs, including the first-ever Doctor of Philosophy degree in its history, while significantly expanding access to online degree programs through the creating of Woods Global. Cultural experiences have grown as well, highlighted by the establishment of the first-ever Jazz/pep and marching band in University history, and the first-ever traditional Autumn Homecoming in William Woods’ 154 years.
Athletically, William Woods student-athletes now have seven additional team sports to choose from, led by first-ever tackle football, flag football, men’s and women’s wrestling, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and outdoor/life sports teams in University history. Owls athletes now compete in the prestigious Heart of America Conference, and benefit from new facilities like the North Campus Athletics Complex with its adjoining new locker rooms, plus expanded weight room facilities on campus.
But the reasons for the growth seem to be even more so than tangible additions, like new academic degree offerings, programs and athletic opportunities. Like philosophy, for example.
“The University has thrived,” said Provost Dr. Ted Blashak, by embracing a seemingly paradoxical philosophy that “sometimes, the biggest growth happens when you choose to remain small. Where an intentional focus on a personalized, student-centered approach offers a campus community where every student is known, valued and supported, and not just another face in the crowd.”
“Staying small allows William Woods to stay focused, agile and true to our core values,” Blashak went on. “This environment fosters deep, meaningful relationships between students and faculty, creating a space where students can explore their passions and grow in ways that larger universities simply can’t match.”
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For 154 years, William Woods has thrived by innovating and looking to the future, crucial characteristics for the success of a private, independent university. While the institution’s storied past will always be honored and appreciated, it is by looking to the future that The Woods can position itself to continue delivering the ideal, small town university experience for generations of students to come. But the more things change, the more things have a way of staying the same at WWU, at least in terms of the amazing experience the university provides for its students, in 2024, or 1984, or at any time in its history.
“A snapshot that best captures our university in 2024 would be of an institution that is seeing some amazing growth, some tremendous change, but most importantly, the same great experience that our incredible alumni all enjoyed,” said President Moreland. “We are committed to and live by that standard every day, and truly believe that, the best days of William Woods University are still to come.”
