Campus Connection

Enrollment looks strong as classes start Tuesday, Sept. 4

It’s taken nearly 40 years, but UW-La Crosse is expecting to see a record number of first-year students on campus when classes begin Tuesday, Sept. 4. Director of Admissions Corey Sjoquist says 2,180 first-year students registered for classes over the summer.

In a time when many universities across the state are seeing declining enrollment, UWL’s numbers remain strong.

“We’re in a very good position to set a new record for first-year student class size,” says Sjoquist. That’s 55 more first-year students than the old record of 2,125 freshmen set in 1979 — as well as above the university’s target of 2,100. In addition to a larger freshman class, Sjoquist anticipates more students of color enrolling as first-year students – up to 228, which is 10.5 percent of the new class. That’s an increase from 8.6 percent a year ago. Final numbers will not be released until 10 days into the semester. With the record new class, overall enrollment is expected to be about last fall’s 10,499. Record enrollment was 10,546 in fall 2016. In a time when many universities across the state are seeing declining enrollment, UWL’s numbers remain strong. Sjoquist says the Admissions Office has been very busy this summer with 2,320 visits by prospective students. “It’s exciting to have that many summer visitors considering UWL for 2019 and beyond,” he notes.