RIVER FALLS – The number of first-year students attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is up 6.6% above last year, marking the second consecutive year that figure has grown.

Overall enrollment at UWRF also grew from last year, up 3.2% to 5,222 students, 160 more than last year, according to preliminary 10^th-day census numbers. New first-year students total 1,132, or 70 more than were enrolled at the start of the 2023-24 academic year. 

The total student growth over 2023-24 marks the first time in several years that overall enrollment increased, a sign that UWRF is making progress attracting students, said Laura King, vice chancellor for student affairs and strategic enrollment.  

“We are really pleased to see these kinds of numbers,” King said. “To have a bigger freshman class for the second consecutive year and to see our overall enrollment up too, it feels really great.”

The enrollment increase is attributable in part to the success of programs that allow non-degree-seeking students affordable access to classes for UWRF credit, primarily geared towards high schoolers taking college courses through the Dual Academic Credit Program (DACP) and similar options. That figure now totals 679, 137 more than last year, a 25% increase. 

The admissions team at UWRF had set goals of 1,100 first-year students and 200 new transfer students, King said, and exceeded both. New transfer students enrolled total 216, an increase of 28 over last year. 

The higher enrollment figures are especially notable given enrollment concerns among higher education institutions across the U.S. because of problems with the rollout of the revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process that many students and their parents use to determine financial aid for college. The process that was supposed to be made simpler instead had months of delays and errors that disrupted decision timelines for current and prospective college students. 

To offset those challenges and a years-long trend of smaller high school graduating classes and fewer of those graduates attending four-year colleges and universities, UWRF has taken numerous steps to attract students, including: 

• Adding an admissions counselor who is dedicated to recruiting efforts in the Twin Cities metro area. The Twin Cities area is the largest population center near UWRF.
• Adopting a new student-centered registration and orientation model that is designed to better recruit students. 
• The addition of men’s soccer and reinstating baseball as varsity sports this year. 
• The continued offering of Esports and marching band programs. They were introduced at UWRF last year and helped attract additional students.

“These higher enrollment numbers that we are seeing are a sign that the strategies we have adopted are working,” King said.

UWRF is one of eight Universities of Wisconsin schools at which enrollment is higher.

 “The fact that overall enrollment is up at the UWs despite the federal FAFSA fiasco is proof positive that Wisconsinites know that education unlocks opportunities,” Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said.

Please note: The data reported here reflects preliminary official census day enrollment numbers, using student counts on the 10th day of class. These numbers are slightly different than the enrollment estimates published Sept. 16 by the Universities of Wisconsin using census day estimates based on the first day of class enrollments, in part due to the later registration deadlines for DACP students. Final census day enrollment numbers for all Universities of Wisconsin will be communicated later this fall.

Submitted by UW-River Falls