Systemwide CU enrollment up slightly this fall according to preliminary estimates

Total fall enrollment at the four CU campuses is slightly above that of fall 2022, according to preliminary estimates presented to the Board of Regents during its Sept. 7-8 meeting at CU Denver.

The estimated systemwide enrollment of 66,050 is up 0.3% over the total from a year ago, 65,825. Chad Marturano, vice president and chief financial officer for the CU system, said final figures are pending campus census results later his month, with official counts required by the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s Oct. 15 deadline.

Marturano’s report to the board included campus-by-campus totals. Based on the estimates, three campuses are seeing increases compared with fall 2022: CU Boulder (up 1.8%), CU Anschutz (up 1.5%) and UCCS (up 0.1%). CU Denver is down 3.7%.

CU Boulder estimates 36,780 students enrolled this fall. The campus’s first-year cohort is projected to be 7,375 students, up 3.8% over fall 2022. Read more on CU Boulder’s preliminary enrollment figures in CU Boulder Today.

UCCS estimates 10,735 students enrolled this fall. Total student credit hours are up 1.3% from June budget estimates. Compared to fall 2022, the campus saw increases among new undergraduate first-year students, graduate students and nonresident students.

CU Denver estimates 13,993 students enrolled this fall. The preliminary figure indicates a smaller incoming freshman class than budgeted, and graduate enrollment is down in both new and continuing students. The campus is continuing its planned budget realignment process for the current fiscal year while honoring its commitment for the approved 3.0% merit pool increase for campus employees.

CU Anschutz estimates 4,542 students enrolled this fall. The campus saw higher enrollment in the School of Medicine M.D. Program compared to a year ago, while enrollment was lower in the School of Pharmacy across PharmD, Master of Pharmacy and Ph.D.

Marturano said final fall enrollment figures and student retention figures will be available for discussion by the Board of Regents at its November meeting, scheduled for Nov. 7-8 at UCCS. Enrollment figures from other higher education institutions across the state also will be available at that time.

In other business at last week’s meeting, the board approved a new degree at CU Boulder and the designation of two UCCS programs as departments. The items had been advanced by the Regents University Affairs Committee. Items that had been advanced by the Regents Finance Committee also received board approval, including the conveyance of property from CU Boulder to the city of Boulder, a slate of energy-saving projects at UCCS and the extension of lines of credit for the campuses.

The board approved recommended changes to Regent Policy 10.A, 10.E, 10.H and 10.P, which had been advanced for consideration by the Regents Governance Committee. The board also voted to approve changes to Article 2.A, Policy 2.C.1, which will shift the board’s election of chair and vice chair from the June board meeting to the February board meeting beginning in 2025.

UCCS’ Venkat Reddy was named Chancellor Emeritus by the Board of Regents, which also approved a resolution of appreciation for the campus leader. Read more in Communique.

CU Denver research was in the spotlight during a presentation by the host campus. Read more in CU Denver News.