Graduate student enrollment up 20%; first-time freshman enrollment grows by 5%

CLEVELAND (October 4, 2021) – Bucking a national trend of declining college enrollment, Cleveland State University’s overall undergraduate and graduate Fall 2021 enrollments increased about 1% over last year. Graduate enrollment at CSU soared by more than 20% to 4,352 students, and the university welcomed 1,834 new freshmen to campus, a 5% increase from Fall 2020.

“Our unique brand of engaged learning continues to attract more and more students from our region and beyond – and not even a pandemic can slow us down,” said CSU president Harlan Sands. “Now more than ever, our community and the higher education marketplace are discovering the tremendous value of a CSU education and have made us a first choice for undergraduate and graduate programs.”

The university’s freshman enrollment increase was driven in large part by:

• A growing partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD). CSU saw a 40% increase in the number of CMSD graduates enrolled, many of whom took advantage of the Say Yes to Education Cleveland program that provides full tuition scholarships.
   
• The Parker-Hannifin Living Learning Community, a unique program that provides free room and board to 110 students in a supportive residential community of scholars with comprehensive wraparound services and graduation coaches.
   
• The Summer Transition Enrichment Program (STEP) that helps students prepare for college level coursework or simply get a head start on their studies.
   
• The new Summer Bridge Program Enrichment Academy that provides a free residential experience before freshman year to help incoming students and their families successfully transition from high school to college.
   
• The university’s 2-for-1 tuition promise, in which the university will cover spring semester tuition for freshmen who achieve a 3.0 or better grade point average.

“As an urban, public university, supporting our community is both our mission and our passion,” said Jonathan Wehner, vice president of enrollment and dean of admissions. “Seeing our reputation grow as an accessible, affordable, first-choice institution to students in Greater Cleveland and beyond is critical to the long-term economic vitality and health of Northeast Ohio. We are so excited about where we are and where we are going.”

Graduate enrollments reflect the successful launch of CSU Global, a transformational international outreach program that has delivered an additional 900 students from overseas. Most of these new students are pursuing degrees in high-demand STEM or business-technology fields like computer science and information systems that will add to the region’s talent base and help drive growth. This represents more than double the number of international students from just three years ago.