After suffering an enrollment drop over the previous two years due mainly to COVID-19, New Mexico Highlands University is seeing an increase of 59% in new undergraduates.
The 59% increase equates to 96 new students on campus, a KRQE report said this week. The university is also seeing an 89% increase in its online classes. It is trying to create ways to deal with the growth in the student population.
“We’re looking at adding new nursing programs,” Theresa Law, executive vice president of Student & Donor Engagement, told KRQE. “We know there’s a shortage of health care providers in rural and Northern New Mexico.”
During the drop in enrollment numbers, the university had to use its dorms for other purposes, such as guest housing or other campus activities; the report said
“Hopefully, we can bring more of those online and do some of the maintenance that has been accumulated over the years and make them modern some of our dorms are several decades old now,” Law said. “We can offer new things like more on-campus life initiatives, more academic programs, more services for students, especially for at-risk students.”