New Mexico State University (NMSU) revealed on Sept. 6 that enrollment figures for the NMSU system indicate a nearly 3% increase compared to the previous fall, with the Las Cruces campus surpassing pre-pandemic enrollment levels, according to a press release. The preliminary data from the university's fall census date of Sept. 1 reports a systemwide enrollment count of 21,829 for fall 2023, marking a 2.9% rise from fall 2022.
The unduplicated headcount encompasses a total of 14,794 undergraduate and graduate students at NMSU's Las Cruces campus, indicating a growth of 3.7% compared to the previous fall of 2022. Additionally, the enrollment figures for the first-time freshman class have surged by 3.4%. Furthermore, NMSU Global, the fully online campus, has an increase of 32.8% from the fall of 2022. Notably, NMSU's community colleges have also reported higher enrollments for the current fall term, with NMSU Alamogordo accommodating 1,091 students, marking a 5.5% increase over fall 2022, and NMSU Grants enrolling 837 students, reflecting a 4.5% rise.
“There was severe enrollment loss at the NMSU community colleges during the pandemic,” said NMSU Community College Chancellor Mónica Torres. “It was heartbreaking to see so many community college students lose valuable educational opportunities to the circumstances COVID dropped in our collective laps. As students and families experience recovered – and continue to recover – from those very challenging conditions, the NMSU community colleges are now experiencing enrollment gains. That is good news for our students and our communities.”
“The Opportunity Scholarship has improved retention because it makes financing college predictable,” said Renay Scott, NMSU’s vice president for Student Success. “We’ve seen fewer students with outstanding balances and our students have less loan debt. Going to college is a full-time job for most students, and the Opportunity Scholarship has taken the pressure off for a lot of students who would otherwise have to take time off to save for tuition costs.”