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Oklahoma’s largest universities buck national trends for post-COVID enrollment with record highs

University of Oklahoma senior Megan Bauknight talks over dorm amenities to a campus tour group in Norman.
Beth Wallis
/
StateImpact Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma senior Megan Bauknight talks over dorm amenities to a campus tour group in Norman.

Standing in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business, agricultural education senior Reagon Carter makes the pitch to a campus tour group for why they should pick OSU.

“Ninety-six percent of our graduates, six months after graduation, have a job,” Carter said. “Who wants a job when they graduate? All of the parents are like, ‘raise your hand!’ So, if you want a job when you graduate, this might be a good place for you.”

Oklahoma State University senior Reagon Carter leads a campus tour in Stillwater.
Beth Wallis
/
StateImpact Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University senior Reagon Carter leads a campus tour in Stillwater.

Between tour stops, Carter talks to group members individually, asking them about future plans. One high school senior is considering mechanical engineering, and Carter talks him through a common strategy of double-majoring in aerospace engineering. Another student from Brazil is considering international business, and Carter lauds OSU’s study abroad programs.

Tours like these are common collegiate recruiting tools, and one of several in OSU’s toolbox to reel in prospective students. In its “Up Close” program, high school juniors and seniors are invited to the campus for an all-day experience. “Scholars Day” is an invitation-only event for high-achieving high school students every fall. There are college fairs, K-12 programming, Extension outreach, high school counselor fly-ins and more.

And it appears to be working.

OSU and the University of Oklahoma are experiencing enrollment booms. StateImpact analyzed the last ten years of enrollment data from the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education and found, as opposed to national trends, OSU experienced no post-pandemic decrease in enrollment. OU saw a slight dip between fall 2019 and fall 2020, but both institutions’ enrollment has skyrocketed to all-time highs since.


Combined enrollment for Oklahoma’s largest universities rose by more than 14% since 2020. Nationally, rates still haven’t recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

OSU Provost and Senior Vice President Jeanette Mendez said some factors leading to the enrollment boom are bigger budgets, growing admissions teams, upped scholarships and more marketing. She said she thinks students in the post-pandemic era are hungry for a holistic college experience large universities can offer.

“I think for your traditional students that went remote in high school, I think they said, ‘That’s not what I want. I do want a really inclusive kind of large university experience,’” Mendez said. “I think they realized what they were missing out on, and I think these comprehensive research institutions that offer everything are really appealing.”

OU President Joe Harroz said a major player in its record growth is affordability. Though the university has raised tuition every year since 2020, he said a focus on scholarships has kept costs down.

“Scholarships are up 20%. ... Need-based aid is up more than 38% over that five-year period,” Harroz said. “If you look at the average cost versus five years ago, it’s 28% less. Now that gets lost in the headlines of tuition increases.”

Students at Midwest City High School line up in front of a booth for the University of Oklahoma at a college fair. Admissions counselor Jameson Riley said he uses these opportunities to build relationships with juniors and help facilitate the application process with seniors.
Beth Wallis
/
StateImpact Oklahoma
Students at Midwest City High School line up in front of a booth for the University of Oklahoma at a college fair. Admissions counselor Jameson Riley said he uses these opportunities to build relationships with juniors and help facilitate the application process with seniors.


The money has come from several sources, including a $140 million cut from Norman campus costs and an activated donor base. In 2020, OU launched its $2 billion “Lead On” fundraising campaign. Back then, the average for yearly donations was $110 million. Last year, donors contributed $342 million.

Harroz said OU is also leaning into its core research mission to attract students. Research funding is now more than $400 million a year, and the university is working to become a member of the American Association of Universities, an elite collection of leading research institutions.

But rapid growth isn’t without its growing pains. Last fall’s entering class was about 5,800 students. Harroz said OU can afford to get to an entering class of 7,200 students before it becomes unmanageable.

“You know, you can grow to a certain point, and that’s healthy,” Harroz said. “And then if you grow beyond that, there are structural changes that you have to make and structural investments that do not make sense. … A hallmark for OU is that we’re a big university, but we feel small for those that are here. If you continue to grow at this rate, you can’t pull that off.”

Harroz also credits increased money from the state legislature, like a recent $260 million investment to construct a new wet lab building and research base. OSU also cites the legislative boost helping it grow its recruitment mission. Though, history paints a complicated picture of appropriation trends.

While higher education dollars have been on the rise for the last four fiscal years, that comes after eight out of ten years saw cuts between FY 2009 and FY 2018. Higher education’s current share of the total state budget is at its lowest — 9.54% compared to a peak of 16.26% — since at least FY 1990.


Recently, the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education pitched a $500 million increase in higher education funding to the legislature. It would include $42 million to fund programs that address critical workforce needs, $3.7 million to expand concurrent enrollment for high schoolers and $12.5 million for student support in navigating careers and scholarships. It also includes two $75 million requests each for OU and OSU.

But despite the rapid growth at OU and OSU, the future is still uncertain. Due to decreased birth rates, experts project an impending “enrollment cliff,” which could mean a 15% decline in U.S. college students. That could start as soon as this year, leading administrators like OSU’s Jeanette Mendez to take a cautiously optimistic approach.

“I think we’re prepared for what that [the enrollment cliff] looks like,” Mendez said. “But that’s really why we’ve been investing now, so that when that comes, we’ve built up a steady reputation. We’ve really been at the forefront of putting out that value proposition of what an OSU degree will get. … So I think we’re in a good place, but our eyes are on that.”

Beth Wallis holds a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. Originally from Tulsa, she also graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's degree in conducting performance. She was a band director at a public school for five years.
StateImpact Oklahoma is a collaboration of KGOU, KOSU, KWGS and KCCU.