USG featured Omar Correa, St. Thomas’ vice president for enrollment management, to discuss the projected 2026 decrease in college enrollment and university strategies to combat this issue at the Undergraduate Student Government meeting on Thursday, Dec. 5.
In recent years, St. Thomas has seen substantial improvements in its total campus enrollment and student body demographics.
Since fall 2023, St. Thomas has increased its student body population by 3% and its population of people of color by 3%.
“We also have been trying to be very diligent and vigilant in terms of our diversity, in terms of the type of students that come here, because we want to be able to bring other colleagues that are going to be successful here,” Correa said.
One of the biggest accomplishments the university has seen this year is its retention rate increasing from 86% to 88%, Correa said.
Despite these accomplishments, most of the states in the Midwestern region are projected to produce fewer graduates by 2030, potentially regressing the university’s enrollment progress, Correa said.
One of the factors contributing to the enrollment decrease is the Minnesota State Grant program shortfall.
“We have the state government increasing the North Star Promise funding while they’re cutting the Minnesota State Grant,” Correa said. “Part of what we’re doing is being very, very vigilant to make sure that we can help the students that will be affected by the shortage in Minnesota State Grant.”
If a student finds St. Thomas to be their best fit, Correa and his colleagues work to help them enroll.
“I always continue to say we will continue to recruit the right type of student that is a good fit to the institution, and then at that point, we can provide advice that is beyond financial that comes to a point that is an investment,” Correa said.
An element that Correa believes sets St. Thomas apart from its public university competitors is its programs.
“If you want to stay in the state of Minnesota, and you believe that private education fits more of your future, we are the only private institution to have a fully accredited engineering program,” Correa said.
Cecilia Wallace can be reached at wall1238@stthomas.edu.