Lower U of M freshmen enrollment numbers rock the boat
Experts predict a 15% decline in enrollment, citing the drop in the birthrate associated with the Great Recession in 2008-2009, the decline in high school graduate numbers nationally and increases in those foregoing college. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
This fall, the University of Memphis will cut the ribbon on the Edwards Research and Innovation Center, a $40 million STEM building with separate labs for modern advances in science and math, including AI, big data and robotics.
The university and the region waited years for it to be funded in Nashville. Six years after it was proposed, the 65,000-square-foot structure will open on a campus expecting to have 25% fewer first-time freshmen, about 650 in in a category that has been central to how universities gauge their viability and plan their budgets.
“We knew it was coming. We knew there was going to be some pressure on enrollment because of demographics,” said Doug Edwards, member of the U of M board of trustees and naming donor of the new wing off the Herff College of Engineering.
“We also knew that people were beginning to understand that a college degree wasn’t absolutely essential for gainful employment in a lot of areas.”
Since 2020, enrollment in the engineering programs have dropped 14%, modest in cost compared to the $6 million campus leaders expect lose with the smaller freshmen class.
That comes on top of a $2 million deficit projected for this summer, also due to decreased enrollment.
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Jane Roberts
Jane Roberts has reported in Memphis for more than 20 years. As a senior member of The Daily Memphian staff, she was assigned to the medical beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also has done in-depth work on other medical issues facing our community, including shortages of specialists in local hospitals. She covered K-12 education here for years and later the region’s transportation sector, including Memphis International Airport and FedEx Corp.
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