Manhattanville College Experiences Enrollment Boom

Bucking national trends, BCW member Manhattanville College will begin its fall 2022 semester with one of the largest increases in new student enrollment in the liberal arts college’s recent history.

New academic offerings, a return to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, and new directions that have energized the college are among the reasons administrators cite for the expected 40% increase in undergraduates this fall.

The increase is particularly impressive since the increase goes against a national trend in which many schools continue to see a decline in enrollment, particularly among undergraduate students. National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported that total enrollment nationwide declined 4.1 percent since last spring.

“We are very excited about the future of Manhattanville College,’’ said Interim President Louise Feroe, Ph.D. “We are up 40 percent in new, first-year students, and transfer students are increasingly choosing Manhattanville, showing a greater than 30 percent increase. For the first time in years, we will welcome close to 500 new undergraduate students. We are equally pleased with the increase in our new graduate student population as we prepared to welcome nearly 200 new graduate students to our community this fall.”

The average grade point average among first-year students increased from 3.2 to 3.3 and Manhattanville saw a 50 percent increase in new undergraduate residential students. Probably most exciting, said Cogburn, is the growth of first-generation students and students of color. This class represents a 40 percent increase among new undergraduate students who identify as first-generation (first in their family to attain a four-year college degree), while also seeing a 45 percent increase in students who identify as Hispanic, 60 percent increase in students who identify as African American or Black, and triple digit percentage increases among new students identifying as Asian and students who identify as two or more races.