SHREVEPORT – Thanks to growing student populations at the undergraduate and graduate level, LSU Shreveport recorded its second-highest enrollment total in school history with 9,377 this fall.
Total enrollment increased by more than nine percent from Fall 2022 with an addition of 62 undergraduate students and 721 graduate students.
Undergraduate enrollment (2,545) increased for the first time since 2019 as LSUS has reinvested revenue from its online graduate programs back into on-campus renovation to attract more face-to-face undergraduate students.
Despite a national trend of declining enrollment as colleges and universities find their footing after the COVID-19 pandemic, LSUS is the second-fastest growing four-year college in Louisiana.
“It’s a challenging time for higher education in this country – that’s no secret,” said LSUS Chancellor Dr. Robert Smith. “There are two million fewer students enrolled in college this fall than just a few years ago.
“We’ve grown in undergraduate students for the first time since 2019, and our graduate students continue to grow at a high rate. The credit goes to our recruitment and admissions folks along with our faculty and staff who’ve helped to retain students.”
LSUS reclaimed its spot as the graduate education leader in Louisiana, enrolling a state-best 6,832 graduate students.
The three most popular LSUS graduate programs are the Master’s in Business Administration, the Master’s in Health Administration and the two Master’s in Education.
LSUS’s total of 9,377 students makes it the fifth-largest four-year university in the state, passing Northwestern State University on the enrollment list this fall.
LSUS hit peak enrollment of 9,955 in the Fall of 2020, the semester after the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Tuition is a university’s top source of revenue, and growing enrollment is especially critical when state funding continues to decrease.
Smith said LSUS could see its funding from the state drop by as much as nine percent (more than $1 million) in the coming year.
“It’s a challenge, but we are prepared for that because we’re taking actions to grow enrollment,” Smith said.
