The milestone comes as national predictions suggested enrollments at colleges and universities would sharply decrease because of the uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am stunned to announce that this fall, Lindsey Wilson College has the highest enrollment in her 117-year existence and we did that in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Luckey announced. “It is an incredible accomplishment and it also makes me wonder what might have been if COVID had not hit our campus and the rest of our country and the world.”
Overall enrollment numbers climbed by 106 students with total enrollment surpassing 2,700 students for the first time in the history of the college. A significant driver in the overall success of the college was a record retention rate for returning students on the Columbia campus.
“We are so pleased to see so many students wanting to re-enroll at the college. I think it makes a strong statement about how well we handled the transition to online learning last spring,” said Luckey.” “Clearly, our students were anxious to return to campus to see their friends and to interact with their talented faculty.”
This is the second consecutive year LWC has set a new record for fall-to-fall retention which will only enhance the college’s recent ascent in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for regional universities in the South.
“We should all share in this accomplishment,” said Luckey. “Our FYE advisors, our faculty, our residence life staff, the admissions staff and everyone from student services. So many of our staff and faculty made calls and reached out to students over the summer and during the semester while they were taking classes online. Your combined efforts made all the difference this year.”
The 2,735 students represent enrollment from 43 states and 37 countries. Another significant factor in the overall success of the college is also attributed to the largest ever enrollment of the college’s online and blended programs.
“All-in-all, I consider this to be a huge win, especially when you consider so many of the catastrophic disasters at other colleges and universities with their fall enrollment, Luckey said. “I could not be happier to see a record enrollment during a pandemic.”
