Undergraduate enrollment dips after two record breaking years

By Parker Henningsen

 Editor in Chief

Undergraduate student enrollment is down this fall after two record-breaking freshman classes at Trevecca.

In 2024, Trevecca welcomed 530 new students, and in 2025, the university welcomed around 550 new students, according to two TrevEchoes articles regarding enrollment.

This fall, the campus welcomed 461 new students. This number included 399 new freshmen, 60 transfers and 12 readmits.

Melinda Miller, vice president of undergraduate enrollment, said there are several reasons for the drop-off in enrollment this fall, one of the biggest being the demographic cliff.

The demographic cliff refers to the sharp decline in the number of college-aged students due to the decline in births from 2007 to 2009. This period is also associated with the Great Recession.

“This year we reached the demographic cliff in enrollment. It is a term we have been talking about for at least 10 years, where the birth rate dropped off and less students are graduating from high school,” said Miller.

Several online sources predict a national 13% drop in high school graduates through 2041. This is roughly 500,000 – 576,000 people

Miller also pointed to the tuition increase as another factor.

According to Trevecca’s official website, the 12-18 credit-hour tuition block is $17,050 for the 2026-27 school year, compared with last year’s tuition block of $15,875. This year, there is also a $150 increase in food costs.

There are around 30 fewer people living on campus this fall.

“On the first day of classes we had 571 female residents and 360 male residents,” said Jessica Dykes, vice president and dean of student development. “So while we’re down in enrollment, we are only 32 people down in housing [from last year].”

With enrollment taking a dip, admissions must get creative, Miller said. 

“It forces us to become Trevecca scrappy. It means that we have to pivot and adapt to our new market and environment,” said Miller. “We are going to have to differentiate ourselves at Trevecca from schools who have the ability to be more competitive on scholarships because they have larger endowments. We are competing for less students, so how can we position ourselves in the marketplace to be more attractive to today’s students?” 

Trevecca is currently working on several ways to make this happen.

“Think workforce development programs, online programs that allow you to work, that feed straight into careers and internships. We are working on some of these things behind the scenes,” said Miller.