Radford University administrators believe they’re ahead of schedule in their plan to turn around the school’s declining enrollment.
Friday morning, university president Brett Danilowicz told the Board of Visitors that enrollment will top 7,700 students this school year. Total enrollment was about 7,500 last school year. The new figure includes 2,000 new students, which is the largest new student cohort since 2019.
"We’re a year ahead of schedule for stabilizing enrollment," Danilowicz told the board. "And, in fact, we exceeded our enrollment targets by 20% this year."
Administrators credit more targeted recruiting, additional financial aid options and better retention of current students.
Prospective student visits to campus for admissions events, performances and academic camps grew by 60% last school year, according to Friday's presentation. The number of first-generation students increased by 7% for the current school year.
Radford hopes to return total enrollment to 8,600 students in a few years.
Enrollment numbers will be finalized next week.
