According to updated enrollment projections from the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah’s public colleges and universities can expect to see over 43,000 additional students over the next decade. The largest percent growth is expected to come from Southern Utah University, at 4.7% growth rate, with Dixie State University closely following at 4.4%. Utah Valley University expects to enroll nearly 56,000 students by 2028.

These growth rates are calculated using such variables as Utah population by age, high school enrollments, and unemployment estimates.

USHE Enrollment Projections, Fall (End of Term) Headcount, 2018 (actual) – 2028

Enrollment Projections by USHE Institution, Fall (End of Term) Headcount, 2018 (actual) – 2028

Background

Annually, USHE institutions update their respective 10-year enrollment forecast estimates for Board review and approval. These estimates are prepared to help inform Regents and state-level policymakers about future enrollment levels at USHE institutions, assist in identifying capital development needs, and develop mid- to long-range operation plans.

In order to recognize their distinct missions and goals, the USHE institutions have each developed a unique projection model to estimate future enrollments. When comparing the enrollment projection made in 2018 to last year’s reported data, the fall end-of-term 2018 headcount projections were overstated by 1,279 students (difference of 0.7%), fall end-of-term FTE projections were overstated by 757 FTE (difference of 0.6%) and the 2017-18 annualized FTE projections were overstated by 1,555 FTE (difference of 1.1%). Institutions continue to refine their estimation models for the 2019 projection data sets.