The Tennessee Higher Education Commission recently released data on enrollments at state-operated colleges and universities. Systemwide, enrollments grew 2.2 percent from the fall of 2023. Undergraduate enrollment was up 2.3 percent and graduate enrollment increased by 1.3 percent. However, first-time enrollments in first-year classes was down by 2.5 percent.
At the flagship campus in Knoxville, enrollments are up 6.7 percent this fall. At the University of Tennessee Martin and at Austin Peay State University, enrollments are up by more than 8 percent.
But the bad news is that enrollments at historically Black Tennessee State University are down by 23 percent. This steep decline comes at a time when enrollments at many HBCUs have increased significantly. Undergraduate enrollments at Tennessee State declined by 25.3 percent and graduate enrollments are down by more than 12 percent. Most strikingly, enrollments of students in first-year programs are down by more than 50 percent. The drop in enrollments is estimated to have reduced revenues by $28 million.
“We are actively analyzing the factors contributing to the decline and have already begun to take steps to address them,” said interim president Ronald A. Johnson.
This past February, the state replaced the entire board of trustees after an audit alleged financial mismanagement. The turmoil undoubtedly contributed to the steep drop in first-year enrollments. Glenda Glover, who had served as president of the university since 2013, stepped down this past summer.
Not to be overlooked is the fact that in 1913, the state legislature stipulated that Tennessee State should receive 25 percent of the federal land grant funds allocated to the state. But from 1957 to 2007, the historically Black university did not receive land grant allocations. A state legislative committee said that Tennessee State is entitled to between $150 million and $544 million.
