Mississippi Valley State University’s enrollment has fallen below 2,000 for the first time in decades.
The historically Black university, the smallest of the state’s eight public four-year colleges, has an enrollment of 1,879 students this fall, down 9% from the prior year, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Institutions of Higher Learning.
That was the largest percentage decline among the eight universities, although all but the University of Mississippi saw their numbers fall this year.
Systemwide, enrollment was down 1%.
MVSU has been struggling for years to boost its numbers, dealing not only with the Delta’s declining population but increased competition for students with the state’s larger, comprehensive universities.
MVSU celebrated last year an uptick in enrollment of less than 2%, but that gain and more was erased this year.
The current enrollment, according to IHL records, is about half of MVSU’s 2004 peak of 3,621.
Efforts to obtain comment from the university’s president, Dr. Jerryl Briggs, were not immediately successful.
Delta State University had the second largest decline this fall, falling 6.3% to 2,556 students.
Its president, William LaForge, was abruptly removed in June by the state College Board after he had served nine years in the post.
Enrollment at Delta State has fallen 32% since 2019, when it stood at 3,761.
The University of Mississippi took over first place as the state’s largest school with 22,967 students, including nearly 3,100 studying at its medical center in Jackson.
Overall, the enrollment at UM was up 1,111 students this year, or 5.1%.
The systemwide decline was less than the national average. Undergraduate enrollment fell by 1.6% this fall at public four-year colleges in the country, IHL said in a press release, citing data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
- Contact Tim Kalich at 662-581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com. Katherine Parker contributed to this report.
