Franklin Pierce University expects to enter the 2021 school year with record-high retention rates of current students, as small colleges across the country struggle with flagging enrollment numbers.
In a recent update message from University President Kim Mooney, posted on the Franklin Pierce website, Mooney confirmed that the university was requiring all faculty and students to be vaccinated before returning to school in the fall, or have an approved exemption.
“By prioritizing vaccinations, we can assure a safe and rewarding experience for everyone,” Mooney said.
The university said they have not seen a correlation between the vaccination rules and current enrollment trends.
Mooney added that due to the vaccination rule, the university would not be requiring masks in most situations, but in high foot-traffic areas, such as the exercise center, the field house and library, they may still be required.
The dining hall, library cafe and campus pub are all expected to be open and operating.
Franklin Pierce reported enrollment was down slightly from usual years in 2020, when 1,242 students enrolled on the Rindge campus. This is compared to pre-pandemic numbers of 1,420 undergraduate students in 2019.
Nationally, undergraduate enrollment seems to be flagging, continuing an already downward trend that has been ongoing since 2012. The National Student Clearinghouse estimates a nearly 5 percent decrease in undergraduate enrollment from previous years, or about 727,000 fewer students across the country. The University would not confirm current enrollment numbers for the 2021 school year until enrollments are finalized in September, but Director of Communications Kathryn Grosso Gann said there appears to be more Franklin Pierce students returning to campus than ever before.
In the Fall of 2020, there was a 73 percent rate of retention of full-time students, Gann said, which was the highest retention rate on record for Franklin Pierce.
“We anticipate another record-breaking year for Fall 2021, based upon where registrations currently stand to date,” Gann said.
Retention has been steadily growing for the school, with first-year, full-time students returning at a rate of about 68 percent in the Fall of 2019, which was an increase of about 9 percent from the previous year.
In July, the college held a STEP Day Program, where more than three-fourths of currently enrolled freshman visited the Rindge Campus.
Gann said there is also an increase in diversity of undergraduate student enrollment, which has increased from 12 percent to 20 percent over the past five years.
Several programs in the medical field, including Fanklin Pierce’s Master’s Entry Program in Nursing, which launched last fall, have become the college’s fastest growing programs, Gann said.
The nursing program has doubled its enrollment in the year since its inception, and the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at the Franklin Pierce University Academic Center in Goodyear, Arizona, saw a 270 percent increase in applications.
“For our Rindge Campus specifically, the programs of study with the greatest interest are Health Science, Criminal Justice, Education, Biology, Management, and Psychology,” Gann said. “For Franklin Piece, the pandemic drove increased interest in our health science programs, especially with clinical programs at the graduate level, including our Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Physician Assistant Studies and Master’s Entry Program in Nursing programs.”
For the Rindge campus specifically, the most popular programs of study are health science, criminal justice, education, biology, management and psychology.
“We remain attractive to prospective students because we offer majors and programs that develop essential, professional skills; promote close connections between students, faculty members, and staff; and position our students to realize their potential through highly personalized, financially accessible academic offerings,” Gann said.