The number of students attending Washington State University appears to be stabilizing after dramatic declines following the Covid pandemic, despite those students paying the highest combination of tuition and mandatory fees among the state’s public colleges.

Still, the university is at a difficult crossroads. Enrollment is down nearly 20% over the past six years across all of the university’s campuses. State and federal cuts are adding to financial pressure, and more tuition hikes could be on the way.

The WSU Board of Regents held a meeting in mid-September in which they discussed enrollment trends, costs of attending the Pullman-based university and heard new President Elizabeth Cantwell’s plans to turn the school around.

“This is the beginning of what we are calling redesigning the WSU system for the future,” Cantwell told the regents on Sept. 18. “This process will take about a year.”

On the flagship Pullman campus, total enrollment dropped from 20,976 students in the fall of 2019 to 16,248 this fall, the school said. That’s a loss of more than 4,700 students.

Including its branch campuses in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Everett, WSU total enrollment has fallen from 31,607 in fall 2019 to just 25,477 this year, a drop of 6,000 students.

Washington State University Tri-Cities recently touted its headcount increase of 8.1%, rising from 1,489 students last fall to 1,609 this year.

The overall WSU rate of decline has slowed. This fall, WSU’s Pullman campus is down about 200 students from last fall, the school said.

By contrast, the rival University of Washington has seen modest enrollment increases in recent years.

Further tuition hikes looming

Meanwhile, if the regents vote on Nov. 13 to increase tuition and fees for the 2026-27 school year, it would mark a decade of yearly increases since the state government reduced funding for higher education in 2015.

Washington State University students already face the highest mandatory costs among the state’s public institutions.

Resident undergraduates at WSU can expect to pay $13,888 for the upcoming school year in tuition and fees, according to figures provided to the regents.

The University of Washington still has the highest tuition in the state, but WSU’s mandatory fees put its total expected costs for resident students up by $486, said Leslie Brunelli, an executive vice president for finance and administration.

The proposed tuition increase does not have a set figure yet, as the maximum increase allowed will be set later by the Washington State Office of Financial Management. 

WSU officials expect the increase to be more than 3.3%. Taking the full amount would bring tuition, not counting fees, to at least $12,060 for the 2026-27 academic year.

Further complicating the issue is a 1.5% cut in state funding, or $9.9 million, compared to the 2023-25 budget. A multibillion-dollar state budget shortfall prompted the Washington Legislature to make spending cuts to a number of public institutions.

Last budgeting cycle, the state provided 66 cents of every dollar WSU needed, Brunelli told the regents. Now the state is only providing 56 cents on every dollar.

“We have a bigger gap to fill in,” Brunelli said.

Charting a new course

WSU’s new president told regents she is taking steps to deal with complex issues of enrollment, declining federal research grants and huge challenges to athletics.

Cantwell, who was hired in February to replace Kirk Schulz, also wants to change WSU’s identity. It is time for the university to shed the underdog mentality that has haunted it for years, she said.

“We are really looking at modernizing that 19th-century land-grant mission to meet 21st-century needs,” Cantwell told the regents.

Recruiting new students is one solution, but those students must remain in school.

Provost T. Chris Riley-Tillman said that for the past few years, around 20% of WSU students drop out before their second year.

Bolstering student support services, job placement programs and removing barriers to degree changes are some of the ways Cantwell hopes to ensure those arriving at WSU graduate.

One bright spot is that the number of new first-year students enrolled through WSU’s online arm, WSU Global, grew by 11% last year. Cantwell sees an opportunity for more growth there.

Research has been a key part of Cantwell’s career. She is a former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff member, senior vice president of research at the University of Arizona and president of Utah State University.

By 2035, Cantwell wants to see WSU research output double.

She also wants to burnish WSU’s image, she said, because the success of the university and its students, alumni and faculty depends “on our collective identity.”

The Cougars’ brand must be celebrated and promoted, whether it is a laboratory breakthrough, athletic success, or post-graduate accomplishment, she said.

Jolt from Pac-12 shakeup 

One key component of that image is athletics. Washington State was long a member of the prestigious Pac-12 Conference. But the Cougars and Oregon State were left behind when 10 of the Pac-12 members jumped to other conferences.

Washington State and Oregon State have succeeded in luring other schools to rebuild the Pac-12, but it is no longer considered a top-tier conference. That sharply reduces the television dollars coming to athletics.

Cantwell said major challenges ahead include raising money to pay top athletes, so they are not lured away by richer programs. 

In addition, the athletics department is nearly $100 million in the red from past decisions to improve athletic facilities and other costs.

Cantwell said the athletics budget will be closely monitored to ensure the department is hitting goals while the university looks for other ways to raise money.

“We really need and will focus on cultivating a nationally competitive and character-driven athletics program,” Cantwell said.

Washington State also needs to burnish its image in western Washington, she said.

“We want to elevate WSU’s visibility in the greater Puget Sound region,” she said.

This story is republished from the Washington State Standard, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics.