Coronavirus pandemic has minimal impact on University of Louisville enrollment

LOUISVILLE, Ky, (WDRB) -- The COVID-19 pandemic is changing plans for universities and students across the country, including here in Kentuckiana.

At the University of Louisville, however, enrollment numbers are not as bad as some expected. According to university officials, that's because of graduate students.

U of L is expecting a 1.3% drop in undergraduate students this fall compared to 2019. A little less than 14,000 undergrads are enrolling.

"We've got a bunch of kids, particularly incoming freshmen, who are basically saying, they're not coming if they don't get the university experience," said Dr. Craig Blakely, dean of U of L's School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Blakely believes the decrease in enrollment will be a significant financial hit for the university.

Dr. Craig Blakely, dean of U of L's School of Public Health and Information Sciences

"Just to give you a clue, you know, 100 students is about $1,000,000 in tuition at the undergraduate level," he said.

Meanwhile, graduate programs such as business, medicine, engineering and nursing are up 15% to nearly 4,000 students.

"I had already planned to stay in school and get my master's degree, so I am staying with that plan," said Allison Warnersmith, who received her undergraduate degree from U of L in May.

"It was quite a shock to have everything I was looking forward to turned on its head, but we made it through; I still got my diploma; I still graduated," she said. "It just looked a little different."

Warnersmith is excited about starting the next chapter of her education in a few weeks, but she also understands why some of her schoolmates are hesitant to return to school.

"I can totally understand wanting to delay if you're coming in as a freshman," she said.

All told, during a time when many universities are seeing declines, U of L's total enrollment is expected to be up 1.5% compared to a year ago. The U of L trustees also voted to raise tuition this fall – as they have almost every year since 2000 – so the price hike will allow the university to bring in millions more than last year.

Jim Begany, U of L's vice provost for strategic enrollment management and student success, said the university is in a good place compared to other institutions.