Calvin’s enrollment increases for fall 2021

Calvin’s enrollment increases for fall 2021
Calvin University plans to offer four additional programs between now and fall 2022. <strong> Courtesy Calvin University </strong>

Calvin University had an increase in first-year undergraduate and overall graduate enrollment for fall 2021.

There are 3,256 total students enrolled at the university this fall from 47 states, 49 countries and four Canadian provinces. Among them are an entering class of 983 students, 785 of whom are first-time and transfer students in traditional undergraduate areas. First-year undergraduate enrollment increased by 15% year over year.

The remaining 198 are nontraditional students, which is the largest cohort of such students in the school’s history. They represent graduate students, dually enrolled students, Ready for Life students, students of Calvin Prison Initiative and non-degree seeking students. The overall graduate enrollment increased by 33% YOY.

“Calvin’s vision is all about invitation, about meeting the needs of a changing environment and creating programming and pathways that serve both our traditional high school graduates and also students who are seeking masters-level programming or looking to college to master a new skill,” said Lauren Jensen, vice president of enrollment strategy for Calvin. “We are encouraged that the makeup of our 2021 incoming class represents us leaning further into this exciting vision.”

Calvin also added six new in-person or online graduate programs for fall 2021 including a Master of Arts degree in media and strategic communication and an online MBA program. The university plans to offer four additional programs between now and fall 2022.

The first two cohorts of the Calvin Prison initiative program, which offers bachelor’s degrees to inmates, graduated. The university also helps students with disabilities through its Ready For Life program, courtesy of a $1.2 million grant.

“Amidst a challenging landscape for higher education, particularly in the Midwest, it is clear that Calvin’s mission remains attractive to students across the country and around the globe, and we are excited to continue to find ways to welcome more learners here,” said Michael Le Roy, president of Calvin University. “Whether it be online (as we have students enrolled in our undergraduate and graduate programs from around the world), be (it) behind prison walls or here on the Grand Rapids campus, we are committed to equipping our students of all ages, background and experiences, to think deeply, to act justly and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.”