Fall 2025 census reveals a continued enrollment growth for the University 

This fall, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette welcomed its largest freshman class in its history and also saw an overall rise in total enrollment, with increases in undergraduate, graduate and online enrollment totals. This growth is expected to have a positive impact on the University amidst a time of budget realignment. 

According to a press release put out by the Office of Communications and Marketing, “UL Lafayette welcomed 3,214 first-time freshmen this fall, a 4.8% increase over last year.” 

“This is the third year in a row that the incoming freshman class has exceeded 3,000 students,” noted Dr. DeWayne Bowie, vice president for Enrollment Management. 

The record-high intake of freshmen was announced at the 2025 Freshman Convocation that took place in the Cajundome at the beginning of the semester. Dr. Beth Giroir, executive director for Student Success Initiatives, who also oversees the Office of First- Year Experience, shared, “We’ve been pleased, and we thought our Cajun Craze went really, really well this year.” She added, “We were excited to have … a large majority of our new, incoming, first-year students come to convocation.” 

In the past decade, the University has been seeing a gradual decline in total enrollment. According to the Office of Institutional Research’s census enrollment dashboard, the total enrollment as of Fall 2016 was 17,519, falling to 15,219 in Fall 2022. Subsequently, the numbers have been slowly picking up, the total enrollment as of Fall 2024 was 15,665. As reported by the Office of Communications and Marketing, the Fall 2024 census showed a total enrollment of 19,723 students. 

Dr. Dianne Olivier, the interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, wrote over email, “We’re encouraged to see more students choosing the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Growth in enrollment reflects the confidence that students and families have in our academic programs and in the value of a UL Lafayette degree.” 

Of the total enrollment for Fall 2025, 16,100 are degree-seeking students, this includes 13,828 undergraduates and 2,272 graduate students. The remaining 3,623 are “non-degree students in training courses, certifications and Professional and Continuing Education programs.” From information provided by the Office of Communications and Marketing, among the undergraduates, 982 students are under dual enrollment, cross enrollment, the UL LIFE Program or are visiting students. 

At the graduate level, there was a 10.6% increase in continuing graduate students, with 1,692 students pursuing master’s degrees and 547 enrolled in doctoral programs. 

Dr. Mary Farmer-Kaiser, dean of Graduate School, commented, “One of the most beautiful trends that I saw in the data for this fall was that we had an incredible retention rate of our graduate students.” 

“That’s a testament to our graduate students’ ability to persist, and our faculty’s commitment to ensuring that those graduate students continue into their second and third and fourth year.” 

Sharing her thoughts on the impact of the growth of graduate enrollment, Farmer-Kaiser pointed out that it feeds into faculty size for the University. “Our graduate students … play a really significant role in supporting our undergraduate students. Many of our Ph.D. students teach their own courses, …. Many of our graduate students also are lab instructors.” 

Narrowing down to enrollment-based numbers of colleges, the College of Liberal Arts saw the greatest enrollment numbers, with a total of 2,661 students, this includes 2,358 undergraduate students and 303 graduate students. This puts it as the largest college for undergraduates. 

Dr. Ani Kokobobo, dean of Liberal Arts, commented, “We’re very diverse. We have about nine different departments, and some of those departments have different divisions in between, …, so we have so many different disciplines in the college.” She continued, “Some of our biggest courses are our general education courses, and those are gateway courses for the entire student body.” Discussing the moderation of class sizes to ensure that student learning is maximized, Kokobobo said, “The major specific courses will be more moderated, so the size there is probably closer to 40, …, as opposed to over 100 like we see in the Gen Ed courses.” 

“We want students to get different learning environments. So you can have a big lecture class, but you also need more individualized, more smaller classes,” she added. 

With more students on campus, comes the question as to whether the University is prepared to accommodate the growth. In response, Olivier stated, “Over the past year, Academic Affairs has worked closely with our colleges to evaluate course offerings, classroom space and support services.” 

“We’ve expanded sections in high-demand courses, invested in instructional technology and strengthened advising and tutoring programs so that students are supported from day one.” 

From a financial standpoint, Dr. Edwin Litolff, vice president for Administration and Finance and chief financial officer, said, “We started putting in the fiscal constraints, really after the semester started, so all the classes were covered … all the classes have faculty.” The news of enrollment growth comes during a period of uncertainty with an ongoing budget deficit that led to recent cuts in auxiliary and operational spendings. Litolff shared that the increase in students would be a potential source for a revenue increase for the University, which is to have some positive impact on the University’s funding for areas covered by tuition. 

On the whole, the enrollment growth allows UL Lafayette to continue having the opportunity to strive for greater developments to improve the University. 

“Enrollment growth allows us to broaden academic offerings and enhance student experiences. It can create opportunities for new programs that meet workforce needs, encourage innovation in curriculum design and enrich classroom discussions by bringing more diverse perspectives,” Olivier stated. 

More details and information regarding Fall 2025 census and the enrollment growth can be found under University News on UL Lafayette’s website.