UNM enrollment drops

Number of full-time students falls by about 500; CNM also sees drop

Number of full-time students falls by about 500.

Fewer students this year have enrolled at the University of New Mexico compared to last year, but the enrollment drop, which was anticipated as the state’s economy gains momentum, still lands the school at a level above that at the beginning of the Great Recession.

In its Tuesday meeting, UNM Board of Regents heard a quick update on enrollment numbers that showed full-time students are down about 500 students from last year to 21,467. In 2007, UNM enrolled 20,307 full-time students.

Including part-time and other students, the number clocks in at 25,661 students total in 2018.

UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah told the regents that tracking credit hours taken, instead of tracking the number of students by full-time or part-time status, is a better measure of enrollment.

In that regard, the school logged 313,418 student credit hours, down from 320,954 in 2017 but up from 2007 when the school reported 294,078 student credit hours.

“Enrollment spiked during the recession,” Abdallah said. “We are still slightly higher than before the recession.”

At Central New Mexico Community College, enrollment is also slightly down.

Spring semester enrollment at CNM is 21,869 students, down from 23,245 students in Spring 2017. In 2007, CNM enrollment was 22,759 students.