By Alec Regimbal

Yakima Herald-Republic

Although this school year is the first in three years in which Central Washington University isn’t projecting a record number of incoming freshmen, administrators say the university’s enrollment numbers are right where they want them to be: On par with last year’s.

“It’s like inflating a balloon; we’ve been on inflation mode and at this point we’re continuing to keep that balloon as high as it is,” said Sharon O’Hare, vice president of enrollment management. “This is in response to Central becoming more known and the parents saying, ‘This is where we want our kids to go.’”

Classes at the university started Wednesday, and enrollment projections for the 2018-19 school year show little change from the previous school year. Administrators are predicting about 2,100 freshmen will attend the university this year, which is slightly down from the 2,136 last year. As for total enrollment — which includes transfer, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as those who attend classes at the university’s various satellite centers and instructional sites around the state — administrators predict little change from last year’s 12,185 students.

About 94 percent of Central students in 2016 were in-state students. That year, 1,032 of those students came from Yakima County.

Enrollment numbers for this year are projections gathered from class registration data, and could change after the university tallies the official numbers later this year, O’Hare said.

Since 2014, the university set a new record each year for incoming freshmen, a streak that lasted until this fall term. The shift doesn’t discourage administrators, who say the university is nevertheless projecting impressive enrollment numbers.

“From our perspective, to be able to sustain those numbers from last year tells us that this was not a fluke,” O’Hare said.

She speculates the leveling off of freshmen may have been overdue since the state’s high school graduation rates have remained relatively stagnant in recent years.

“Our number of high school graduates in the state of Washington is flat,” she said. “We’re not seeing a big growth in that area.”

Data from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction shows the number of students graduating in Washington state has been increasing, but slowly.

As for the university’s enrollment boom, administrators attribute it to an aggressive rebranding campaign that began in 2013. After a market study found that Central wasn’t as well known as it could be, the university switched up its recruiting methods.

“During that rebranding process, we identified what types of individuals and what types of students want to enroll here,” said Kremiere Jackson, vice president of public affairs. “That went hand-in-glove with, ‘What are our offers, and what is it that you need?’ It was about finding that matching point.”

The swell of freshmen put pressure on the school’s residence halls. At one point, there was talk of abolishing a university policy that requires freshmen to live on campus their first year.

That policy change is no longer being discussed, administrators say. Studies that show students perform better academically if they spend their first year living on campus, and CWU is building a new 400-bed residence hall. The Dugmore Residence Hall, named for longtime psychology professor Owen Dugmore, will primarily house first-year students and is expected to be ready by fall 2019.

The new dorm makes administrators optimistic about future enrollment. Despite being happy with this year’s numbers, there’s still room to grow, they say.

“We’re satisfied, but not complacent,” O’Hare said.