A simple glance at the headlines paints a drastically different picture among the three Western Pennsylvania universities in the State System of Higher Education.
Slippery Rock’s enrollment last fall increased 2.75%, its largest gain in nearly a decade; and its retention rate of 86.4% is the best in university history and nearly 10% higher than the national average. Retention measures the number of students enrolled at a college who continue to be enrolled in subsequent years.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania also reported record-breaking retention — 78.2% — and its enrollment was stable, increasing by one student from fall 2024 to fall 2025…