Report: Newman Guide schools experiencing large enrollment increases  

CV NEWS FEED // The Cardinal Newman Society today released a report detailing the increases in enrollment across Newman Guide colleges, noting that enrollment at Catholic colleges is up even as the overall college enrollment across the country continues to drop.

According to a news release, the Newman Guide colleges — faithfully Catholic schools — are a “growing light in the darkness.” Since 2010, the overall college enrollment in the U.S. has dropped almost 1.5 million, while at least four Catholic colleges were forced to close in 2024 and three other colleges will likely close in 2025. 

However, three new colleges opened this year and were added to the Newman Guide — Catholic Institute of Technology in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, the College of St. Joseph the Worker in Steubenville, Ohio, and Rosary College in Greenville, South Carolina.

Other schools that have been on the Newman Guide for years are continuing to increase their student body. Ave Maria University in Ave Maria, Florida, has grown by 29% in the past 10 years, while Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, has increased by 20% in the same timeframe, welcoming its second-largest freshman class in 2024. 

Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, has seen record growth — 40% in 10 years — and has decided to cap future growth, while Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, has set personal records for incoming classes and grown roughly 25% in the past decade.

Smaller colleges have seen more extreme amounts of growth in the last 10 years, with John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, California, expanding 68%, Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, and Northfield, Massachusetts growing 50%, and Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, growing 30%.