The number of students enrolling in and returning to Northwestern State University of Louisiana has decreased.

According to Jana Lucky, director of Enrollment Management, this decrease in students was a result of COVID-19.

“Our retention number of freshmen coming back is usually about 70 percent,” said Lucky. “This year it was about 61 percent. ”

Lucky said recruiters were not allowed into schools.

“Northwestern is the kind of university that needs to be explained,” Lucky said. “We are not a household name. We need to get out there.”

Marissa Rowsey, freshman criminal justice major, said it’s upsetting.

“A lot of people are having financial troubles,” said Rowsey. “They may be going to community colleges, instead of big universities.”

Nicolette Hendrix, a freshman veterinary technology major, said the vaccine mandate could be a factor.

Lucky said low enrollment affects the university tremendously.

“A school like Northwestern is dependent on our students,” said Lucky. “For revenue. For everything.”

Tja’h Edwards, Student Government Association president, noted the decrease in students affects the SGA budget.

“We are not getting as much money in due to low enrollment,”Edwards said, “It’s harder for us to do the events and programs we are usually used to doing when enrollment was normal.”

Edwards said the SGA is getting creative with their budget and hosting the same events in different ways.

“We will definitely find a way to adapt,” said Edwards.

Lucky noted NSU couldn’t buy names from the American College Test.

“Typically, we could buy names from ACT, and the students that took the ACT,” said Lucky. “There weren’t as many students that took the ACT.”

Lucky noted they knew the number of transfer students from community colleges would be down due to different admission standards placed by most four year universities.

Lucky said that there are early indicators for better numbers in the fall of 2022.

“We’re up by 39 percent applicants right now, and up by 81 percent admitted students,” said Lucky.