HELENA – Carroll College has enrolled its largest first-year class in three years. The class of 2026 includes 296 new first-year students – a 5% increase over last year and a 10% increase over 2020. Adding in transfer students and re-admitted students (students who took time off and are now returning to Carroll), the total number of new undergraduate students enrolled this fall is 345.
Currently, Carroll College’s total enrollment is 1,180 students which represents a 3% year-over-year growth and a 5% increase over the past two years.
“What is particularly encouraging about these numbers is that Carroll is bucking the national trends that indicate that many colleges and universities are experiencing diminishing enrollment of 5-10%,” said Carroll College President John Cech. “Being able to show positive enrollment growth during a time when higher education is still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, demonstrates that Carroll continues to be a very attractive choice for students.”
Carroll’s nursing, biology, business, health sciences and anthrozoology programs have seen the strongest interest from this incoming class as well as prospective students.
With access to state-of-the-art facilities such as the E. L. Wiegand Nursing Simulation Center, 126 students with sophomore standing or above are enrolled in the nursing program with another 57 first-year students declaring an interest in nursing – totaling fifteen percent of Carroll’s undergraduates. Last year, Carroll had the second largest stand-alone nursing program in Montana with the second largest number of graduates in the state. Between Carroll’s undergraduate nursing program and its new Accelerated Nursing track, the college graduated 55 new Bachelor of Nursing RN students this past spring and summer with an overall NCLEX pass rate of 95% for the traditional students and 100% for the accelerated nursing students. Carroll graduates significantly outperformed the statewide NCLEX RN pass rate for June which was 82%. Carroll anticipates another 55 graduates in the program this coming spring and summer of 2023.
In addition, Carroll’s new Master of Social Work program welcomed their second cohort of students this fall with a robust enrollment of 24 graduate students.
“Expanding our programming to offer both accelerated pathways as well as graduate degrees has helped Carroll create a pipeline of compassionate, confident, well-trained graduates who are helping to fulfill the substantial workforce needs in our state,” said Cech.
Carroll also has a strong international student presence on campus this fall. The college currently has 23 exchange and degree-seeking international students representing 20 countries including Austria, France, Malawi, Chile, Norway, Japan, Mexico, Egypt, Germany, South Africa, Ethiopia, Denmark, Israel, Argentina, Lebanon, Brazil, Spain, Iceland, China, and Serbia/Turkey.
With graduate programs, state-of-the-art facilities, and innovative partnerships, such as the new 3+3 dual degree program with the Gonzaga University School of Law, Carroll continues on a path focused on growth and enhanced educational opportunities for both current and future students.
“We have a lot to be proud of at Carroll. I am grateful to the staff and faculty who have worked very hard to bring this wonderful new class of students to Carroll and to the community of Helena. With new programs and partnerships in the works, we are well positioned for continued growth and will continue building on the strong foundation we have in place,” said Cech.