Vice Provost for Enrollment and Student Success Jay Goff said the University met all its enrollment targets for the 2024 admissions cycle despite delays in federal aid applications and the Supreme Court’s decision to ban race-conscious admissions policies.

Goff said at a Faculty Senate meeting Friday that the Class of 2028 met and slightly exceeded GW’s enrollment targets despite national data showing a 5 percent decrease in first-year enrollment this fall. He said the proportion of admitted underrepresented minorities rose despite the Supreme Court decision to strike down affirmative action in 2023, making up 25.7 percent of the Class of 2028, compared to 22 percent of the Class of 2027.

The Class of 2028 comprises 2,459 first-year students and 258 transfer students, exceeding the University’s target enrollment goals for first-year students by 2.5 percent, according to the enrollment report.

“We’ve been able to put together plans that have helped us navigate difficult disruptors, but we have not lost sight of the ultimate goal that we talked about back in 2021, and that is the idea of, can we keep a focus on making sure that the best, the brightest and most dedicated students think of George Washington as their career choice,” Goff said.

Officials established the Future Enrollment Planning Task Force in November 2020 to develop a plan and targets for boosting enrollment. The University in February 2021 adopted goals of ​​enrolling between 2,475 and 2,550 first-year students and between 150 and 300 transfer students for the upcoming year.

Updated admissions guidelines from the Office of the Provost in 2023 said the University would continue to use its resilience rating — which determines how an applicant has overcome adversity — in the place of a race-conscious admissions process, which the Supreme Court banned in June 2023.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair Ilana Feldman motioned to move the question and answer portion of Goff’s report into executive session, which failed at a vote of 9-12. Feldman said she raised the motion at Goff’s request because he wanted the opportunity to discuss sensitive information that he could not do in a public session.

Goff said total enrollment at the University decreased by 194 students, from ​​25,568 in 2023 to 25,374 in 2024, marking the lowest enrollment since Fall 2020. Residential undergraduate enrollment rose by 3.4 percent from 2023, while graduate enrollment fell 4.1 percent, according to the enrollment report.

Undergraduate enrollment for the School of Business and Milken Institute School of Public Health grew by 10.3 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, leading the academic schools in enrollment increases between 2023 and 2024. The School of Medicine and Health Sciences saw the largest dip in undergraduate enrollment, dropping 17.6 percent since 2023, according to the enrollment report.

Goff said officials used a multi-tier waitlist system to add students from various areas as needed and utilized the waitlist more than in the past, which he said did not impact students’ academic profiles, including average GPA and SAT scores.

The mean high school GPA for the Class of 2028 was 3.66, and the class scored a mean SAT composite score of 1409, with 64 percent of students deciding to apply test-optional. The percentage of students applying test-optional and the mean composite SAT score reached the University’s highest and second-highest levels over the last five years, according to the report.

He said full-time domestic students increased by 15.7 percent compared to 2019, nearing pre-pandemic levels. He said the University admitted 2,387 international students from countries besides China.

International student enrollment dropped 20.5 percent in 2020 and 7.5 percent in 2021 due to worldwide travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Goff said in 2021 that the Office of Enrollment and Student Success was hiring additional staff and expanding communication to international students to rebuild enrollment.

Goff said his office had a “very busy summer” due to delays and errors with the Federal Application for Federal Student Aid form.

The Department of Education delayed the form’s release until late December last year due to legislation passed in 2020 reducing the amount of questions required to complete the form. The department announced in April that they needed to reprocess nearly 30 percent of forms due to calculation and processing errors, further delaying universities’ access to students’ financial aid data.

Goff said the number of students with a Pell Grant — a federal undergraduate award for students experiencing financial need — increased in 2024, because the new FAFSA formula makes more people eligible for the award.

President Joe Biden signed legislation in 2023 that increased the maximum Pell Grant award by $500 to $7,395. Experts said at the time that the formula to calculate if a student is eligible for a Pell Grant was complicated due to the number of questions required on the old FAFSA form.

“I’m hoping we don’t have that kind of summer ever again. FAFSA does appear to be working and so I think that’s a good sign,” Goff said.

Goff said full-time graduate student enrollment grew for the fourth year in a row, but interest continued to decline for part-time working students, including people who work in healthcare, education and the public sector. He said the “Rev Up” marketing campaign last year helped the University grow enrollment for students in the D.C. area.

Officials established the “Rev Up” marketing campaign in fall 2023 to promote GW’s graduate and certificate programs across D.C., including in areas like Reagan National Airport, Nationals Park, Metro stations and bikeshare kiosks. Advertisements also included digital ads on mobile devices, social media and audio and video streaming platforms.

“We’re going to continue with that effort again in terms of trying to create additional interest and rethinking the way that we reach out to our part-time students,” Goff said.

He said only 33 percent of last year’s undergraduate graduates left GW with federal student loans at an average of $20,455, which he said is low given the University’s cost of attendance. He said GW graduates with a bachelor’s degree earn a median income of $90,873 after ten years, compared to the nationwide average of $53,617.

The University’s undergraduate tuition is $67,420 per academic year, with additional costs for fees, housing and meal plans.

Goff said the University has “completely rethought” Student Services Hub operations, which helps students acquire financial aid and understand how to pay their bills. He said the hub has begun offering more virtual appointments with students and increased satisfaction rates, with 92 percent of students saying they resolved their issues after contacting the hub for the first time.

He said officials will continue to roll out a new program that allows students to plan their experience at GW by mapping out their majors and anticipated student organizations, internships and study abroad opportunities. He said the program will use information from faculty about previous students’ experiences and provide students with opportunities to consider based on their answers.

“So really taking input directly from the faculty and getting it directly connected with our students right when they start their careers at GW,” Goff said.