Enrollment at Alabama’s public four-year universities is mostly steady this fall, as growth in undergraduate enrollment was offset by a decline in graduate students.
Preliminary undergraduate enrollment rose 1.3%, from 141,686 students last fall to 143,570 this fall, according to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Graduate enrollment fell 2.5%, from 43,771 to 42,677.
Overall enrollment at the state’s public four-year universities increased 0.4%, to 186,247 students.
The figures are preliminary and will continue to change as universities add students in later-starting terms and complete registration, financial-aid and other administrative processes. ACHE plans to release final Fall 2026 enrollment numbers in February.
Undergraduate enrollment increased by double-digit percentages at three universities:
- Auburn University at Montgomery – up 14.4% to 3,794 undergraduate students,
- University of West Alabama – up 12.6% to 3,274 students,
- Alabama State University – up 12.4% to 4,353 students
Graduate enrollment increased at four universities:
- Jacksonville State University – up 18.4% to 1,344 graduate students
- University of West Alabama – up 9.5% to 3,563 students
- Alabama State University – up 3.5% to 715 students
- University of Alabama – up 2.5% to 6,926 students
The largest percentage declines in either category were:
- University of North Alabama graduate students down by 12.9% to 1,997
- University of Montevallo undergraduates down by 8.2% to 2,478
Some universities have since released official Fall 2026 census figures that differ slightly from ACHE’s preliminary totals because they were collected and finalized at different times.
The relatively flat numbers come as colleges nationwide prepare for a smaller pool of traditional college-age students. The number of U.S. high school graduates peaked at about 3.9 million in 2025 and is projected to decline about 13% through 2041, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
The South is expected to fare better, with the number of high school graduates projected to increase about 3% between 2023 and 2041, according to WICHE.
ACHE Executive Director Jim Purcell told commissioners at their Sept. 11 meeting that Alabama colleges cannot rely solely on students coming directly from high school to meet future enrollment and workforce needs.
He said colleges will increasingly need to reach older students, adults returning to school, workers seeking new skills and people who attended college but did not finish.
Purcell also noted that dual enrollment has become a significant source of undergraduate growth statewide, though ACHE has not yet released a Fall 2026 breakdown showing how much of that growth occurred at four-year universities.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Trisha Powell Crain and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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