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Students are seen on campus at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio on Thursday, September 12, 2025. Enrollment declined by 12% from last fall to the start of this school year.<\/p>\n
Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
Our Lady of the Lake University\u2019s enrollment has declined by 12% since last fall, furthering a downward trend in student numbers over the past decade.<\/p>\n
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This fall, the West Side Catholic university had about 1,550 undergraduate and graduate students, down from 1,756 students a year ago.\u00a0OLLU has been in a downward enrollment slump for the past 10 years<\/a>, with enrollment declining by 47% since 2015, when it enrolled 3,334 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The university\u2019s loss of students has spawned budget deficits, cost-cutting measures, the elimination of degree programs and a search for new ways for the 131-year-old institution, a symbol of Hispanic pride and hope, to recover.\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED: OLLU, West Side recover from storms, power outages<\/a><\/p>\n OLLU eliminated 16 academic programs last year<\/a> and has since launched initiatives to stabilize its enrollment, including a\u00a0three-year bachelor\u2019s degree program and a \u201cno-cost master\u2019s\u201d<\/a> degree plan. Earlier this year,\u00a0the university set a target of enrolling 1,800 students this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOLLU\u2019s Fall 2026 enrollment momentum continues to grow, with 1,608 students now enrolled as the university works toward its goal of 1,800 Saints. That puts OLLU just 192 students away from reaching this year\u2019s enrollment goal,\u201d university officials said Aug. 17 in an online newsletter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But after the withdrawals of about 50 students, the university realized it wouldn\u2019t make its enrollment goal. Teresa Ni\u00f1o, vice president for marketing and communications, said delays in getting accreditation for the three-year degree and\u00a0the rollout of a new enrollment management strategy were key factors in the dip.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThings just weren\u2019t going fast enough for us to aim for (1,800 students in) 2026,\u201d\u00a0Ni\u00f1o said. \u201cMore than anything, what we want to do is assure people that we\u2019re aiming for 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, the university has brought in\u00a0an enrollment consultant\u00a0to address the dip. OLLU hired\u00a0Shobi Sivadasan in May as a consultant, and university leaders appointed her in July as vice president for enrollment and strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sivadasan has spent 18 years building enrollment strategies, advising\u00a0universities, colleges and education technology companies on growth strategies, according to her LinkedIn profile.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cStudents and families are asking different questions about higher education today\u00a0\u2014 about cost, time to degree, career outcomes, and return on\u00a0 Shobi Sivadasan was recently named\u00a0vice president for enrollment and strategy at Our Lady of the Lake University.<\/p>\n Courtesy \/ OLLU<\/p>\n Enrollment efforts<\/p>\n OLLU\u2019s new vice president for enrollment and strategy brings extensive experience in undergraduate, graduate and international enrollment, financial aid, enrollment operations and strategy, along \u201cwith a track record of enrollment growth across multiple institutions,\u201d the university said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Before joining OLLU, she served as vice president for enrollment management at Saint Mary\u2019s College of California in Moraga, California where first-year enrollment grew 13% in fall 2023 to reach the college\u2019s largest incoming class in four years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEnrollment challenges are rarely the result of a single factor, and what we experienced this year reflects both internal circumstances and a rapidly changing higher education environment,\u201d Sivadasan said of OLLU\u2019s numbers. \u201cOur focus is not on looking backward. It is on what we do next.\u201d<\/p>\n She highlighted Lake Express, the university\u2019s new three-year bachelor\u2019s degree program as an innovative program that expands access to higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sivadasan will work closely with Provost Alan Silva to identify and develop programs for students and ways faculty can help with retention, Ni\u00f1o said. She\u2019ll also work in coordination with Tom Norris, executive director of operations and athletics, \u201con attracting athletes and enriching their college experience,\u201d and with OLLU\u2019s divisions of marketing, finance and student affairs. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cShe often says that recruitment and retention is everyone\u2019s job in the university,\u201d Ni\u00f1o said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
investment,\u201d OLLU President Abel Ch\u00e1vez<\/a> said in a release. \u201cWe are responding with new leadership, three-year degree programs and sophisticated data-informed recruitment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n