Higher ed institutions report tens of thousands of students for fall semester

Last edited 2:40 p.m., Aug. 22, 2025 [Editor's note: Data from College of the Ozarks has been added.]

An injection of students has entered the Springfield-area market as the fall semester gets underway for local higher education institutions.

Colleges that responded to a request for information from Springfield Business Journal this week reported starting enrollment totals exceeding a combined 34,000 students. Official census dates later in the semester will cement the figures.

At Missouri State University, the largest local higher-ed institution, opening-day enrollment on Aug. 18 was 17,184 for the Springfield campus, said spokesperson Andrea Mostyn. The university, which has its official census date on Sept. 22, reported 17,639 students at the Springfield campus to start the fall 2024 semester.

Classes also started Aug. 18 at Ozarks Technical Community College, where systemwide enrollment is up 7% to 10,779 students, said Amy Bacon, chief of staff to the chancellor and executive director of the Ozarks Tech Foundation. Starting attendance at Ozarks Tech in fall 2024 was 10,080.

"This 7% overall increase includes unduplicated students across all locations and online programs," Bacon said, noting the official census date is Sept. 15. "We're also up 5% in full-time-equivalent credit hour enrollment."

Evangel University started classes on Aug. 20. Michal Kolstad, chief of staff and executive vice president, said total enrollment would likely be approximately 2,700 when final numbers are reported at census in two weeks. Over 2,400 students were enrolled at the start of the fall 2024 semester.

Brandt Merritt, vice president for enrollment and marketing at Bolivar-based Southwest Baptist University, said the school would have over 2,000 students this fall at its five campuses. Noting the official census date is Sept. 4, Merritt noted that starting enrollment includes "a fourth-straight year of freshmen growth on the Bolivar campus."

College of the Ozarks' fall starting enrollment is 1,498, officials with the organization said.

Drury University started classes on Aug. 19 and reported 484 new students in a news release. A Drury spokesperson declined to estimate full enrollment until the Sept. 5 census date, but the college started the fall 2024 semester at approximately 1,390.

Cox College had 468 students enrolled on the first day of classes Aug. 18, said Justin Davidson, business analyst for the institution. The school's official census date is Aug. 26.

Mission University President Mark Milioni said 395 students are currently on campus after classes started Aug. 11. He said the official census date is Oct. 15. SBJ last year reported starting enrollment at the university of 431 students.

Lindsey Hammond, campus and community marketing coordinator for Midwest Technical Institute, said the school doesn't have a traditional fall semester but rather enrolls new students every five weeks. However, she pointed to National Center for Education Statistics data showing 335 undergraduate students at the school's Springfield campus.

Officials with Bryan University could not be reached by publication deadline for starting student enrollment figures this week.