Tammy and Joe Eckhardt of Lewistown help their daughter Jamie, left, move into the Petro dorm at MSU Billings on Saturday, August 15, 2020. Jamie is a freshman studying elementary education.
Montana University System officials said they feared enrollment could drop significantly this spring as students weighed their options during the COVID-19 pandemic, echoing similar calls around the nation.
For Montana State University Billings, that has become reality.
About 400 fewer students enrolled this semester than last fall, a roughly 10% drop by headcount.
That's a smaller drop than university officials budgeted for, interim Chancellor Rolf Groseth said Tuesday. MUS officials told campuses to brace for up to a 15% enrollment decline, and some national experts warned of steeper drops.
"I feel pretty good about where we're at," he said. "To be honest, I don't know that we were going to be able to estimate this."
Montana's funding system allocates a large share of money on a per-student formula, making enrollment critical to schools' financial health. MSUB, which has struggled to reverse multi-year enrollment drops before traditional recruitment pipelines were knotted up by the pandemic, could still face some challenges.
Neither of Montana's flagship universities in Bozeman and Missoula have given enrollment reports this fall. An MUS Board of Regents meeting is set for Wednesday.
Full-time equivalent enrollment, which measures how many credits students are taking and is used in the university funding formula, had a similar drop, down about 9% from last year.
MSUB reported 2,184 FTE students and City College reported about 583 FTE students. Headcount, which reflects the number of enrolled students regardless of how many classes they take, stood at about 2,500 for MSUB and 1,500 for City College.
Money that's been given to public universities from the CARES Act and Gov. Steve Bullock's coronavirus relief fund is "probably not" enough to make up the gap left by falling enrollment and increased operational costs because of new safety measures, Groseth said. But, the money has helped the school stay afloat.
"We couldn't have existed without the support from the governor, the CARES Act," Groseth said. "(But) I think we're left with some decisions to make about our budgets."
Officials said they also believed an earlier start date for the fall semester could have deterred some students. The semester began several weeks earlier than usual so that it could end before Thanksgiving, hopefully avoiding a wave of student travel and increased exposure to the novel coronavirus.
Other metrics
Some bright spots did come out of the school's usual fall data release. The school had a larger share of last year's freshmen continue than in recent years and more students signed up for graduate programs.
The retention metric, which is included in MSUB's performance funding formula, has been a multi-year focus.
Provost Melinda Arnold ascribed the 4% increase to stronger efforts in areas like tutoring and academic support, and swift adaptation to offer services online when campuses shut down in-person instruction last spring.
"We have made very intentional efforts," Arnold said.
The university enrolled more graduate students than in the previous year, with a 6% overall increase. That follows an 8.5% increase in graduate student headcount last year.
Dual enrollment, a program that allows high schoolers to take university courses, also dipped. The earlier fall start day knocked university schedules off kilter with high schools, and a statewide program that offered high schoolers two free courses expired.
The headcount split between MSUB and City College shifted substantially. About 2,500 students enrolled at MSUB, and 1,500 at City College. That's a loss of about 200 students at each campus, and a reversal of an upward trend for City College.
The 2-year campus had risen from 1,275 students in 2015 to 1,725 last fall. At least some of that increase had been driven by explosive growth in dual enrollment; it's so far unclear how much of the decrease reflects dual enrollment students or more traditional 2-year students.
Retrospective: Eastern Montana College and MSU Billings
Eastern Montana Normal School faculty, 1927
What is known today as Montana State University Billings was originally known as the Eastern Montana Normal School, created by the Montana Legislature in 1926 and opened officially in 1927. At the time, the school did not have its own campus, and operated out of the former Jefferson School downtown (now part of the Lincoln Center campus). The school's original faculty is pictured.
Eastern Montana Normal School (MSUB) president Lynn McMullen, circa 1930
Lynn McMullen was the first president of the Eastern Montana Normal School, known today as MSU Billings. McMullen Hall, home to the school's administrative offices, was named for McMullen.
Construction of McMullen Hall, 1935
Construction on the first building at the Eastern Montana Normal School, McMullen Hall, began in May 1935. The building was occupied by December of that year.
McMullen Hall at the Eastern Montana Normal School, 1936
McMullen Hall was the first permanent building built on the Eastern Montana Normal School campus (a dual-use gymnasium/auditorium building, partially visible in this 1936 photo, was constructed around the same time). The building serves as the administrative building for MSU Billings today. The McMullen name was adopted in 1961.
Eastern Montana Normal School, 1940
The Eastern Montana Normal School campus is shown in this aerial photo from 1940. The only buildings on campus at the time were McMullen Hall and the school's gymnasium/auditorium building, which is obscured in this photo.
Eastern Montana Normal School gymnasium, circa 1946
The original gymnasium at the Eastern Montana Normal School also served as an auditorium. The building was located on the north side of McMullen Hall until it was razed in the 1960s. By that time, a new physical education building had been constructed on the other side of North 27th Street.
Eastern Montana Normal School Annex, circa 1947
The Eastern Montana Normal School didn't serve as a four-year institution until its twentieth year, in 1946. By that time, there were additional buildings, including the Annex (pictured), which was intended as a temporary structure but was in use for almost 24 years before it was demolished in 1973. The building was originally moved to the college from the Mouat Mine southwest of Nye, where it had served as a schoolhouse.
Eastern Montana Normal School football team, 1947
If you walk around the campus at MSU Billings, you won't find a football field. Under the MSUB name, the university has never had a sanctioned football program. But during the days of Eastern Montana College, there was a Yellowjackets gridiron squad, which competed in the Frontier Conference. The school's first team, which played in the 1947 season, is pictured.
Cisel Hall, circa 1956
Cisel Hall was the first permanent dormitory building on the Eastern Montana College campus. It opened in 1951, 24 years after the school began operations. The building began as a co-ed dorm before later becoming a women's dorm. Ten years after its completion, it was named Cisel Hall in honor of former EMC executive board member Grover Cisel. Today, it houses MSUB's music department.
Eastern Montana College, 1957
Eastern Montana College is seen from the air in this 1957 aerial photograph.
View of Eastern Montana College and Yellowstone Valley, 1959
A 1959 photo taken either from the Rims or an aircraft shows Eastern Montana College in the foreground. Several of the buildings visible are no longer standing, including the old gymnasium (center, foreground), the old education building and elementary school (far right), and the Annex (to the left of the gymnasium).
McMullen Hall at Eastern Montana College, 1960
McMullen Hall at Eastern Montana College is pictured in the early 1960s.
Apsaruke Hall, circa 1961
Apsaruke Hall, now home to MSUB's College of Allied Health Professions and to offices for MSU Bozeman's College of Nursing, was originally built in the 1950s as a men's dormitory. The building was completed in 1957 and was meant to house 100 male students. The name, which was given to the building in 1961, comes from an early spelling of a name for the Crow Tribe that was used by other tribes.
Eastern Montana College campus, circa 1961
The campus of Eastern Montana College is seen from the Rims in the early 1960s. The Rimrock Hall dormitory, still under construction at the time, is visible to the left. The open area in the foreground has since been developed into the university's Facilities Services building. The photo shows Rimrock Road as it was before its major transformation in the 1980s. A portion of the then-new physical education building can be seen at the far left of the frame.
Mural at EMC physical education building, 1961
Billings artist and former Eastern Montana College art instructor Ben Steele works on a mural at the school's then-unopened physical education building in July 1961.
Eastern Montana College aerial, 1965
Eastern Montana College is shown from the air in 1965. The school's old education building is visible in the foreground to the left, and the old football field can also be seen. Petro Hall, completed the same year this photo was taken, is visible next to the school's football field. The residence hall was named for former Board of Regents member Genevieve Petro.
Students on Eastern Montana College campus, circa 1967
Students gather outside of the EMC Student Union Building in 1967.
Eastern Montana College library, 1968
The library at Eastern Montana College was completed in 1968. Today, it is connected to MSUB's Liberal Arts Building.
Eastern Montana College freshman orientation, circa 1969
A table for purchasing freshman beanies is shown during EMC's freshman orientation in the late 1960s.
Eastern Montana College Liberal Arts Building, 1970s
The Liberal Arts Building at Eastern Montana College was completed in 1969.
Eastern Montana College security office, 1970
The security office of Eastern Montana College was briefly housed in a former drive-in restaurant across Rimrock Road from the rest of the university's campus.
Football practice at Eastern Montana College, 1973
The Eastern Montana College Yellowjackets football team practices on campus in September 1973. Petro Hall can be seen in the background. The former football field is now covered with trees.
Eastern Montana College, circa 1974
An aerial view shows the Eastern Montana College campus as it looked in the mid-1970s. Notable additions to the campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s included the curved Special Education Building, completed in 1973 and now the College of Education, and the tall Liberal Arts Building, completed in 1969.
Eastern Montana College, 1977
The Eastern Montana College campus and its surrounding area are seen from the air in 1977. At the time of the photograph, an expansion of the university's Science Hall was under construction.
Eastern Montana College football rally, 1978
Students rally in front of McMullen Hall at Eastern Montana College in October 1978 in support of keeping football at the school. EMC president John Van de Wetering eventually chose to cut the football program.
Eastern Montana College elementary school students, 1982
Students at the Eastern Montana College elementary school play on the playground in 1982. The on-campus elementary school operated from the early 1950s until 1983. The building was torn down in 2000.
Eastern Montana College campus, early 1980s
The Eastern Montana College campus is shown in a 1980s aerial photograph. The large parking lot for the school was located to the north of Rimrock Road at the time.
Eastern Montana College, 1983
The Eastern Montana College campus is shown in this aerial photo from June 1983.
Rimrock Road re-routing project, 1984
An excavator moves dirt and concrete during the re-routing of Rimrock Road near Eastern Montana College in March 1984. The project curved Rimrock Road slightly to the north east of Normal Avenue, allowing it to fork onto North 27th Street. It required cutting into EMC's parking lot, moving most of the school's parking to the south side of Rimrock.
Rimrock Road near Eastern Montana College, 1984
The intersection of Rimrock Road and North 27th Street is shown in 1984. Much of the open area to the left of the frame, on what was then Eastern Montana College's campus, is occupied by parking for MSU Billings today.
Eastern Montana College computer annex, 1980s
The computer annex at Eastern Montana College is pictured in the mid-1980s.
MSU Billings sign change, 1994
Eastern Montana College officially became known as Montana State University Billings in June of 1994. The name change was part of a broad restructuring of Montana's state universities.
MSU Billings Computer Annex, 2016
The MSU Billings Computer Annex is shown in 2016. Built in 1955, the building most recently served as the school's Academic Support Center before it was demolished in 2018.
MSU Billings campus, 2018
The Montana State University Billings campus is pictured in 2018.
MSU Billings, 2019
Students pass under North 27th Street as they walk to the physical education building on the campus of Montana State University Billings in September 2019.
