PennWest enrollment sees decline while Slippery Rock, IUP grow, PASSHE reports

PITTSBURGH — According to new data released from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, fall 2023 enrollment at PennWest — the local PASSHE institution made up of the combined campuses of the former California University, Clarion University and Edinboro University — has slipped.

Out of PASSHE’s 10 institutions, PennWest is one of five that dropped in total enrollment between fall 2022 and fall 2023, and out of those five, it saw the greatest loss at 11.5%, dropping from 12,778 students in 2022 to 11,305 students in 2023. Commonwealth University, which is the other PASSHE school that was formed in 2022 by merging three institutions on the eastern side of the state, also saw enrollment drop by 8.1%, going from 12,093 students in 2022 to 11,108 in 2023.