- Overall Enrollment Has Climbed Nearly 40% Since 2024
- Fall 2026 Incoming First-Year Enrollment Increased 19% Year Over Year
- Growth Reflects Increasing Interest in Blackburn’s Distinctive Model Combining Personalized Education, Career Preparation, and Greater Affordability
Blackburn College is entering the 2026–2027 academic year with a third consecutive year of enrollment growth. This fall, new student enrollment increased 13% over last year, while the College’s overall enrollment has grown 39% since fall 2024. Growth is particularly strong among incoming first-year students, whose enrollment increased 19% year over year. The three-year trend reflects increasing interest in Blackburn’s distinctive combination of personalized academics, four years of meaningful work experience, and an approach to affordability designed to help students graduate with less debt and greater preparation for life after college.
“The word is spreading about what makes Blackburn different,” said President Larry K. Lee. “Students and families are looking for more than a degree. They want an education that prepares students for a career and for life, provides meaningful experiences along the way, and remains financially within reach. As the only college in the nation with a student-managed Work Program, Blackburn offers a combination they simply cannot find anywhere else.”
Lee continued, “We are purposefully small, which allows our professors to know their students, challenge them, mentor them, and invest personally in their success. At the same time, our students are gaining real-world experience every semester through our Work Program. They are learning how to lead, communicate, solve problems, work with others, and take responsibility. That combination is incredibly powerful.”
Blackburn’s enrollment momentum is also expanding the College’s geographic reach, with the incoming class representing 21 states, up from 17 in 2024. The incoming class is academically strong, with an average high school GPA of 3.31, while continuing to reflect the College’s longstanding mission of expanding access, affordability, and opportunity. Among incoming students, 36% are first-generation college students, 63% receive Pell Grants, and 40% represent racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
The most popular declared majors among new traditional full-time students are Biology, Business Administration, Sport Management, Psychology, Education, Criminal Justice, Physical Education, and Computer Science.
The enrollment growth also comes as Blackburn continues to invest in the student experience. Students arriving this fall will find significant updates across campus, including a completely renovated dining hall serving area, an expanded snack bar, new outdoor dining and gathering spaces, a new computer lab, renovated classrooms, and improvements to residence halls and other areas across campus.
“Working on campus this summer with Marketing & Public Relations, I was able to contribute to the changes happening across campus,” said senior Kayveon Kirk, a graphic design major. “I helped create new logos and murals that are now part of the refreshed Demuzio Campus Center (DCC). Seeing something I designed on a screen become part of a physical space that people will see every day was really rewarding.”
He continued, “This year, I’ll also be managing the snack bar, hiring and coaching other students to work in my department, so I’m excited to have another opportunity to help make the Campus Center more welcoming for students and the community.”
Beyond an Internship – Four Years of Professional Experience
Blackburn College is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges and the only college in the nation with a Work Program managed by its students. All residential students participate in the Work Program, along with many commuting students. Participating students work approximately 10 hours each week in one of 12 work departments, contributing directly to the operation of the College while developing professional and leadership skills alongside their academic work.
At Blackburn, career preparation isn’t reserved for the final years of college or limited to an internship. Students begin building meaningful work experience from the moment they arrive on campus. Over four years, they can advance into increasingly responsible roles, supervise peers, manage projects, solve real problems, and develop the professional and interpersonal skills employers value.
Internships and other off-campus experiences add another valuable layer to that preparation. When Blackburn students pursue those opportunities, they do so with professional skills already developed and meaningful work experience. Rather than serving as a student’s first exposure to the workplace, an internship can build on a foundation developed through their Blackburn education.
“Our approach to financial aid begins by understanding each student and family’s individual circumstances and working to remove barriers that might stand between that student and a college degree,” said Justin Norwood, Vice President of Inclusive Enrollment and a 2004 Blackburn graduate. “When students combine that affordability with meaningful relationships with professors and four years of professional experience through the Work Program, they leave Blackburn with an extraordinary foundation for whatever comes next.”
The financial benefits are significant. Participation in the Work Program provides students with a tuition credit, reducing the cost of their education and helping many students borrow less. Combined with Blackburn’s personalized approach to financial aid, the model is designed to make a high-quality residential college education more accessible.
“Affordability was a big part of my decision to come to Blackburn, along with the opportunity to continue playing soccer,” said junior Corbin Parker, a double major in computer science and business administration. “The Work Program really sets Blackburn apart because it helps make college more affordable while also giving me work experience I can put on my resume. Working in the Bookstore has taught me a lot about time management, responsibility, and working with others. Blackburn also took the time to understand my financial situation and was able to provide additional support that helped make attending college possible.”
An Education Built for What Comes Next
“Across the country, families are asking increasingly important questions about the value of a college education,” Lee said. “Will my student be known and supported? Will they gain meaningful experience beyond the classroom? Will they graduate prepared for a career and for life? And can our family afford it? Blackburn was built to answer those questions.”
“Our students receive a rigorous liberal arts education while gaining meaningful work and leadership experience every semester for four years. Along the way, they develop more than knowledge. They develop confidence, judgment, resilience, responsibility, and the ability to work alongside people with different backgrounds and perspectives. Those qualities prepare our graduates not only to find success in their careers, but to become thoughtful, capable people who can make a difference in their communities.”
Lee added, “There are many excellent colleges across this country, but there is only one Blackburn. Nowhere else can students find this combination of personalized education, four years of meaningful work experience through a student-managed Work Program, leadership opportunities, affordability, and a community where they are truly known. The word is spreading, our momentum is growing, and more students and families are discovering the extraordinary value of the Blackburn experience.”
“This is an exciting moment in Blackburn’s history, but we will never measure our success simply by how many students choose Blackburn. Our responsibility is what happens after they arrive. We must help every student grow, discover their potential, develop the skills and character to pursue it, and leave Blackburn better prepared for the life ahead. That commitment to changing lives has defined this College for generations, and it remains at the heart of everything we are building today.”