Dear Lynx community, 

As we begin the new academic year and with fall 2026 census now complete, we write to share where CU Denver’s enrollment stands and what it means for the university’s budget ahead of today's Board of Regents meeting, where CU system enrollment results will be presented. Overall student headcount is 1.4% lower than it was at the start of the 2025-26 academic year, a decline of approximately 200 students.

This enrollment shortfall has resulted in an approximate $8.4 million budget gap in the current FY 2026-27. Because we did not meet our board-approved revenue thresholds, merit increases will not be given this year. This will reduce our gap by approximately $4 million. In recognition of our employees’ contributions and the hardship of forgoing a merit increase, the university will instead provide a one-time stipend later this fall. More information will be forthcoming. 

We must also determine other measures to reduce or defer spending to close the remaining gap. This will require collective action and careful consideration of both immediate financial benefits and long-term effects on growth. While one-time funds could provide temporary relief, this approach would shift the financial burden to the next fiscal year and exacerbate any budget gap resulting from inflationary pressures, increased operating expenses, and compensation increases. 

We understand that this news is disappointing and worrisome. As we have discussed, these challenges reflect substantial, ongoing shifts in higher education rather than a one-time occurrence. Our Strategic Plan Refresh and related initiatives are designed to help CU Denver adapt to this changing landscape.   

How We Got Here 

We believe that as enrollment outcomes become clearer at universities across Colorado and elsewhere, we will see that this has been a challenging enrollment cycle for many institutions. Across higher education, the traditional college-age population is shrinking, while just one-third of Americans say a four-year college degree is worth the cost.  

At the same time, the international enrollment landscape is shifting rapidly, accelerated by forthcoming changes that will cap international students’ period of admission at four years and by the ease with which students can find expanding educational and economic opportunities in their home countries. Together, these changes are fundamentally altering decisions related to pursuing a degree in the United States for students from abroad. 

These trends require universities to reshape how they recruit, serve, and educate learners, making it even more important that we draw on what is working and be intentional about how we position CU Denver for sustainability and meaningful impact.

There are clear areas of strength in this year’s census: 

• New first-time resident undergraduate enrollment is up 1.6%; 
• Continuing resident undergraduate enrollment is up 3.4%; and 
• Continuing resident graduate enrollment is up nearly 5%. 

These increases are the result of efforts from across the university, including strategic outreach and engagement in July and August to re-enroll continuing undergraduate and graduate students. These gains, however, are offset by significant declines in international, graduate, and transfer enrollment: 

• New international enrollment is down approximately 37%; 
• Continuing international enrollment is down nearly 15% at the undergraduate level and nearly 26% at the graduate level;  
• New transfer enrollment is down more than 17%; and 
• New resident graduate enrollment is down more than 5%. 
• The modality preferences of some learners have also shifted, with fully online undergraduate enrollment down 5.6% and fully online graduate enrollment down 7.4%. 

Taken together, the fall census reinforces the importance of carefully identifying and prioritizing areas with the greatest potential for growth and impact. Even as enrollment grew in 2025-26, we recognized that the enrollment environment would likely face a period of prolonged disruption. This informed strategic efforts like CU Denver Direct, which bolstered our local pipeline and proactively invited qualified students across the Denver metro area to meet their moment with us. The same is true of our renewed focus on student retention and academic and curricular innovation.  

We also expected a meaningful additional decline in international enrollment this fall and proactively built that into this year’s proposed budget. However, subsequent changes to immigration policies during the last few months, after the budget was built, have further accelerated enrollment declines in this key demographic. Because it takes approximately three resident enrollments to balance the revenue loss of each nonresident one, the declines we have experienced in nonresident and international enrollment have a disproportionate effect on our budget.  

Looking Forward 

Our CU Denver community has demonstrated that we are at our best when we work together to address our challenges and pursue opportunities. The improvement we are seeing in resident undergraduate enrollment and retention is evidence of the progress that can be made when we focus our collective efforts on what we know works. We believe in our path forward and our ability to weather this storm, recognizing that the work is just beginning and we must remain clear-eyed in our commitment to these efforts. 

More information on our vision and direction in facing these challenges will be shared in the chancellor’s upcoming Lynx Link. As we focus on the realities reflected in this year’s census, our goal is to turn what we have learned into proactive action by continuing to prioritize areas that position CU Denver to succeed in the changing higher education landscape.  

Sincerely, 

CU Denver Senior Leadership Team  

Kenneth T. Christensen, PhD, Chancellor 
Karen Marrongelle, PhD, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor 
Melisa Baldwin, Vice Chancellor for Advancement 
Zina Evans, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment and Student Success 
Tammy Ewin, Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications 
Antonio Farias, Vice Chancellor for People and Culture 
Daniel Maxey, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff 
Chris Puckett, Managing Associate University Counsel 
Jen St. Peter, Vice Chancellor for Finance, Chief Financial Officer