Antioch College's Main Building. (Submitted photo)
New term, new students at Antioch College
- Published: September 27, 2025
New term, new students at Antioch
By YS News staff
It’s a new year with new faces at Antioch College. Classes and co-op began Monday, Aug. 25.
Although enrollment is down, the campus is “buzzing” with energy, wrote College President Jane Fernandes in a recent press release.
For the 2025–2026 academic year, Antioch enrolled 115 degree-seeking students, down from 121 last fall.
Of those 115 students, 42 are new to Antioch, 70 are continuing students and three are returning, or re-admitted. While this year’s total of enrolled students falls short of last year, the incoming class nearly doubled from last year’s 24 students.
“While we did not quite reach our ambitious recruitment goal, these results show steady, meaningful progress,” wrote Fernandes, also noting that the incoming group of 42 students is one of Antioch’s “most vibrant and diverse classes yet.”
Over 60% of those 42 students are individuals of color, representing 11 states. One student is from Pakistan — the first to ever attend Antioch.
“The education landscape remains challenging,” wrote Fernandes. “Colleges everywhere are facing declining enrollment numbers and with that, intense competition for students.”
Fernandes also cited an “enrollment cliff” to explain the dip in numbers in higher education broadly — the theoretical drop in students going to college resulting from low birth rates since the recession of 2008.
To combat that trend, Fernandes wrote that Antioch is doubling down on its recruitment efforts by hiring more admissions staffers, increasing marketing and communications efforts, and partnering with national organizations such as Job Corps and IDEA (Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement) Public Schools.
“There is still much to do. Our goal of 175 students next fall is ambitious, and reaching it will require continued focus and shared purpose,” Fernandes wrote. “But with the commitment and creativity of this community, we have good reason to be hopeful.”
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