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UNO Reports Stable Enrollment for Fall 2025

Despite a challenging higher education landscape, UNO continues to show consistency with enrollment and student credit hours.

  • published: 2025/09/08
  • contact: Sam Peshek - Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications
  • email: unonews@unomaha.edu
Durango, the UNO mascot, poses for a selfie with three smiling students wearing "Mavericks" hats during a sunny day on campus. One student holds up a phone to capture the moment as Durango flashes a peace sign.

Students take a selfie with mascot Durango during Durango Days, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s welcome week. Photo: Ryan Soderlin, UNO Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications

New and first-generation freshmen are key drivers behind another year of stable enrollment for the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), according to new data released by the Division of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success (IESS).

➡️ What’s new: UNO enrolled 14,954 students this fall. While this is a slight decrease of 18 students (or 0.1%) compared to Fall 2024, student credit hour (SCH) production rose 0.5% to 171,425.

💡 Why it matters:

  • At a time when many universities are seeing sharp enrollment declines, this marks the latest in a multi-year trend of enrollment stability at UNO.
  • The uptick in SCH is a positive indicator of strong academic engagement for students and revenue generation for the university.

📊 By the numbers:

  • Undergraduate enrollment increased by 0.5% to 11,810 students.
  • New freshman enrollment jumped 3.9%, with first-generation students from that group increasing 7.3% year over year.
  • The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences saw the highest increase in undergraduate enrollment at 5.8%.
  • The College of Public Affairs and Community Service saw the highest increase in graduate enrollment at 3.5%.

🎤 What they’re saying:

  • Chancellor Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA: As Nebraska’s public urban metropolitan university, our responsibility is to open new pathways to education and prepare learners to take on high-demand, high-wage, and high skill careers that move our state forward. This year’s enrollment report shows we are succeeding in our workforce development mission. I want to thank our faculty and staff for making this possible. Their commitment to student success is the reason we continue to move forward with purpose.”
  • Jason Browning, Ph.D., Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness and Student Success: “Stability isn’t something you take for granted in today’s higher education landscape. While institutions around the country are seeing steep drops, we’re holding steady. This tells us we have a solid foundation to build on as we refine our student-focused enrollment and recruitment strategies.”
About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university, committed to innovating for the public good, advancing social mobility, powering workforce development, and serving as a hub for community engagement. Nearly 15,000 Mavericks choose UNO for its hands-on education experiences, nationally ranked online and graduate programs, military-connected student support, and innovative approaches to supporting lifelong learning. UNO holds the Carnegie Research Activity “R2” designation, securing more than $40 million annually in external research funding and counts its faculty among the world’s most cited scholars. Sixteen Omaha Athletics programs compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Summit League and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). 

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