The Evergreen State College enrolled 2,725 students for fall 2026, its fifth straight year of growth and a reversal from pandemic-era losses that dropped headcount below 2,200.

The Olympia college's 384 first-year students are its largest incoming class since 2017, the college announced Tuesday, Oct. 20. In all, 813 new undergraduates enrolled for the 2026–27 academic year.

"The kind of teaching that Evergreen does right now is something that students and families want right now," President John Carmichael said in a statement published by ThurstonTalk.

The numbers cap a recovery that began in fall 2022. Evergreen's headcount had fallen from 3,327 in 2018 to 2,103 in 2021, according to the college's 2025 accreditation report to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

Undergraduate enrollment has risen 25% since 2020, and the first-year retention rate climbed from 58% to 69% over the same period, the report states.

Executive Vice President Dexter Gordon credited deliberate strategy. The college expanded recruitment, added a centralized advising hub called the Greener Hub and invested in retention programs funded partly through a federal Title III grant, according to the accreditation report.

New academic pathways have also widened the pipeline. The college added one-year undergraduate certificates through its Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE) program, which launched in fall 2022 and has added 290 full-time-equivalent students in three years. Wrestling and track and field joined the athletics lineup. A Specialized Master of Business Administration in Sustainability and Social Impact has board approval to launch in fall 2027, the accreditation report states.

Shelton Promise drives access gains

The Shelton Promise provides full financial support and wrap-around services to students from the nearby Shelton School District, which had a 31% college participation rate in 2022, according to the NWCCU report.

Carmichael said enrollment from Shelton High School grew from three students in 2024 to 53 in 2025. The 2026 cohort stands at 61 students from the Shelton area.

Budget pressures remain

The growth comes against a tighter state budget.

Washington cut higher education appropriations for the 2025–2027 biennium, and Evergreen absorbed a 2.25% reduction for fiscal year 2026 with an additional 5% cut coming in fiscal year 2027, according to the accreditation report. The college's initial operating deficit for FY 2026 stands at roughly $1.4 million, down from $7.3 million in FY 2022.

The college's Forever Green fundraising campaign, completed in 2024, raised $62.5 million in gifts, grants and estate commitments, exceeding its $40 million goal by 56%. That effort increased the student-aid budget by 82%, according to a college announcement about the foundation board's national leadership award.

Evergreen still needs several more years of growth to reach full financial stability and meet state legislative expectations, the accreditation report notes.

The new MBA program is set to launch in fall 2027, and the Shelton Promise continues to expand.