Adams State is on a bit of a roll when it comes to re-growing its undergraduate enrollment. The university increased the number of degree-seeking undergraduate students each of the past two years, including nearly 2 percent growth with its fall 2025 undergraduate student count.

Adams State released its full fall student census on Wednesday that includes both degree and non-degree students. It is the first-time freshman who is looking to spend the next four to six years studying at Adams State that traditionally has carried Adams State. That is the student body Adams State has sought to re-gain.

Increasing undergraduate enrollment has been a key focus of President David Tandberg, who took over the campus ahead of the 2022-23 academic year. Adams State has been increasing the number of students seeking master’s degrees and its doctorate degree in counselor education over its most recent history.

It’s been undergraduate enrollment that’s been more stubborn for Adams State, but that storyline is now starting to change with back-to-back years of growth with the degree-seeking undergraduate.

Adams State reported 1,274 degree-seeking undergraduate students in its fall 2025 census. In 2024 that figure stood at 1,253 and 1,247 in 2023.

“After years of declining undergraduate enrollment, Adams State celebrates consecutive years of accelerating growth,” said Tandberg. “Bending a curve is often the hardest work and it is an accomplishment the entire campus helped achieve. I am very proud of the dedication and hard work of faculty and staff.”

The height of Adams State’s undergraduate enrollment came in 2015 when it saw an enrollment of 2,015 students. A run-in with the accreditors led both to a downturn in enrollment and a revolving door of school presidents.

Tandberg, now in his fourth year at the helm, has steadied the campus and its critical undergraduate enrollment along with it.

Adams State reported a total student population of 3,076 students in fall 2025. The figure includes both degree and non-degree seeking students at the undergraduate and graduate school level.

Adams State grew the number of students seeking master’s degrees to 1,304 in 2025 from 1,292 in 2024. 

Adams State’s total undergraduate count for both degree and non-degree students was 1,721, according to the fall 2025 census.