More than 800 new students join MoWest

Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, welcomes more than 800 new students on the first day of classes for the fall 2025 semester, August 25.

“It’s a great day to be a Griffon!” said Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, president. “We’re seeing students choose MoWest as they realize there are more opportunities to apply what they learn in real-world settings. They know their experiences in state-of-the-art facilities like the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology and the nursing simulation lab will prepare them for successful careers. With those experiences, along with improvements to Potter Hall and the Hearnes Center Library, our students are stepping into an environment designed to help them thrive.”

The new students include almost 700 incoming undergraduate freshmen and transfer students. They are geographically diverse, hailing from 24 states, but there was an increase in the number of local students enrolling compared to last year: there was a 4.8 percent increase in incoming freshmen from MoWest’s 10-county service region, an 8.1 percent increase in new transfers from the 10-county region, and a 10.2 percent increase in new freshmen with no prior college credit from Buchanan County.

“These numbers tell an important story: MoWest is becoming the school of choice for students in our own community,” said Dr. Andy Otto, vice president of enrollment management and marketing. “We’ve seen strong growth not only among local transfer students who recognize the quality and support available here, but also among more students from right here in St. Joseph and the surrounding region who are choosing to start their college journey with us.”

MoWest will prepare the incoming students for the region’s future workforce needs in healthcare, education, business and more. Among the top areas for study among new students are nursing, psychology, criminal justice, construction engineering technology, management or general/entrepreneurship, exercise science, wildlife conservation, accounting, education encompassing special/secondary/early childhood/elementary, physical therapy assistant, biology including health science/pre-medicine and social work.

Total enrollment in the graduate programs has seen a slight increase of just under one percent, with new graduate student enrollment just over 100 students. Areas of growth include the master of science in nursing – nurse educator track and the master of social work.

Total enrollment on the first day of classes is currently flat year-over-year.