ALMA — Alma College reported total fall 2026 enrollment of 1,229 students, an increase of five from fall 2025.
The college's Sept. 17 release says full-time enrollment increased by 28 students and undergraduate full-time-equivalent enrollment rose by 10.1. New undergraduate enrollment was described as stable.
Transfer enrollment increased 27.3%, according to the college. Alma also reported fall-to-fall re-enrollment rates of 82.4% for first-time students and 86% for transfer students.
The college described the 82.4% figure for first-time students as its second-highest in a decade. Re-enrollment measures how many students who started one fall came back the next.
President Joe Odenwald said in the release that the numbers show Alma can attract and keep students in a highly competitive environment. He pointed to graduate programs, transfer students and full-time enrollment as the areas of growth. The release does not give a separate head count for graduate students.
In August, Alma added a chemistry pathway with Montcalm Community College, joining accounting, business, communication and psychology routes that date to 2023.
A five-student gain is small next to a total of 1,229, a change of less than half of one percent. The larger movement is inside the total: more students attending full time, and more arriving from other colleges.