The student population at Southwestern Michigan College is 2,000 (all undergraduate). The number of students has decreased by 348 (14.82%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 2,048 where 2,000 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 5 year-over-year increases and 4 decreases. It peaked at 2,348 students in 2016 and was lowest at 1,756 in 2022. Overall, enrollment dropped from 2,348 to 2,000 students, a net loss of 348 (14.8%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Southwestern Michigan College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 2,348 | 983 | 1,365 |
| 2016-17 | 2,252 -96 | 952 -31 | 1,300 -65 |
| 2017-18 | 2,330 78 | 996 44 | 1,334 34 |
| 2018-19 | 2,130 -200 | 865 -131 | 1,265 -69 |
| 2019-20 | 2,141 11 | 854 -11 | 1,287 22 |
| 2020-21 | 1,759 -382 | 660 -194 | 1,099 -188 |
| 2021-22 | 1,756 -3 | 657 -3 | 1,099 |
| 2022-23 | 1,807 51 | 759 102 | 1,048 -51 |
| 2023-24 | 1,953 146 | 800 41 | 1,153 105 |
| 2024-25 | 2,000 47 | 772 -28 | 1,228 75 |
| Average | 2,048 | 830 | 1,218 |
The percentage of white students is 70.40%. The percentage was 71.64% 10 years ago and SMC still has a high percentage of white students. 0.95% of enrolled students is Asian and 12.80% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 1.05% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 71.64% to 70.40%. Asian enrollment declined from 1.28% to 0.95%. Black student enrollment increased from 10.65% to 12.80%. Hispanic student representation contracted from 5.15% to 1.05%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.4827 which indicates that somewhat diverse. This increased from 0.4701 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Southwestern Michigan College over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 38 | 30 | 250 | 121 | 2 | 1,682 | 113 |
| 2016-17 | 39 | 24 | 206 | 135 | 4 | 1,581 | 97 |
| 2017-18 | 34 | 26 | 269 | 104 | 4 | 1,616 | 109 |
| 2018-19 | 27 | 30 | 216 | 98 | 6 | 1,477 | 67 |
| 2019-20 | 27 | 31 | 238 | 96 | 4 | 1,475 | 80 |
| 2020-21 | 24 | 25 | 193 | 107 | 4 | 1,169 | 66 |
| 2021-22 | 14 | 32 | 188 | 79 | 5 | 1,181 | 84 |
| 2022-23 | 16 | 18 | 210 | 38 | 4 | 1,268 | 122 |
| 2023-24 | 19 | 23 | 241 | 27 | 4 | 1,372 | 133 |
| 2024-25 | 26 | 19 | 256 | 21 | 7 | 1,408 | 140 |
| Average | 26 | 26 | 227 | 83 | 4 | 1,423 | 101 |
229 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 11% of total students. The number of online students has increased 940.91% since 2020. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Southwestern Michigan College from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 2,348 | 0 | 0 | 2,348 |
| 2016-17 | 2,252 | 0 | 0 | 2,252 |
| 2017-18 | 2,330 | 0 | 0 | 2,330 |
| 2018-19 | 2,130 | 0 | 0 | 2,130 |
| 2019-20 | 2,141 | 0 | 0 | 2,141 |
| 2020-21 | 1,759 | 22 | 106 | 1,631 |
| 2021-22 | 1,756 | 63 | 413 | 1,280 |
| 2022-23 | 1,807 | 91 | 476 | 1,240 |
| 2023-24 | 1,953 | 152 | 553 | 1,248 |
| 2024-25 | 2,000 | 229 | 738 | 1,033 |
| Average | 2,048 | 56 | 229 | 1,763 |
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