A near record number of first-year students signaled their intent to start classes at the University of Portland this fall, a seeming boon for the school after two years of small class sizes during the pandemic.
But then a record number canceled their deposits.
After originally receiving deposits from almost 1,100 students, the North Portland private university started classes this week with only 860 first-year students, one of its smallest incoming classes in the last decade, Eric Barger, the university’s vice president for financial affairs, wrote in an email to faculty and staff last week.
