NORTH ADAMS — Incoming class deposits at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts are up 20 percent over last year, with the public college citing a new recruitment strategy and social media marketing as driving factors.

If those projections hold, the incoming class could be 246 students, up from 207 in the incoming class last year, Director of Communications Bernadette Alden told The Eagle. The state college is projecting a total enrollment of 961 for the fall, marking a second consecutive year of enrollment growth. That would be the school's strongest enrollment total in five years. Final numbers will be certified in September.

Alden said MCLA received 96 deposits from Berkshire-area students this cycle, which is up 25 percent from the roughly 77 received at this time last year.

The growth comes amid a national trend of declining college enrollment trends and numerous college closures. Facing a decade of lower numbers, MCLA has been working to rebuild enrollment to pre-pandemic levels.

MCLA has been working to reverse a decline in enrollment that dates back to the pandemic. The college hopes to grow back to 1,500 total enrollment by 2029, according to projections.

"I'm proud of the progress MCLA has made, and these enrollment numbers reflect the hard work of our faculty and staff to put students first,” said retiring MCLA President James F. Birge. “As I prepare to conclude my time here, I'm confident the college is well positioned for continued success in the years ahead.”

MCLA saw steep enrollment decline around the pandemic, where it dropped from 1,407 undergraduate students in 2017 to 870 by fall of 2021, according to enrollment numbers from the college.

It was the first time in 20 years that undergraduate enrollment dipped below 1,000 and led to reduced course reschedules, loss of part-time faculty, and the closing of a residence hall. It sparked an ambitious plan from school leadership to turn it around.

Enrollment has started rebounding. In fall 2024, enrollment was at 794 undergraduate and 102 graduate students, for a total enrollment of 896. The college hopes to grow back to 1,500 total enrollment by 2029, according to projections it submitted for an evaluation by the New England Commission of Higher Education, its accrediting body.

The college attributed some of the recent gains to new academic and athletic offerings, including a nursing program and men's and women's ice hockey teams, all added three years ago. Pre-nursing deposits increased from 13 to 30, while psychology deposits rose from 12 to 18. Deposits in radiological technology increased from 29 to 39.

“The health-careers numbers are in line with students choosing fields tied to economic demand, while the education and business growth speaks to the foundation of a liberal arts college,” Alden said.

And with the recent closures of Hampshire College in Amherst and Anna Maria College in Paxton, MCLA says it's receiving deposits from both.

Alden said the college has received 15 deposits from transfer students from Hampshire and one from Anna Maria. Those numbers will be solidified later this summer. Some 21 Hampshire students visited campus and 10 came to the Hampshire Open House in May.

In a news release, the college said it credited the upward trend to “a deliberate shift in how MCLA approaches recruitment” and focusing social media strategy directly on reaching students.

It also said its website revamp late last year added videos of students and employees and tried to shift from “polished announcements to student-focused content that shows what the campus actually feels like.”

Sarah Goldfarb, left, works with MCLA social media and marketing specialist Jasmine Gancarz record video to engage their audience with local downtown businesses like Savvy Hive in North Adams.

On Tuesday, MCLA employees were downtown filming social media videos that highlighted downtown businesses, an upcoming effort to better connect students to their neighbors down Church Street.

“We studied our own historical data to understand which students are most likely to apply and enroll here, then bought fewer prospect names and concentrated on the ones that matched,” Alden said. “That freed up budget for digital advertising and new vendor partnerships. Fewer inquiries, far stronger conversion.”