The Cullowhee Native Plant Conference returns to Western Carolina University July 19-22, with the public invited to take part in programs offered Saturday, July 22, free of charge.

If you find yourself on the campus of Western Carolina University in the summer around the third week of July, you might notice a large and slightly odd group of people walking around.

Starting Thursday, June 1, adult soccer pickup games will be held weekly at 6:30 p.m. at the Cullowhee Recreation Park in Jackson County.

When Western Carolina University registrar Larry Hammer began working a garden plot with his family in the Cullowhee Community Garden, he realized that the garden’s water delivery system was not working like it needed to and had not been for years. He also knew exactly who to contact for help.

Spring 2023 enrollment at Western Carolina University is down 3.6% compared to the spring semester last year, according to a headcount taken on the 10th day of classes this semester.

For the second year straight , enrollment is down at Western Carolina University — but an uptick in freshman class size has university officials hoping that trend will soon reverse.

While nothing is certain until census day in September, transfer and full-time freshman enrollment for the upcoming fall semester at Western Carolina University appears strong and on par with pre-pandemic levels, Chancellor Kelli R. Brown told the WCU Board of Trustees June 10. 

A master plan envisioning campus needs for the decade ahead received unanimous approval from the Western Carolina University Board of Trustees during its March 4 meeting, setting the stage for a long-term effort to reshuffle campus programs into a more logical and efficient configuration.

A requested athletic fee increase at Western Carolina University met approval from the University of North Carolina Board of Governors at its Feb. 24 meeting, but this month WCU trustees passed a resolution pledging that increase would stick around only as long as the debt for the projects it seeks to support.

Enrollment at Western Carolina University is the lowest it’s been for any spring semester since 2018, according to student census data collected Jan. 24. The school cites the ongoing pandemic and its impact on student finances as drivers of the 2.7% decrease in enrollment between the 2022 and 2021 spring semesters.