Survey of Enrollments in Russian Language Classes, 2024
Survey Background
This survey was first conducted by CCPCR, The Committee on College and Pre-College Russian. The committee was created in 1984 as a result of the Report of the National Committee for Russian Language Study (1983), which itself followed a report of the Carter administration’s Presidential Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (1979). Noting (in 1983) that “enrollments in the Russian language have dropped more precipitously than those in any other major modern language,” the Committee for Russian Language Study, composed of representatives of AAASS, AATSEEL, and ACTR, made 12 recommendations in the Report, among which was an initiative to strengthen pre-college Russian programs and establish a survey of pre-college Russian teaching.
In 2002, CCPCR added an annual fall survey of college/university-level Russian enrollments at the 1st and 2nd year levels. This survey was coordinated from 2002-2018 by John Schillinger, now Emeritus Professor of Russian from American University in Washington, D.C. In 2018, Professor Schillinger retired from heading the survey and SRAS, an organization specialized in study abroad to Eurasia and promoting and supporting the study of Eurasia in North America, took over. Find out more about SRAS and our varied projects.
Since 2018 SRAS has, in conference with several Russian professors, sought to make the survey even richer and more informative. The survey was moved to a larger, electronic questionnaire and all previous information was loaded into a single database to allow for extended analysis and the creation of graphics. Additional questions are added based on interests professors expressed in focus groups conducted by SRAS.
If you are interested in supporting Russian language study at the pre-college or college level or wish to connect with SRAS, either to add information about your program, ask questions, or make recommendations for our projects, please contact us.
Headwinds Facing Higher Education Today
Demographics
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, overall undergraduate student enrollment in the US has fallen every year since 2012, with the exception of 2022 and 2024, when numbers rose by 2% and 3%, respectively. However, the report also indicated that freshman enrollment continued to fall those same years – by 3.6% and 5%, respectively. Thus, the boost in enrollments must have come as students who had stepped away from programs returned to them as sophomores or upperclassmen. The bump in numbers will thus likely not be sustained.
Falling enrollments stem in part from falling birthrates, which have been on a downward trajectory in the US since the 1950s. The last rise, a small boost in the mid-2000s that pushed fertility rates briefly above two, peaked in 2007 before being cut short by the Great Recession. The last of those children will be turning 18 in 2025 and freshmen classes can be expected to be smaller for at least two decades after that. Fertility rates continue to generally decline across nearly all US states for multiple socioeconomic reasons. They are currently at historic lows of 1.5-1.6 and are expected to remain low.
Changing Trends in Higher Education
Adding to this, college-age individuals are increasingly choosing to pursue shorter-term education – in community colleges, trade schools, or certification programs. This trend is additionally pushing down enrollment at the 4-year institutions where the vast majority of the Russian-language programs we poll are located.
A recent Modern Language Association (MLA) report indicates that language enrollments in particular are falling at about double the rate of overall college enrollment losses. The report shows 29% fewer students taking a language course in 2021 than in 2009, when such enrollments peaked.
The MLA report showed Russian with relatively modest enrollments of 17,598. However, Russian has also sustained a below average decrease in enrollments. Between 2016 and 2021 (the years compared in the last MLA report), Russian enrollments fell by -13.1% whereas the average for all languages was -16.6%. Russian programs fared better than those for German (–33.6%), French (–23.1%), Arabic (–27.4%), and Chinese (–14.3%).
Worsening international relations with Russia and China may be helping to sustain Russian and Chinese above the declines seen by most other languages in the MLA survey. Even as US business interests in those two countries have suffered, awareness of the need for speakers of these languages in diplomacy and national security fields has likely been boosted.
Our Survey of Russian Language Enrollments relies on a smaller pool of programs than used in the MLA survey. However, our numbers align; we also recorded a drop in average individual program enrollment of 13% over the same time period – from 46 to 40, in line with MLA’s report. Since 2021, average enrollment has further fallen to 34, down by another 15%.
Survey of Fall Enrollments 2024
This year’s survey was sent to 324 post-secondary Russian language programs that SRAS identified as being likely active. The survey was sent primarily through direct, individual emails. We also used listservs such as SEELANGS and SEEES as well as mass emails through contact lists such as SRAS’s database.
Of 324 programs contacted, we received 219 responses, a record number for the survey, and a response rate of about 68%.
First and Second Year Enrollments
Below are first and second year fall enrollments as reported since 2002. As most such language classes are taught as two-part, year-long classes, it is assumed that spring enrollment should be roughly equivalent to fall.
In total, 202 programs reported first and/or second year enrollments for fall 2024. Overall, 219 programs responded to the survey with five reporting cancellation, three programs are summer-only, and 14 are suspended. The majority of those that are suspended are in that state due to not meeting enrollment requirements. Three commented specifically that enrollment requirements were raised this year as a university effort to boost efficiency.
The average number of students per program continued to fall this year – from 36 last year to 34 this year – a decrease of about 5.5%.
Note that the dramatically higher student numbers reported from 2022 onwards are the result of more programs reporting – and not due to higher enrollments.
Program Size and Growth
To track trends in enrollment, we can calculate year-on-year growth for any program reporting for two consecutive years. Of those programs that reported last year, 97.6% reported again this year.
Programs reporting negative (49%) and positive (46.6%) growth were nearly equal this year. The remainder reported exactly the same number of students.
The average program reported growth of 6.5%. However, there were three significant outliers: one small program recovered by 300% (six to 24 students) and two others reported 200% growth starting from similarly single digit baselines. If these outliers are removed, the average growth is about 2.4%. Interestingly, last year saw an average program contraction, with outliers removed, of 2.7%, meaning that growth this year was about enough to cancel out last year’s contraction – but not enough to change the fundamental downward trend.
We have made a reporting change this year. Previous years’ graphs have presented only programs which lost or gained students. This year, we have also included numbers for those programs that reported exactly the same number of students year-on-year.
This year, mid-size programs fared best at nearly 13% average growth. Smaller programs fared worst at an average 7.25% contaction. Large programs, historically the most stable category, grew by about 4.25%.
Program size includes first and second year students. In recent years, more consistant program reporting has meant increasingly that changes within these categories represents programs shrinking or growing into other categories. Programs 40-60 have been particularly likely to shrink – to under 40. This is a primary reason why the 20-40 category has become dominant. Overall, the rise in the representation of smaller programs under 40 in the last three years has stemmed from the fact that they were previously less likely to consistently report. They are now more consistently reporting and are better represented.
Five and Ten Year Comparisons
With a record number of programs reporting this year, we can now look at wider timeframes more easily.
We had 91 programs report this year that also reported five years ago (in 2019). On average, these programs shrank by nearly a quarter over five years. Of the 16 programs that reported growth over this time frame, 14 were programs of about 20 or less. Most of the programs are, rather than growing, showing exceptional stability with the growth within normal program volatility.
We had 90 programs that reported this year and also reported 10 years ago (in 2014). On average, these programs shrank by some 40%. Of the seven programs that reported growth, five are programs of about 20 or less.
Looking at the five programs of significantly more than 20 that reported growth at either the five or 10 year comparison, we can see that their story is not one of continual growth. We can see volatility in each, but, overall, remarkable stability in the face of the considerable headwinds that language programs face today.
The program names have been withheld to protect anonymity. The gaps in data are years that the programs did not report.
Language Requirements
Nationally, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni reports that only 128 of 1133 surveyed colleges and universities listed foreign language study as a general requirement for the 2023-2024 school year, down slightly from 136 in 2017.
This means only 11.2% of universities surveyed by the council require foreign language study to graduate. In contrast, 36.8% of the 201 universities with Russian programs that reponded to this question reported having a general language requirement.
Language requirements are likely to support diversity in the languages offered at an institution; a large, diverse population making individual choices is likely to be diverse in the choices they make if given a competitive range of options. Thus, institutions with language requirements appear to be more than three times more likely to host a Russian program.
Other Opportunities for Language Learning and Exposure
While most first and second year language classes are taught as two-part, year-long courses, this is not always the case. Some institutions offer spring and/or summer intensive classes, which concentrate a full year’s curriculum into one spring semester or summer session. Some students also choose to earn their language credits through study abroad and are not counted as enrolled in one of the standard university programs above. Finally, separate heritage speaker programs are available at many universities, serving immigrants, their children, and adoptees entering colleges.
All of these can absorb the same demand for basic language instruction that standard year-long first and second year courses rely on. Therefore, this survey began tracking heritage speaker programs and spring intensive enrollments in 2018 and summer intensive as of 2020 to gain a fuller picture of the demand for Russian language instruction.
Study abroad can also absorb demand for language instruction in higher education. However, study abroad is not specifically and consistantly tracked by university professors – which are who we poll for this survey. Therefore, we do not currently track study abroad numbers here.
Spring and Summer Intensives
Summer intensive courses were offered by 38 reporting institutions in 2024 with a total of 911 students enrolled.
Of the 37 programs shown here, 23 reported year-on-year. The majority of these (16) reported growth or stability. Average growth among those that grew was nearly 75%. Only four programs reported contractions of more than 20%.
The largest programs for 2024 were held at Middlebury Language Schools (183), Brigham Young University (61), Indiana University Bloomington (57), Arizona State University (50), and University of Pittsburgh (SLI) (39).
Spring intensive courses have tended to be offered more sporadically, making analysis difficult. Of the 12 programs reporting this year, only five are reporting year-on-year. Of these, only one reported fewer enrollments.
The five largest spring intensive programs for 2024 were Brigham Young University (52), American River College (50), University of Arizona (37), University of Texas at Austin (13), and University of Pennsylvania (9).
Heritage Speaker Programs
Heritage speakers of Russian are individuals who grew up with Russian spoken in their household, but who may lack formal language instruction and literacy in that language. Many institutions offer specialized courses for them, as they have specialized learning needs.
Heritage programs have tended to report sporadically. Some, it seems, tend to disband in some years and reform in others, making year-on-year comparisons difficult and resulting in widely fluctuating numbers. This year, 14 of 26 reporting programs are reporting year-on-year, a relatively high number. Eight of those reported growth or stability.
Due to growth, year-on-year stability, and new programs reporting, this year saw a record number of students and programs reported.
The five largest programs this year were UCLA (36), Hunter College, CUNY (36), American River College (29), SUNY: Stony Brook University (21), and Columbia University (17 ).
Majors and Graduates
Advanced Courses
Advanced courses are defined as any language-focused class that takes students beyond the second-year language curriculum. Numbers for advanced courses and reporting programs have been largely stable for the past three years.
In Person or Online
This year, for the first time, we asked instructors if they offered courses online, in person, or in hybrid fashion.
Respondents could choose all that applied. Thus, the graph below shows the number of programs indicating each option.
We had 192 programs respond. Nearly all, 93%, reported offering at least some courses entirely in person. Of the 13 that did not report offering in-person courses, seven reported teaching entirely online and five offered hybrid courses (with some instruction in person and some online).
This is in line with our recent student survey, in which 87% of students reported prefering entirely face-to-face lessons.
Majors, Minors, Certificates, and Concentrations
This year, for the first time, we asked what related documentation programs offer students. In recent years, this has become more complex and more important.
In addition to language-focused majors and minors, language courses can be an integrated component, or “concentration,” within degrees in area studies, international relations, security studies, global studies, and other related subjects.
Certificates are also gaining in popularity. These are separate awards for completing a short term cycle of courses that develop specific skills such as language. Certificates can then be easily on one’s resume alongside other educational awards to highlight one’s skills.
We had 195 respondents answer the question. The majority offer Russian-language minors (75%) or majors (57%). Far fewer offer concentrations in partnership with other departments (15%) or certificates (14%). Many programs offer multiple options.
Note that 13% of respondents stated that they offer none of these options. In addition, 11% did not answer.
Interdisciplinary Partnerships
We also asked “Does your department work with other departments to offer language or culture classes in multidisciplinary contexts? Click all departments that you work with.”
We had 176 replies. History, art, and political science were by far most common. Other departments listed are mostly focused on art and humanities.
Below are those that received two percent or more of responses.
Other departments, named in four or fewer responses, included:
- Ethnicity Studies
- Environmental Studies
- Economics
- International Relations
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Global Studies
- Geography
- Education
- Business
- Nursing
- General Education
- Conflict Resolution
- Computer Science
- Art History
Note that 55, or almost a third of respondents, reported having no partnerships. Further, another 43 did not respond to the question.
Faculty
We began tracking tenured and non-tenured faculty numbers in 2020. We added graduate student teachers in 2022.
This year, we are changing out reporting format to match how we report student numbers, with overall numbers for each category contrasted with the number of programs reporting for that category. Note that the number of programs overall has changed from year to year.
Books
Material for first year Russian classes has rapidly diversified over the last nine years. In 2014, Golosa dominated with 55% market share while in 2024, it is now used in only 26% of classrooms. Mezhdu nami, a free and online coursebook has rapidly grown in market share to nearly match Golosa‘s market share this year. Beginner’s Russian and Troika have also seen growth to claim 22% and 10% respectively this year.
Other texts in use in 2024 include Live From Russia Stage 1 (17), Nachalo (5), I Love Russian (Liden and Denz) (1), Russian Full Circle (1), and Basic Russian, Book 1 (1).
Materials for second year Russian classes have also diversified, with Etazhi, Mezhudu Nami, and Russian: from Novice to Intermediate all showing remarkable growth to challenge the once-dominant Golosa and V puti.
Other texts in use in 2024 for second year classes include Welcome Back (Stage 2) (12), Beginner’s Russian (Kudyma) (9), Nachalo (4), Russian: From Intermediate to Advanced (4), Making Progress in Russian (3), Troika (3), Russian Grammar in Context (2), Intermediate Russian (Paperno) (2), Russian as We Speak It (1), Panorama (1), and I Love Russian (Liden and Denz) (1).
In Memoriam and Endangered Programs
Our list of confirmed closed programs grew by five this year. In addition, seven other programs indicated that expect program closure within the next three years.
Our full list of confirmed closed programs are:
Cornell College
John Carroll University
Luther College (IA)
Northern Arizona University (still listed as offered but only as credit that can be tested out of).
Ohio University
Randolph-Macon College
Rice University
Riverside Community College (CA)
Rutgers University, Newark
Siena College
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Evansville
University of Houston
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
University of Northwestern, St. Paul
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
University of South Alabama
University of Southern Indiana, Evansville
University of Southern Maine
West Virginia University
Wittenberg University
Other Slavic and Central Asian Languages
In 2022, we began tracking Ukrainian and Polish enrollments (asking initially for data from 2021 and 2022), as there was publicized circumstantial evidence that interest in these programs was rising as interest in Russian was falling. Below are our findings.
Polish Language Enrollments
Polish had by far the largest number of programs in the US of any Slavic language besides Russian.
The number of reporting programs fell by one. However, this comes with two new programs being launched and three not reporting enrollments this semester. All three that did not report appear to only be suspended temporarily, with the universities planning to offer classes again in the future.
While overall enrollment fell this year, average program growth for those reporting year-on-year averaged 5%. The fall in overall numbers comes as the three suspended programs were larger than the two new programs.
Thus, we can say that interest in Polish seems to be growing – although that growth is coming from a low base number and thus remains small.
Ukrainian Language Enrollments
Interest in Ukrainian has grown significantly. However, overall enrollment remains small, behind that for Polish and well behind that for Russian.
Six programs that reported last year did not report this year. Five of those programs appear to be suspended rather than cancelled. Further, five new programs were launched – which were overall larger than the six programs not reporting this year. Of programs that reported year-on-year, average program growth reached 4.5%.
We also now ask what other Slavic languages and other languages of the former Soviet republics are taught within responding institutions.
The most popular responses outside of Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian were Czech and BCS. Other languages remain much smaller programs at our surveyed institutions. Of particular interest this year is the marked uptick in Armenian programs being offered.
Other languages not listed below, which all had 1 enrollment reported in 2024, are: Tatar, Slovak, Romanian, Old Church Slavonic, Uyghur, Mongolian, Macedonian, Latvian, Georgian, Finish, Belarusian, and Albanian.
Related Surveys
For more surveys including for K-12 Russian courses, US students of Russian, and recruitment and retention strategies used by teachers of Russian, click here.
Anyone interested in more information about this survey may contact the author of this report, Josh Wilson via email.