Enrollment is continuing to retreat at Virginia’s two historically black public universities, Norfolk State and Virginia State.

Both institutions apparently have admitted their smallest freshman classes in at least a decade, and total enrollment has declined to levels not seen in at least 15 years or longer.

By contrast, the private, Richmond-based Virginia Union University, is bucking the downward enrollment trend experienced by HBCUs across the county.

The Baptist-affiliated school expects to report total enrollment of more than 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students when final figures are in, the largest number in at least six years.

As of Tuesday, the school led by Dr. Claude G. Perkins reported enrolling 1,433 undergraduates, up 108 students or 8.1 percent from 2014.

The undergraduates include 550 first-time students or freshmen, up 39 students from 2014. That’s a 7.6 percent increase from the 511 freshmen enrolled a year ago.

Vanessa Coombs, VUU spokeswoman, said final figures for graduate students in the seminary and other programs still are being compiled, but the school expects to have 390 to 400 such students to add to the undergraduate numbers.

Other area schools are seeing increases, including Virginia Commonwealth University, which reported a record freshman class of more than 4,000 students.

At NSU, Interim President Eddie N. Moore has not been able to reverse the enrollment slide in his two years at the helm.

Expecting worse numbers, the board slashed $17 million and 97 positions to balance its budget and reduced its enrollment expectations to around 5,100 total students, which is in line with current enrollment figures.

That’s the smallest enrollment the 80-year-old school has experienced since at least 1992, based on enrollment figures reported online by the State Council of Higher Education.

It’s also a 15 percent drop from the 6,027 students NSU reported on campus a year ago and off 28 percent from 2012, when 7,100 students were enrolled, SCHEV data show.

Of most concern, perhaps, is the shrinking number of freshmen. NSU reported enrolling 488 freshmen for the 2015-16 academic year, down 112 from last fall and far below the more than 1,000 new students admitted between 2005 and 2012, according SCHEV data.

In an interview Tuesday, President Moore attributed the decline to the fact that NSU is on warning from its accreditation agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

He said that it “has taken a year of hard work” to properly address the situation, although “the expectation of many was that it would be a shorter period.”

He expressed confidence that the university has addressed the shortcomings and that SACS will lift the warning in December. He said he also believes that will be the recommendation of a SACS review committee slated to visit the campus in October.

Mr. Moore said he believes that student faith in the school is rising, pointing to increased retention of upperclassmen. He said that the school also is renovating dorms and taking other steps to become a more “student-centered” institution.

At VSU, Interim President Pamela V. Hammond also is looking for the right turnaround formula it appears. She was not immediately available for comment.

While VSU has declined to release figures on its total enrollment, it apparently will be down this school year by at least 400 students, to around 4,600 students.

At least one report, which VSU has not confirmed, suggests the enrollment decline could be steeper, based on information Dr. Hammond provided to the board. In that report, total enrollment is expected to be around 4,200 students this year, including graduate students.

That would be the smallest enrollment since at least 1997, according to SCHEV data.

Thomas Reed, director of university relations, confirmed that the number of freshmen has declined for 2015-16. He stated Tuesday that VSU has enrolled 790 freshmen this fall. SCHEV’s online data dating to 2005 show that to be the smallest number in that 10-year period. VSU previously averaged about 1,350 freshmen.

In 2014, 956 freshmen enrolled.

The Free Press has been told that Dr. Hammond informed the VSU board that spending would need to be cut nearly $5 million to bring the budget in balance. The lower enrollment means VSU also could miss its projections for cafeteria meals sales and cut the number of rooms and apartments rented.

Last year, the university slashed $19 million in spending after it overestimated enrollment.

Mr. Reed did not address the question of a budget reduction. Instead, he stated that “VSU is focusing upon student achievement, enhancing the university’s brand and ensuring that its strategies are aligned with conservative fiscal planning. The university remains committed to academic excellence by offering affordable opportunities to those students whose preparation will allow them to flourish.”

He cited a 72 percent retention rate for sophomores as evidence the strategy Dr. Hammond laid out when she arrived is working.

However, it is unclear that Dr. Hammond, former provost at Hampton University, has convinced the board or alumni. A VSU national alumni group has written the board about concerns and urged that Dr. Hammond not be appointed as permanent president.

The board is conducting a search for a new president, and Dr. Hammond, the first woman to lead the school, is a competitor. Whether she can muster majority support from the board is now a question mark.