Of Ohio main campus universities, OU was second in overall main campus growth from Fall 2005 to Fall 2014, according to Ohio Department of Education data.
This is the first article in a series of three examining Ohio University’s enrollment.
Ohio University officials said they are not worried about a more than 40 percent enrollment increase at the Athens campus in the past 10 years.
According to Ohio Department of Education data, the headcount enrollment for Ohio University’s main campus from Fall 2005 to Fall 2014 was second in Ohio only to Northeast Ohio Medical University in percent-increased enrollment.
Other Ohio universities such as the University of Cincinnati and Kent State University also have seen main campus enrollment growths in the 20 to 35 percent range.
“Our goal is not always to grow enrollments,” Craig Cornell, senior vice provost for Strategic Enrollment Management, said in an email. “We have seen a significant growth in applications over the past few years with traditional students that we know we could effectively serve and had enrollment growth as a result.”
OU’s enrollment strategy is outlined in its Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, which looks at how the university can maintain enrollment increases each year.
Cornell said OU has reached or exceeded almost all of the its enrollment goals.
However, enrollment, if increased too much, can cause constraints on the university.
“This is why we have begun to discuss the fact that we are going to continue to work to shape our enrollments, level off growth where we have capacity constraints and grow areas where we have opportunity and capacity,” Cornell said in an email.
Some of the constraints include limited space in residence halls for a continually increasing number of students.
“Our team communicates regularly with Enrollment Management staff to ensure that we are able to provide housing accommodations to all first- and second-year students that are required to live on campus,” Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Housing and Residence Life, said in an email.
He said Housing and Residence Life strives to reach or come close to full occupancy at the start of each year.
In Fall 2014, the university had to make accommodations, such as placing male students in rooms with Resident Assistants and converting lounge or study spaces into rooms, because they did not initially have enough room to house all students like normal, according to a previous Post report.
The 2014-15 academic year had record enrollment at the time, and university officials said the fact that students did not drop before the start of the year caused those unexpected housing issues.
During Fall Semester 2015, the university sent out an email to upperclassmen warning that on campus housing may not be an option due to expected increases in enrollment for the 2016-17 academic year.
Marjorie Saunders, a senior studying French, political science and global studies, said she's noticed a large increase in students, especially at the bars, throughout her time at OU.
"I think it's okay now because they built the new dorms, and they're building new apartments by Riverside," she said. "But I think if they keep increasing, it'll definitely be pushing it to fit students."
Cornell said the officials regularly discuss enrollment with housing and dining to make sure they are prepared each year.
“There are a lot of variables at play in any given year that may affect our planning as applications and enrollments can ebb and flow through natural means," Cornell said in an email. "But, the Strategic Enrollment Management Offices and the Offices of the Vice President for Student Affairs are regularly meeting and sharing data to effectively accommodate and serve our student populations.”
OU’s Budget Director Chad Mitchell said increased enrollment means the university officials have to make decisions about that increased income, such as whether they increase overall financial aid or whether they work to add more housing for the increasing number of underclassmen.
“Certainly increased enrollment is almost always positive financially for more revenue, but you have to be aware of what comes with that,” he said.
Mitchell said the university is also considering increasing enrollment in other areas than the Athens campus because of space limitations.
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“Specific conversations include the multiple modes of education delivery we have that ultimately roll up to our overall enrollments,” Cornell said in an email. “We do not anticipate large growth at the Athens Campus, but our OHIO for Ohio strategy that includes our regional campuses, online education, and multiple campuses in Dublin and Cleveland all contribute to the overall enrollment picture at Ohio University.”
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