Ohio University’s class of 2020 is not breaking enrollment records so far this year.
With 4,332 students enrolled as of the first day of classes, this year’s freshman class has dropped in size compared to the past few classes. Final enrollment numbers will be available after the 15th day of classes, OU Spokesman Dan Pittman said.
Despite a drop in enrollment, OU President Roderick McDavis maintained the class is still one of the largest to attend the university.
“It is the third highest enrollment in history at OU, 4,332 if I’m not mistaken,” McDavis said at the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday at the university’s Dublin campus. “I think that’s pretty good.”
Emilee Chinn, a freshman studying photojournalism, was not aware her class was so large.
"That's impressive that our class is one of the biggest," she said, adding that she's seen a lot of students in the residence halls and in lines for the dining halls.
Trustee Victor Goodman explained that part of the decrease in the number of students comes from a decline in out-of-state enrollment.
In past meetings, trustees and officials have discussed that the goal is to maintain out-of-state enrollment at about 15 percent.
This year's freshman class is smaller than last year's by about 90 students. The total enrollment for last year’s freshman class was 4,423 after the 15th day of classes.
That was an increase of about 1 percent from 2014-15, Craig Cornell, Senior Vice Provost for Strategic Enrollment Management, said in a previous Post report. The class of 2019 is the university's largest class in history.
Enrollment has grown about 43 percent from 2005 to 2014 at the Athens campus, according to enrollment data from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
The university had also seen nine consecutive years of enrollment growth.
Last year, The Chronicle of Higher Education named OU on its list of fastest growing colleges.
Though enrollment has declined this year, McDavis stressed retention rates have increased.
He said the university’s retention rates from freshman to sophomore year have increased by about 2 percent, a rate McDavis described as “huge.”
“Most universities would be delighted by .5 percent, much less 2 percent,” he said. “That is huge, so I just wanted to take a moment and pause and let that soak in.”
