Graduate student enrollment continues to drop at Ohio University despite a recent boost to undergraduate enrollment, which was a concern expressed at last night's Graduate Student Senate meeting. While OU had an overall increase of 315 students this year, mainly because of its largest freshman class to date, graduate student enrollment is down by 50 full-time equivalence students, said GSS adviser Michael Mumper, Ph.D.
We are disappointed by this number
Mumper said. Almost all decreases are in international graduate students. The three places where enrollment dropped considerably were in International Studies, the College of Education and the College of Engineering, Mumper said.
The increase in price of insurance for graduate students also is a concern GSS should examine, Mumper said.
An insurance plan was chosen last spring after a presentation at the Graduate Council meeting, and Mumper said graduate students were not given sufficient time to consider other insurance options. Senate is looking into other plans that would lower insurance costs. Graduate students wishing to travel to conferences will also be notified today if their travel requests, 10 of which will be drawn at random out of 20, are chosen, said Ryan Botts, grant committee chairman. The travel funds are allotted to graduate students by the Provost's office.
A resolution to admit 16 new members into GSS also passed, as well as a resolution that allows for parliamentarian and secretary positions to be appointed by executive officers rather than by the executive council at the first regular GSS meeting.
-Emily Tudor 17
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Emily Tudor
