President Roderick McDavis highlighted increased recruitment efforts in his presentation at today’s Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees meeting.
The university didn’t enroll as many freshmen this year as planned but exceeded its expectations in the number of transfer, international, multicultural and out-of-state students, McDavis said.
“We are really growing our Chinese student enrollment,” McDavis said. “We have 600 students from China, and we’re really delighted to have so many students from one area.”
Recruiting international students is one of OU's biggest priorities, he said, and OU has seen strong enrollment numbers from China and India.
Another area of focus is an increase in “e-learning” opportunities. The university has more than 5,500 students who are enrolled in an online class.
“One of the benefits of using these is you can quickly increase enrollment if you focus on a program,” McDavis said.
OU’s online nursing program has contributed to additional enrollment in the past few years.
McDavis has taken five fundraising trips since the last Foundation trustee meeting, fewer than normal, he said.
McDavis then presented some of OU’s “points of pride” to the OU Foundation trustees.
OU’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine had its largest incoming class this year. There were 140 people selected for entrance into the college, and next year, there will be an additional 50 spots available.
McDavis also highlighted the women’s golf team as having one of the highest GPAs of all Division I college programs. The team members hold a cumulative GPA of 3.83.
Last month, the Ohio Board of Regents held a meeting at OU and was able to tour the campus.
"They had a great opportunity to see all of the things we are about, but more importantly, the next day they were able to have their meeting here,” McDaivs said.
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