Ohio University officials emphasize that the university’s overall enrollment is growing even though this year’s class of incoming freshmen is slightly smaller than last year’s.
The Office of Institutional Research released data yesterday that provided preliminary numbers for enrollment this quarter. Although the data is not finalized, it is reliable, said Becky Watts, chief of staff to OU President Roderick McDavis.
There were 93 fewer freshmen than the university initially expected, but that decrease was mitigated by 99 extra upperclassmen. When transfer students are taken into account, 27 more students enrolled than the university had planned.
“The freshman class is down a little bit, as we expected,” said John Day, associate dean of academic affairs and associate provost for academic budgeting. “When you put all that stuff together, we’re pretty much on target.”
OU saw a similar decrease of 96 first-year enrolled students between the fall of 2009 and the fall of 2010, following an increase of 87 in first-year enrollment between 2008 and 2009.
Watts said the decrease in new freshmen this year could be attributed to the decrease in Ohio’s high school graduates.
OU is trying to allay this decrease by attracting out-of-state and international students through its Strategic Enrollment Management Plan.
“There is a demographic decline in the state of Ohio of traditional-age (college) students, and we budgeted conservatively,” said Michael Williford, associate provost for institutional research and assessment.
Watts also stressed the importance of retention.
“One of the biggest pieces of work that we’ve really been looking at is surrounding students with positive learning environments,” she said. “It’s not just about recruiting (students) and getting them in the door. It’s about providing an environment of success for them once they’re enrolled.”
One area that saw a decrease in enrollment was regional campuses. Enrollment numbers were down from fall of last year at OU’s Chillicothe, Southern and Lancaster campuses. The five regional campuses have a total of 429 fewer students compared to last year.
Before this year, enrollment at regional campuses had been growing since 2007.
The regional enrollment decline could be due to government-regulated Satisfactory Academic Progress policies, which place stricter academic requirements on students receiving financial aid and could lead to increased dropouts, Williford said.
However, a large increase in online students brought the total enrollment at all OU campuses to 35,708, a 384-person increase from last year.
“Some of the populations we don’t budget for directly are up,” Day said. “If you get the grand total of everything, including online, we’re growing.”
Lifelong Learning programs have added 486 students from last year. Lifelong Learning includes OU’s new online nursing program, which Williford said could be responsible for much of this year’s growth.
Finalized enrollment numbers are not yet available because students are continuing to come and go, and OU is coping with a new internal computer system, Williford said.
“We’re still testing and working out some of the bugs,” he said.
bv111010@ohiou.edu
