Ohio University’s class of 2017 has the potential to be the biggest in the school’s 209-year history — just like the classes of 2016 and 2015 before it.
OU received 20,236 applications as of Tuesday, a new record. More than 13,277 applicants were admitted for Fall Semester 2013, a number that continues to change by the minute, said Craig Cornell, vice provost for Enrollment Management.
This is the third consecutive year OU has broken the application record — a total of 17,471 applications were received in 2012 and 13,392 in 2011, according to the first-year undergraduate profile.
The increase in applications does not mean that there will be an increase in enrollment for fall 2013. Between 2011 and 2012, OU added only five students to the freshman class, despite having the largest applicant growth in the state among main campuses in Ohio, Cornell said.
“We would like to see that growth in (applications) result in that growth in enrollment,” he said. “(But) there is no guarantee of that.”
Administration offices are hoping to increase the number of enrolled students to 4,035 for the class of 2017. The current freshmen class has 3,888 students, Cornell said.
“It is difficult to tell how many of the admitted students will commit to OU,” Cornell said.
In addition to undergraduate students, enrollment growth can be generated through e-Learning, graduate student and transfer student enrollment.
“We’re trying to replace the 300-plus extra students we saw graduate last year, but we definitely have a little bit of a goal,” he said.
Cornell said he is confident the university will be able to handle more students without problems if enrollment does increase.
“I have had conversations with provosts and deans about how increasing our numbers will affect teaching and residence life,” Cornell said. “We are on top of it.”
Cornell said that the Athens campus has room to add about another 100 students to that class of 2017.
Some colleges and departments have more capacity than others, which would better prepare OU to handle more students, said John Day, associate provost for Academic Budget and Planning.
“If enrollments go up in a particular department, it may not require any additional teaching capacity,” he said.
Cornell said the increased applications stem from additional outreach the university has done to create interest in its programs. This includes increased marketing, more out-of-state efforts and the success of athletic programs at OU, he said.
Because of an increase in advertising in 2012, OU is becoming a more familiar name, Cornell said.
“Once they are exposed to OU, our academics programs and strong reputation keep them interested,” he said.
Rachel Ingram, a high school senior from Loveland, Ohio, heard about OU at a local college fair and now plans to attend in the fall.
“I decided to apply to OU because I fell in love with it as soon as I stepped foot on campus,” she said. “It is the only college that I have ever felt truly at home and comfortable at.”
Cornell explained that there are “many different layers” involved in getting students to enroll at OU.
“Applications have to turn into admitted students, and admitted students have to commit to coming, so we still have a ways to go before we can project the size of the incoming freshman class,” Day said.
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