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Ohio University’s first-year class on Athens campus sets a record

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Ohio University’s first-year class on the Athens campus for the fall 2022 semester is now the largest in the school’s history.

The campus saw 4,441 first-year students, a 21 percent increase from 2021, joining 310 new students transferring to the university.

The first-year class total breaks the previous record of 4,423 set in 2015. Since 1970, there have been only nine years where the freshmen class was over 4,000.

This graph showing Ohio University enrollment numbers over the past several years was presented at last week's board of trustees meeting.
This graph showing Ohio University enrollment numbers over the past several years was presented at June’s board of trustees meeting.

There are 14,684 undergraduates and 2,194 graduate students enrolled at the Athens campus as of Sept. 6, according to a release from the university.

Overall total enrollment at Ohio University this fall declined slightly from 28,770 to 27,634. The university said this was “anticipated after graduating another large class this spring.”

The university said the enrollment numbers are considered preliminary.

The university has been struggling for the past several years to raise enrollment. About 50 percent of the university’s revenue comes from tuition and room and board. The past enrollment declines resulted in deep budget cuts, including laying off hundreds of employees.