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Ohio University is on track to top last year’s fall enrollment record
By: Gabriel Scotto
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – One week out from the start of the fall 2023 semester, Ohio University is on track to set another fall enrollment record.
As of May 21, 4,707 students confirmed they would enroll in fall, compared with 4,659 students who confirmed they would enroll at the same time last year.
“We are looking strong for fall ’23 and that is true in almost all our enrollment categories,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Candace Boeninger.
Owing to late enrollment, graduate student enrollment and enrollment for students at Ohio University’s regional campuses, Boeninger cautioned there would be some volatility in early enrollment numbers, but remained confident the university would meet or exceed last year’s fall enrollment record.
“We have been tracking just a little bit ahead of where we were last year,” Boeninger told the university’s trustees at a meeting Monday. “When we talk about the fall freshmen number, we’re hovering around where we were last year, plus or minus 50 to 75 students.”
Boeninger also informed the trustees of increased retention among students who enrolled at the university last fall.
“The students we enrolled last fall came back from fall to spring semester at a higher rate than what we had seen in years prior and it looks like they are persisting into their sophomore years,” Boeninger said.
In April, Boeninger informed trustees of a decline in regional campus enrollment going into the fall 2023 semester. Since then, Boeninger says the university has seen “a turnaround” in new first-year students on regional campuses, along with improved retention.
“It’s going to be a really strong first-year class and we’re excited about the types of students that are coming in and the extent to which they’re prepared to join our university community,” Boeninger said.