The University of Toledo has experienced a 3.8 percent decline in total enrollment, while Bowling Green State University and Owens Community College both reported enrollment increases.
According to enrollment numbers released Tuesday, undergraduate and graduate enrollment at UT dropped from 15,013 students in fall of 2023 to 14,440, a decrease of 573 students, or 3.8 percent.
Undergraduate enrollment is 11,036, a 3.6 percent drop from 11,454 students in 2023. Graduate student numbers also declined 4.4 percent with 3,404 enrolled compared to 3,559 in 2023.
The numbers are not a surprise, according to UT interim President Matt Schroeder.
“The numbers are consistent with our forecast when we worked on our budget this past spring,” Mr. Schroeder said. “It will take discipline and execution of our enrollment and recruitment plans to turn this around. We have to hold ourselves accountable.”
The institution’s strategic enrollment plan includes efforts to diversify enrollment, improve student success, and to better tell the UToledo story to prospective students.
“UT offers an exceptional opportunity and product for students to earn high-value degrees in important fields that our community needs from this generation,” Mr. Schroeder said. “We are repositioning UT as a destination for students with a strong resolve to accomplish their goals to do what inspires them and make a difference in the world.”
The fall numbers are not all bad news for the university. UT set a new highest graduation rate on record with 57.9 percent of students who first enrolled at UT in 2018 graduating in six years. It is the sixth year in a row that UT has improved the six-year graduation rate.
First-to-second year retention also climbed to 77.3 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from last year and the highest rate in four years.
“UT’s graduate and professional programs continue to be an area of strength, with a 7.8 percent increase in new domestic students choosing UT for their advanced studies,” Mr. Schroeder said. “This growth is led by one of the largest classes of first-year law students in the past decade and more new students choosing one of UT’s 100 percent online graduate programs.”
“I am proud of our faculty and academic administration in their ability to help retain students,” he said. “Our law school, engineering and health care fields are all growing..”
Mr. Schroeder said UT is working on cutting the loss in its market share and trying to recapture more high school to university students.
“We have to own our backyard,” Mr. Schroeder said. “We have to reposition our focus on in-demand degrees. We have to make sure we offer what young people want. We have to be more straightforward when explaining our product and the value of a degree.”
Conversely, Bowling Green State University has set enrollment and retention records for fall 2024 semester.
This fall, the final headcount at BGSU includes 19,703 students, up 3.9 percent compared to 18,966 students in fall of 2023.
Cecilia Castellano, vice president for enrollment management at BGSU said this year’s freshman class is the largest and highest achieving freshman class in University history, with first-time student enrollment up 14 percent over fall 2023 and up 22 percent compared to fall 2022.
“The BGSU class of 2028 includes nearly 3,950 students,” Ms. Castellano said. “The class also has the highest grade point average in BGSU history at 3.69 with a median ACT score of 25.1.”
For fall 2024, the Wall Street Journal honored BGSU as the No. 3 public university overall in the U.S. that students would choose again for their education. For 2025, the publication also ranked BGSU as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for the student experience.
Enrollment is also up nearly 9 percent overall this fall at BGSU Firelands, the university’s regional campus located in Huron, Ohio.
"We are thrilled that more students are choosing to pursue and continue their education at BGSU," said Ms. Castellano. "BGSU empowers students with an education of value that includes engaging experiences and comprehensive opportunities. We are thankful for the continued trust in a BGSU education and look forward to welcoming more students to our vibrant learning community in the future."
BGSU continues to draw a majority of students from across the state, with first-year enrollment from northwest Ohio up 20 percent over last fall. First-year enrollment of international students doubled compared to fall 2023, representing countries such as Nepal, India, and Canada.
The university is also seeing enrollment gains from nearby states like Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
“I am really pleased with our numbers considering we are in a competitive market,” she said. “The FAFSA difficulties was a very big hurdle. BGSU stayed in communication with students and their families and I believe that helped students with their decisions.”
Ms. Castellano said BGSU is working hard to meet work force needs in Ohio and beyond.
“We continue to invest in in-demand academic programs, particularly in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and health care,” she said. “Aviation is up 37 percent, and enrollment in the Schmidthorst College of Business is up 25 percent from last year. We have made a major investment in these programs, and it is paying off.”
Owens Community College has also experienced an increase in enrollment this fall. Strengthened by increases in new student enrollment, the college’s overall enrollment grew 5.6 percent for fall semester 2024.
A total of 7,155 students were enrolled at Owens at the 14th-day enrollment census headcount date. The fall 2023 total was 6,778.
New students increased by more than 17 percent and totaled 1,669 compared to 1,419 for 2023. New nontraditional learners increased by 43.3 percent (625 students compared to 436), while the population totals for new transfer students increased 7.4 percent (408 students compared to 380), and new direct from high school students increased 5.5 percent (636 students compared to 603).
New student growth follows the trend from the 2023-2024 academic year when new student enrollment increased 4.4 percent with 2,172 students this fall, compared to the 2022-2023 academic year with 2,081 students.
Blake J. Renner, vice president, enrollment management and student affairs, said he was excited to see so many new students enrolling at Owens.
“The new student enrollment growth will help stabilize enrollment overall at Owens,” Mr. Renner said. ”New students will transition and become continuing students as they pursue their degrees or seek university transfer. This is what we want to see both for the college and for the students.”
Mr. Renner credited the college’s “attractive” majors in nursing, health care, and business for the growth in new students.
“Those programs offer a great opportunity for students to enter the workforce after finishing the program at Owens or moving on to one of our four year degree partners,” he said. “We have also expanded our services and decreased the barriers to get a college education. We are seeing an increase in the number of students coming directly from high school and enrolling part time and full time. ”
Earlier this year, Mr. Renner completed a reorganization of the Student Affairs division to better assist new and continuing students.
“We are better positioned to help our students reach their goals and are now aligned with best practices nationally in higher education,” Mr. Renner said. “We are structured to support students. We have created a consistent student experience from the point of initial interest all the way to graduation.”
First Published September 10, 2024, 9:23 p.m.
