Both Bowling Green State University and Owens Community College have reported increases in spring enrollment numbers for 2025.
Enrollment for the spring semester is down at the University of Toledo, but it is not all bad news.
According to Tony Bourne, vice president of enrollment management, UT has achieved the highest fall-to-spring retention rate on record with spring semester 2025 student enrollment.
The enrollment headcount of 13,513 students for spring includes 10,202 undergraduate students and 3,311 graduate students. The count for 2024 was 13,951, a total loss of 438 students.
But the good news for UT is the 92.5 percent retention rate for full-time, first-year baccalaureate students from fall 2024 to spring 2025, an increase from 90.6 percent the previous year.
“The retention numbers are positive,” Mr. Bourne said. “We are now working on changing recruitment strategies in order to see an increase in enrollment in the future.”
UT’s Strategic Enrollment Plan completed in 2024 outlines efforts to stabilize and grow enrollment through additional priorities that include developing pipelines to graduate programs, increasing marketing and outreach, and improving processes to benefit the prospective student experience.
“We are strategically and creatively evaluating the ways we recruit students and making data-informed decisions to update our practices to turn enrollment around,” Mr. Bourne said. “We are working with urgency while understanding that reversing this trend will not occur overnight. Collaboration with our faculty and staff across the university is key to recruiting students who will be successful at UToledo and supporting them through graduation and beyond.”
Mr. Bourne said UT has changed what students it will be actively recruiting going forward.
“Look, we have been chasing the same students everyone has wanted,” he said. “Going forward we are going to do what we do well. We are going to recruit and support underprepared students. With our support programs like TRIO support services, student advising, and career services we will be able to recruit and retain students, and we will ultimately have students that graduate.”
Mr. Bourne said the spring enrollment numbers are aligned with projections following the fall 2024 student enrollment and are within budget.
“We are paying attention to what students care about,” Mr. Bourne said. “Our retention rate is great, and we are letting students and the community know that we graduate our students which, in the end, increases their upward mobility.”
UT interim President Matt Schroeder said he wanted to recognize the efforts of the enrollment management team, college deans, faculty and others who are working collaboratively to implement the strategic enrollment plan.
“It will make an impact on our student enrollment for fall 2025 and beyond,” Mr. Schroeder said. “As we have said before, this is a strategic effort. There are no quick fixes. We are working our plan to increase market share and grow the number of Rockets who will benefit from a world-class education at UToledo.”
Mr. Bourne said fall enrollment is hard to predict.
“I feel good about the path we are on,” he said. “We have great athletics, events, clubs, and degrees. We are a university that cares about our students. It may take three to five years, but I believe we will see increased enrollment.”
Bowling Green State University is seeing continued growth in undergraduate enrollment for spring 2025 semester, according to Michael Bratton, manager of media relations.
The total undergraduate headcount is up 4.7 percent on the Bowling Green campus and up nearly 10 percent at BGSU Firelands compared to last spring.
Overall spring 2025 enrollment at BGSU increased to 18,793 students, up from 18,124 last year. The continued growth in spring enrollment comes after BGSU welcomed one of its largest and the highest-achieving freshman classes in university history at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
“We are pleased to be starting another spring semester at BGSU with increased enrollment, signaling continued momentum from the fall,” said Cecilia Castellano, vice president for enrollment management. “This growth underscores our students’ belief in the value of a BGSU education to support their career and life goals. We are grateful for the continued trust in BGSU to provide a comprehensive educational experience as we look to welcome more students to our learning community.”
Owens Community College has had its largest new student enrollment for spring semester since 2017, according to Andy Woodard, assistant director of strategic marketing and communications.
Data released Tuesday shows total enrollment was 7,396. The total enrollment represented a 6.7 percent increase over the spring of 2024 total of 6,929.
Owens enrolled 768 new students for spring 2025, its most new students for the spring since enrolling 792 new students in 2017.
Owens enrolled 2,702 new students in the 2024-2025 academic year, a 24.4 percent increase over 2023-2024 (2,172). The 2023-2024 total represented a 4.4 percent increase over the 2022-2023 academic year total (2,081).
“It’s exciting to see new students taking advantage of what Owens offers, choosing career-focused degrees and certificates or starting on a university-transfer pathway,” said Blake Renner, Owens vice president of enrollment management and student affairs. “The new student enrollment growth from past semesters is making a difference in our overall enrollment. As these new students persist toward their educational goals, we are observing our overall enrollment counts increase which is exactly what we want to see both for the college and for the students.”
In 2024, Owens completed a reorganization of the student affairs division to better assist students, including the creation of a re-engagement office focused on re-enrolling students who previously dropped out.
“We have been focused on impacting the student experience,” Mr. Renner said. “We have also focused on offering what the community needs. We are filling the gap in higher education options for students who want to further their life. We are trying to be a good community partner.”
For spring 2025, returning student enrollment increased 34.3 percent, with 314 students re-enrolling compared to 234 in spring 2024.
A returning student has an enrollment history at Owens, but has not attended for the previous two semesters.
College Credit Plus enrollment totaled 1,724 students compared to 1,415 in spring 2024 (a 21.8 percent increase). The Student Affairs division has dedicated staff working with the high school student population to assist in the process of earning college credit while still in high school.
“We have continued to focus on our processes that support our students,” Mr. Renner said. “We are better positioned to assist students from their first day at Owens. We have created a consistent student experience from the point of initial interest all the way to graduation.”
Mr. Renner said the college is aware of challenges in enrollment, but believes Owens will continue to retain students as well as attract new students.
“We are focused on the student experience and will continue to work on it,” he said. “We will also increase cohorts in our new health care education center.”
First Published January 28, 2025, 6:06 p.m.
