UC Begins Classes on Sept. 24

The University of Cincinnati is projecting a total enrollment of more than 37,000 students as classes begin on Sept. 24, the largest number of students in 18 years and more than 500 students over last year’s total enrollment of 36,518. UC’s significant progress on retention and graduation rates, student satisfaction and increasing numbers of international, distance learning and transfer students are contributing to the crowds of Bearcats.

UC is also celebrating its most academically prepared freshman class on the Uptown Campus, a result of admissions standards that are reflecting the success of UC’s growing retention and graduation rates as part of the UC|21 Strategic Plan. The freshman class holds a record 44 National Merit scholars. Convocation, the formal induction ceremony for new students, will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 21, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

A year after rolling out the Cincinnati Sophomore Initiative to try and combat sophomore retention issues, UC’s Center for Exploratory Studies and the Center for First-Year Experience and Learning Communities are combining to launch UC’s first group of Sophomore Learning Communities. Around 80 students will be participating in the communities this fall.

Students move into the residence halls Sept. 18-19. Peak times for the crowds are expected between 10 a.m. and noon. On-campus demand is above 3,200 students. Todd Duncan, director of UC Housing and Food Services, says study lounges have been converted to temporary rooms to accommodate approximately 100 students. 

A new, 26-bed, off-campus Gen-1 theme house, located in the UC-affiliated Stratford Heights Community on Clifton Avenue, is open and ready to serve first-generation, Pell- eligible students. The Gen-1 theme house is designed to provide support programs and services to help students make a successful transition from high school to college.

The UC-affiliated Stratford Heights Community on Clifton Avenue is introducing a living community for single international graduate students as well as a living community for students majoring in communication.

UC offers more than 290 programs of study. This fall, the UC College of Business introduces a

new entrepreneurship/family business major

, and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences introduces a

new undergraduate major in neuroscience

. UC’s College of Engineering rolls out a new

master’s in engineering

and a

minor in sustainable urban engineering.

The start of the academic year sees UC crossing another academic threshold, with the advent this fall of a new joint undergraduate degree program in Geographic Information Sciences between UC’s geography department and a partner Chinese university, Sun Yat-sen University.

Freshmen entering UC’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences (A&S) had an early assignment before the start of classes. Over the summer, the more than 1,000 freshmen entering A&S were invited to take part in a common reading project focused around the theme of citizenship.

Over the past two weeks, a group of University Honors students began UC’s sixth university-wide partnership with Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity. Once classes begin under the instruction of Beverly Brannan, a field service instructor for English & Comparative Literature (McMicken College of Arts & Sciences), the students will write about their experiences as they reflect on the meaning of community.

UC’s College of Business welcomes the first students into the Kolodzik Business Scholars Program. Admission is highly selective. Each student receives a scholarship of $2,500 for 12 quarters.

Participation in UC’s internationally renowned co-op program has risen almost 25 percent in the last five years. Student paychecks from those co-ops are growing as well.

UC’s campus has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. This fall marks the opening of the Center for Academic Research Excellence (CARE)/Crawley Building at the Academic Health Center, as well as the reopening the newly renovated Teachers College on the Uptown Campus.

The UC campus and surrounding neighborhoods are already the largest wireless hot spot in the Greater Cincinnati area. A new additional leg of coverage has been recently added, including more perimeter areas around the edge of campus, such as the Short Vine district. Wireless access is available to guests for up to three days, and is available at anytime for anyone who has a Cincinnati Bell Zoomtown account.

UC Police are again emphasizing crime prevention as students return to campus, an effort that’s showing success. Serious crime on campus is down by 40 percent in the last five years.

All students, faculty and staff now have the opportunity to sign up for the University of Cincinnati's emergency text-messaging service. UC Public Safety uses this emergency text-messaging system only in the event of imminent or ongoing threats to campus safety and security. Already, more than 6,750 members of the UC community are signed up to receive emergency text messages.

UC’s plan to reduce energy usage is showing success in terms of reducing energy consumption and reducing costs. In the past four years, UC has reduced energy consumption by at least 13 percent.

The University of Cincinnati’s residential restaurants join a national trend that’s kicking into full gear this fall as universities across the country remove trays from dining centers in efforts to save on wasted food and the massive amounts of water and chemicals used in cleaning food trays. The move is one example of how higher education institutions are adopting sustainability measures in line with the viewpoint of today’s conservation-minded student.

UC’s student-constructed solar house became a summer lab for exploring alternative-energy technologies. Students hope to gather data in regard to the capital equipment costs and operational-cost savings connected to these alternative-energy experiments and then compare these to conventional equipment and energy-generation costs.

UC’s student-organized Bearcat Live! concert brings the band, Blessid Union of Souls to campus on Sept. 26 as the band releases a new album nationally this month.

Academics, reputation, diversity and student praise again land UC in the Princeton Review Guide’s best universities. This marks the second year in a row that UC is listed among the nation’s best universities.

Back to School Information

UC Opens Classes with Record Enrollment and Brightest Freshman Class

UC Celebrates Its Most Academically Talented Freshman Class

UC’s Rising Retention and Graduation Rates the Result of a Success Challenge

UC Introduces Sophomore Learning Communities

UC Clermont Announces New College Success Program

Get Details on the Big Move Back to Campus

New Living and Learning Community for First-Generation College Students

A New COMMunity House for Communication Students

Geography Partnership One of Three New International Agreements to Be Implemented at UC in 2008-09

College of Business Introduces New Major in Entrepreneurship/Family Business

College of Business Welcomes First Kolodzik Business Scholars

A&S Introduces New Undergraduate Major in Neuroscience

UC Offers New Master’s Degree in Engineering

College of Engineering Introduces Minor in Sustainable Urban Engineering

Reading Project Connects More Than 1,000 UC Freshmen

UC Honors Students Begin Building A Home Designed for Special Needs

More Students and Pay for UC’s Growing Co-op Class

Campus Upgrades Underway as Part of the new Academic Year

Education on Crime Prevention Paying Off for Students

Updates on UC’s Emergency Text-Messaging Service

Parking Services Announces Changes for New Academic Year

At UC, Energy Savings Equals Economic Savings

Going Greener for Fall: UC’s Residential Restaurants Eliminate Food Trays

Solar House Serves as Summer Lab for Alternative-Energy Technologies

Bearcat Live! Presents Blessid Union of Souls

Princeton Review Places UC Among the Nation’s Best Universities