UC Hits All-Time Record Enrollment

The University of Cincinnati is gearing up to welcome the largest number of students in its 191-year history as classes get underway on Sept. 22. UC is projecting a total enrollment of 41,250 students – up four percent from last autumn. The freshman class, at a projected 6,000 students, equals the biggest in UC’s history (reported last autumn), and UC’s Uptown Campus freshmen are the best-prepared ever with an average ACT of 25 and a GPA of 3.44. UC is also reporting a record 45 freshman National Merit Scholars, says Mitchel D. Livingston, Vice President for Student Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer.

Numbers of students on UC’s regional campuses are breaking records as well, with Raymond Walters College reporting more than 5,000 students for the first time in history, and Clermont College reporting over 4,000 students for the first time ever.

UC’s significant progress on retention, student satisfaction, national reputation and increasing numbers of international, distance learning and transfer students are all contributing to the swelling crowds of Bearcats. UC’s first-year student retention is holding at 85 percent, the same as 2009, and graduation rates increased slightly in 2010 to 56 percent.

UC’s projected number of transfer students is up three percent from last autumn, and its number of distance learners has exceeded 3,600 for the first time ever. UC also gained in both its graduate and undergraduate international students. UC has been a pioneer in a national trend of recruiting international undergrads.

For the first time ever, the top-10 list of high schools sending students to UC’s baccalaureate colleges extended beyond the Cincinnati metro area to include Centerville High School in Dayton, Ohio.

“We are excited to be welcoming such a talented group of students to the Uptown campus and to be providing such great opportunities for record numbers on our two regional campuses,” says Caroline Miller, senior associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “Our distance learning programs are a wonderful way to extend educational options, particularly to adult learners. But at the end of the day, the news about which we are most proud are the measures of student success – and UC has made huge progress in improving retention and graduation rates in recent years,” Miller says.

Click here for more background on UC’s record enrollment

Previous historic enrollments at UC

As UC planned for the largest wave of students ever, additional morning and evening classes were added to make sure students had a seat in class.  “In order to accommodate our students, we’re using more of the day for class scheduling as well as using classroom facilities as efficiently as possible,” says Kristi Nelson, senior vice provost.

New This Fall

Tech Trends/Services

Classroom Connections – New technologies including e-classrooms, lecture podcasts, cloud computing and more are sweeping campus this fall.

Student Safety – UC Police report on-campus crime dropped substantially last year, a continuation of a consistent drop in crime over the last 12 years. Technology has played a vital role in that effort.

Cheaper Textbook Options – Beginning this fall, UC will begin offering textbook rentals that are 50 percent or more off the price of new textbooks.

Reducing Textbook Costs – As today’s tech-savvy student pursues an education, UC takes a lead in a statewide initiative to reduce textbook costs.

Reducing Paper Piles – Experiments involving iPads are becoming a trend at universities across the country. A new UC teacher education initiative aims to reduce the pounds of paper used in reports to evaluate the professional development of teachers.

New Green Initiatives – Green is the theme around the students’ move back to campus as well as campus construction.

Accommodating the Crowds – A new access road to Clermont College is now open to accommodate the college’s growing enrollment.

Airport Transportation for International Students – For the first time this fall, a UC partnership will provide 24/7 service for the transportation of international students from the airport.

Online Parking Services – Comprehensive, updated Web options now make it easier and faster for UC students and staff to take care of parking needs online. These include the purchasing or reactivation of parking keycards, paying citations, changing vehicle information, or placement on a wait list for a particular garage. According to Darlene Bunton, director of UC parking services, most but not all UC garages will sell out prior to the start of fall quarter.

New Programs

Growing STEMM – UC this year launches three more Choose Ohio First scholarship programs as part of a state-funded effort to recruit Ohio’s most talented students to the STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math and medical) professions.

UC East, a Clermont County expansion in the former Ford plant in Batavia Township, begins offering classes this fall. Among the selections are programs from the UC Colleges of Nursing and Allied Health as well as the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH).

From associate degrees to doctoral degrees, UC has more than 300 programs of study. The McMicken College of Arts & Sciences (A&S) is announcing a bachelor’s degree in archaeology among its new programs this fall.

UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science is announcing a partnership with Northrop Grumman to offer a master’s degree in computer science with a focus on cyber informatics.

UC’s College of Business Marketing Department is launching its first certificate program – a graduate certificate in marketing.

New People

Santa Jeremy Ono became senior vice president for academic affairs and provost on Sept. 1.

David M. Szymanski became the new dean of the College of Business in August.

Gregory S. Sojka became dean of UC Clermont College in July. 

Cady Short-Thompson began serving as the sixth dean of Raymond Walters College on July 1, 2010.

Gui-Rong Liu, an international expert in computational solid mechanics, joins the College of Engineering and Applied Science this fall as an Ohio Eminent Scholar.

Arthur Pancioli, MD, has been appointed the Richard C. Levy Professor and chair of the department of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

W. Brian Gibler, MD, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of UC Health University Hospital and senior vice president of UC Health.

A white coat ceremony on Sept. 21 will formally welcome 98 new students into pharmacy school.

New Accolades

The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research University (Very High Research Activity) by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked as one of America’s top 25 public research universities by the National Science Foundation. Just this month, UC was ranked among the top 200 universities in the world by the prestigious Times Higher Education magazine. U.S. News has described UC as one of 15 "up and coming" universities. The Chronicle of Higher Education calls UC a "research heavyweight." The Princeton Review lists UC in the 2011 edition of its annual college guide, “The Best 373 Colleges.” Forbes Magazine named UC one of the world's most beautiful campuses.

UC Facts