Colleges report surge in students

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

Several Ohio universities are reporting increased and even record enrollments at a time when people are struggling to find jobs.

The University of Cincinnati projects a total enrollment of more than 41,000 students — the highest in its 191 years — up 4 percent from last year and about 1,500 higher than the previous record from 1980.

Youngstown State University’s enrollment of 15,200 is the highest in 20 years. Kent State University reported that its more than 41,000-student enrollment is the highest in its 100 years after a record of more than 38,000 students last year. Cleveland State University’s first-day fall enrollment reached an 18-year high of more than 17,000.

Higher education officials say the surge in students is due in part to more online offerings, improved programs and a focus on recruitment. They also acknowledge that the tight job market has contributed to enrollment, as more people head to school to make themselves more marketable.

That’s a driving force behind enrollments up in graduate programs. Students with bachelor’s degrees are heading straight into graduate programs because they can’t find work, said Robert Sevier, senior vice president for strategy with Stamats, a higher education research and marketing company based in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“When the economy turns around, graduate enrollment will go down,” Sevier predicts.

“As the economy falters and unemployment goes up or jobs are hard to find, people look for higher education and we see them returning to school or looking for colleges, but I don’t think that’s the only thing,” said Jacqueline McMillan, Wright State’s vice president for enrollment. .management.

She said Wright State has focused on populations that Ohio’s higher education plan says will help the state reach its goal of 230,000 more enrollments by 2017. Those groups of potential students include military veterans and adult and transfer students.

Ohio’s strategic plan focuses on education as the key to make the state and its students competitive, says Ohio Board of Regents spokesman Rob Evans. The board is seeing major increases at many campuses although all schools haven’t reported back yet, he said.

“The economy has encouraged a lot of folks to go to school, and support from the institutions and from the state has made it possible for them to get in the door,” Evans said.