The University released its 15-day enrollment report today, including figures for undergraduate, graduate and Firelands Campus enrollment.
Cecilia Castellano, vice provost for strategic enrollment planning, said enrollment remains strong at the University and the biggest improvement is the academic preparedness of the freshman class.
For new graduate student enrollment, the University is down 1.9 percent, but the largest enrollment drop is seen in the graduate college among international students.
“When you break it down between international and domestic, that’s where the story is,” Graduate College Dean Peggy Booth said.
According to Booth, domestic graduate student enrollment is up 3.1 percent, while international graduate enrollment is down 24.7 percent.
“We’ve done a lot this year to bring in as many international students as we possibly can,” Booth said. “We’re doing a lot better than a lot of institutions.”
A problem facing many students, Booth said, is they’re caught in limbo due to visa and other immigration issues. For these students, Booth encourages staying in contact with professors in case they are able to make it over to the states.
International graduate students caught in limbo will also be allowed to start classes in January if they sort out their travel hurdles.
“We are working through those, one student at a time,” Booth said.
The University’s largest amount of international graduate enrollment is from India, and students in India are facing especially slow visa processes and internal financial issues, Booth said.
Overall, graduate college enrollment dropped 4.1 percent.
This past school year, the University graduated its largest graduate class in 6 years – with a class size of 1,075 students versus a norm of mid-900. This large graduation number contributes to the total decrease in graduate enrollment.
In contrast to the falling international graduate enrollment, undergraduate international enrollment is flat in comparison to last year.
Overall, freshman enrollment is down from last year, but Castellano attributes this to greater selectivity.
“The quality of the freshman class continues to be strong,” Castellano said. “We’re really being strategic in making sure the students that are enrolling at Bowling Green will be successful.”
15 Day Enrollment Fast-Facts:
- Freshman class size down from 3,590 to 3,480 students
- Freshman class average ACT: 23
- Freshman class average GPA: 3.45
- Freshman to sophomore retention rate: 77 percent
- About 15 percent of students are from out-of-state
- About 20 percent of students are ethnically diverse
- Firelands new student enrollment up 14 percent
- Graduate new student enrollment down 1.9 percent
- Graduate new international student enrollment down 24.7 percent
- Graduate new domestic student enrollment up 3.1 percent
- Overall graduate enrollment down 4.1 percent
