Oklahoma City University’s Office of Enrollment Management reports noteworthy increases in university enrollment numbers during the Spring 2024 term.
This comes after the office announced earlier this year that the university matriculated its largest class of first-year students in over a decade.
According to University Vice President of Enrollment Management and Communications, Kevin Windholz, the enrollment rate is “101%” of the fall semester.
The sudden influx of students is becoming more visible in all areas of the OCU campus, including several of its academic programs.
Last semester, university officials announced a new accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, noted as the first and only of its kind in the state.
With its first cohort beginning in January, these statistical trends are ideal for the new program’s success.
Meinders School of Business is reported to have the largest growth so far, with student increases reaching over 60%.
Petree College of Arts and Sciences and Wanda L. Bass School of Music also have seen growth in their student populations by at least 15% each.
A significant portion of these recent enrollment gains can be attributed to the university’s push for increased international student enrollment.
Before closing out the spring semester of 2023, University President Kenneth Evans shared that the university saw a surge in international graduate student applications.
In an email statement sent out on May 4, 2022, Evans wrote, “At this time, we have more than 830 international graduate applications for admissions, compared to 351 at the same time last year.”
Additionally, the university recently reported “strong interest and enrollment” in its Master of Science in Computer Science program and two analytics-related MBA concentrations this year amongst the international student population.
With over 2,700 students enrolled in spring courses this semester, Windholz notes this as the “first time in records dating back to 2010 that OCU spring enrollment has equaled or surpassed the previous fall enrollment.”
Generally, enrollment numbers have climbed by 8%, year-over-year, at OCU, marking this as the largest total enrollment in five academic years.
Evans shares that these rarities in higher education deserve celebration in the campus community, adding, “These numbers shine the spotlight on our efforts to deliver new programming that is relevant to the community and cognizant of broader industry and workforce needs.”
Windholz and Evans agree that these numbers will foster healthy results for the workforce, locally and abroad, and are excited about what the campus can offer prospective students.
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