By Michael Miller
513-556-6757

August 14, 2017

The University of Cincinnati is expected to set new enrollment records for its fifth-straight year as it welcomes its largest-ever class of freshmen.

UC is an exception to a nationwide trend of declining enrollment. College enrollment in the United States peaked at 21 million students in 2010, falling slightly in each of the past six years to 19 million in 2016. College enrollment in Ohio, too, has tapered off in recent years, falling from 630,000 students in 2014 to 610,000 last year.

But UC has seen an increase in enrollment for the last five years.

“We have been very deliberate in promoting the strength, depth and quality of UC’s academic programs,” interim Provost Peter Landgren said.

UC has recruiters in target markets such as Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and the Mid-Atlantic working to expand the university’s reach, he said. And UC’s reputation as a Carnegie-1 research university draws many undergraduates who want to get lab experience.

“Our deans and faculty travel to share the message with alumni to remind them of the strength of their degrees. That message helps bring in new generations of students,” he said.

UC is poised this year to set records for:
• Total enrollment projected near 45,000
• First-year enrollment at a projected 7,400 students.
• On-campus student housing at a projected 6,500 students.

Academic excellence

UC will welcome 70 National Merit Scholars and National Hispanic Recognition Program scholars, a school record. The average ACT scores of enrolling students is 25.7, same as last year. In addition, UC will award $22 million this year in Cincinnatus scholarships, the university’s cornerstone scholarship program for incoming freshmen.

“I’m extremely proud not just of the size of the incoming class but also its academic achievements,” Landgren said.

The university has a robust online education program across disciplines. UC established the first co-op education program in 1906. Today, UC’s co-op attracts interest from students around the world.

“I’ve talked to alumni 50 years ago who remember their co-op experience like it was yesterday. And alumni from five or 10 years ago look at those faculty connections as a big reason for their success,” Landgren said.

“They’re telling the UC story,” he said.

Campus housing in demand

As the University of Cincinnati anticipates another record-breaking year of enrollment this fall, more students than ever before want to live on campus.

UC will house more than 6,500 students both on and near campus, an increase of more than 500 students from last year and the largest number in the university’s 198-year history, said Carl Dieso, director of Housing, Food & Retail Services. The unprecedented demand for housing stems from both the university’s largest incoming freshman class as well as upperclassmen wanting a full college experience.

UC housing will be at full capacity when students move in Aug. 14-17, said Dieso. An extra move-in day was added this year to the traditionally two-day event to accommodate the boom in on-campus living.

Read complete article and explore UC's housing options

Students save big on textbooks
 

Students saved $2.2 million during the last academic year through the University of Cincinnati’s Textbook Affordability Initiative, a comprehensive strategy designed to reduce the cost of text materials. A large portion of that savings resulted from the includED® program, which allows UC to leverage student buying power to negotiate lower prices while simplifying their access to the digital content.

“Our goal is to leverage technology and resources to provide students with a quality education in the most affordable manner,” UC Interim Provost Peter Landgren said. “We are committed to affordability and that commitment is reflected in the cross collaboration between entities at UC.”

Read more about textbook affordability

Fresh approach to innovation
 

Science and industry converge at UC's new 1819 Innovation Hub on Reading Road. Named for the university's founding year, the center provides a maker space for students to work on products or solutions alongside industry in disciplines ranging from engineering to medicine to design. The center will give students practical experience while they work on real-world industrial processes and products.

Read more about the new 1819 Innovation Hub

Four of a kind: Meet the Manteys

When the Mantey brothers left their hometown in West Africa to begin classes at the University of Cincinnati, they had only one familiar face on campus – and it looked exactly like their own.

Starting this fall, identical twins Alfred and Godfred Mantey will share double takes on campus with their younger brothers Alvin and Kelvin – also identical twins. The brothers from the African nation of Ghana will have even more family company on campus. Their mother, Dorothy Mantey, is getting a nursing degree at UC.

Read the feature story on this incredible family

UC brings co-op to China

About 60 students from Chongqing University will finish their degrees at UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science. UC, which founded co-op in 1906, introduced the work-study concept to China in 2013. Now those first co-op students are coming to Cincinnati to finish their degrees.

Read feature story about UC's Chinese visitors

A million UC stories in pictures

UC launched an online photo store for the public that provides nearly a million images of campus life, research, events and people. Photographers from UC Creative Services have gathered their best work into a single searchable repository called Photocatalog that’s similar to sites such as iStock.

Read more and explore the gallery

Start the Year with an Eclipse

As if UC's first day of class weren't special enough, Cincinnati will be graced with a near-total eclipse of the sun between 1 and 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21. From UC's campus, the eclipse will be at its peak around 2:30 p.m.

UC physics professor Michael Sitko warns that it won't be safe to view without protective glasses.

He and some friends traveled to Winnipeg, Ontario, to see a total eclipse in 1979 while they were in graduate school in Wisconsin. It was one of the most incredible natural phenomena he's ever witnessed, he said.

"It was just awe inspiring," he said. "It was February and we accidentally drove off the road. But it was worth it. It was a real adventure."

• Read more about UC's plans for the eclipse
  
  
• View image gallery of solar eclipse on campus

What else is new for back to school?

Med Students Get White Coats – The UC College of Medicine welcomed 173 new medical students this month at the 22nd annual White Coat Ceremony. Each member of the class of 2021 was presented with a white coat as a symbolic gesture to welcome them to the profession. The white coat is also a symbol of the patients these students will treat and the compassion, honesty and caring to which the students should always aspire. Read more

Game On – UC's School of Information Technology will offer a new concentration for IT majors: Game Development and Simulation. The course concentration will give students a chance to learn about video game design and development using the sophisticated Unreal and Unity game development engines and pursue careers in the $30 billion video game industry. Read more

Common Read – UC promoted a shared discussion among first-year students this fall by encouraging them to read the same book. The inaugural selection this fall was the New York Times bestseller "Look Me in the Eye," a memoir by John Elder Robison about life with Asperger's syndrome. The book was offered to students via UC SmartBooks. Read more

Zombies and More – UC is offering some fun new classes this fall, including Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse, a science class for non-biology majors. Also look for the History of Beer, the Social History of Baseball and Creating a Web Series, which will examine successful series such as HBO's hit comedy "Insecure" that started out as an Internet short. Read more

Uptown's Upgrade – The Uptown neighborhood has seen some big commercial changes, including a new Target and Kroger and a variety of new eateries along Calhoun Street. The neighborhood has seen a surge in new development in recent years, with new residential apartments on Corry Streetand off-campus housing on Weset McMillan Street. Fairfield Inn & Suites opened in September. These join heritage restaurants, bars and stores that are part of the fabric of UC. Read more

Show What's Possible – UC and Cincinnati Public Schools are working together to show at-risk students that college is within their reach. The CPS Ambassadors program this fall selects one or two high-achieving students from each of the district’s 13 high schools to serve as their school’s ambassadors. Students are paid hourly for their time and receive a financial grant of $2,000 if they choose to continue their academic careers at UC. The student ambassadors will encourage their friends and classmates to pursue postsecondary options.  Stay tuned for more on this new effort.

Auto Industry on Campus — Students at UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning learned about car design from the experts in recent campus visits with leading automotive engineers. Students at DAAP's nationally ranked Myron E. Ullman, Jr. School of Design met with designers from General Motors and Italy's Pininfarina. Ferrari designer Maurizio Corbi also gave a lecture at UC on the future of luxury automobile design and taught design master classes. Read more

Looking Skyward – UC students, faculty and staff pause on their first day back to school to observe the 2017 solar eclipse.

Read more

UC Helps Disabled Workers – UC's Advancement and Training Services is working with food-service company Aramark to help employ workers with cognitive or developmental impairments. UC provides support for job and life skills in one of the largest university programs of its kind in the nation. Read more

Better Biosensor? No Sweat – UC professor Jason Heikenfeld and UC graduate Zachary Sonner came up with a device the size of a Band-Aid that can stimulate sweat on a tiny patch of skin. Read more

Veterans and Job Readiness – Half of veterans since 9-11 say they do not feel prepared for the civilian workforce, according to a new UC survey by associate professor Stacie Furst-Holloway. The survey found that veterans reported widespread difficulties entering the workforce after their service. Read more

Proton Therapy Treats Pregnant Mom – Doctors at UC Health Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center used proton therapy to treat Whitney Hoffer, who was diagnosed with cancer when she was 18 weeks pregnant.  Read more