Ohio U Vice President of Enrollment speaks at Student Senate Meeting

Student Senate. Photo by Tim Zelina.

Vice President of Enrollment Candace Boeninger gave a presentation on enrollment at Ohio University during Wednesday night’s virtual Student Senate meeting. 

Boeninger addressed declining enrollment trends at Ohio U. According to current data she shared at the meeting, students enrolled at the Athens campus make up only 49.1% of total enrollment at Ohio U. 

Prioritizing the regional campuses is something administrators are having a lot of discussions about, Boeninger said. 

“Making sure that we are attending to not just what the trends are here in Athens for that traditional starry-eyed 17-year-old who wants to go off to college, but also the military servicemember who’s getting out and wants to come back as an adult, or that single parent who became a nursing assistant and now wants to go back and complete their nursing degree,” she said.

According to Boeninger, one of Ohio U’s goals is to continuously evolve in order to better serve non-traditional students.

She also talked about marketing strategies in place to increase enrollment, adding that virtual events have made information about Ohio U more accessible to students. 

“What we’ve learned with virtual is that it levels the playing field,” she said. 

Boeninger added that Ohio U’s test-optional admissions policy has improved enrollment numbers. The test-optional policy means that students are not required to submit scores from standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT. About 50% of total applicants and 64% of underrepresented applicants in 2020 applied test optional. 

“We know, categorically, that this change has increased access to Ohio University through just one simple policy change,” she said. “That is fantastic.”

She also said current Ohio U students are key to attracting more students.

“We are looking for new and creative ideas always, and we would invite those from you. Please know that we’re not sitting idly by, and we depend on student energy and student positivity to tell others how fantastic this institution is and how life-changing it can be,” she said.

In addition to Boeninger’s presentation, the Senate also discussed an upcoming food drive for Ohio U’s Cats’ Cupboard food pantry. 

“Food insecurity is a huge issue among college students,” Senate Vice President Elizabeth Lily said. 

The food drive will be held from April 12 until April 16. Items can be dropped off at Baker Student Center.