By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University continues to see increases in enrollment.
The university reported today (Jan. 23) that total headcount 15 days after classes started is 16,507, up 2.9 percent from the same time last year.
That growth comes because of strong undergraduate enrollment on the Bowling Green campus. This spring there are 13,539 students taking courses through the Bowling Green campus. That’s up 3.1 percent from 13,127 in spring, 2016.
Those numbers include secondary school students taking courses through the College Credit Plus program.
Growth in that program has been strong, said Cecilia Castellano, vice provost for strategic enrollment planning. She said enrollment on both Bowling Green and Firelands campus was up 27 percent.
The program allows students to take college courses that are presented in their home schools as well as to take courses on campuses that are not offered there.
Castellano said growth was strong for both.
College Credit Plus is also creating growth on the graduate level, said Graduate School Dean Peggy Booth.
In order to teach the college-level courses, secondary school teachers must have a master’s degree and at least 18-credits in the subject they are teaching.
That accounts for much of the growth in BGSU’s E Campus, she said. The Graduate College has put together programs for these teachers in biology, English, Spanish and history. Programs in art and math are in the works.
She said they are also encouraging students who earn the needed 18 credits, to continue on to earn a subject master’s degree.
The E Campus on the graduate level has grown dramatically from 134 students last year when it was new to 297 this spring, a 121.6 percent increase. The students are “primarily working professionals,” Castellano said.
The E Campus offers eight-week sessions. Some of that growth is because students taking the more traditional 15-week distance learning programs are moving to the E Campus. Distance learning has 209 graduate students, down from 304 a year ago.
Booth said that some graduate students are now moving to the E Campus. Some programs are moving to the E Campus, she said, while others are offering an online option.
All new online programs will be offered through the E Campus, they said.
Graduate enrollment is down to 2,140 from 2,201, 2.8 percent. Some of that is students moving to the E Campus, Booth said.
That trend is evident as well on the undergraduate level where 154 students are enrolled in the E Campus, up from 21, while distance learning has declined to 168 students from 249.
The Graduate College, Booth said, is looking for a boost with two new master’s degree programs, a Master of Social Work with a specialty in gerontology and a Master of Forensic Science.
Castellano said both on the undergraduate and graduate level, the university is looking for programs such as these that meet needs in society.
Also, 91.3 percent of the fall, 2016 freshman class has returned for the spring semester. This persistence rate is about what it was a year ago, Castellano said.
Enrollment at Firelands declined from last year to 1,976 from 2,232, 11.5 percent. Castellano said enrollment at satellite campuses tends to go down as the economy improves and people take jobs instead of college courses.
