The Office of Admission reported on the demographics and the number of the freshmen class and continuing students for the 2014-2015 academic year.
The number of Columbus City Schools students who enrolled at Otterbein rose by 20 students from 6 students last year. In addition to the increased enrollment from Columbus City Schools, the percentage of men has increased by about 6 percent from 35 percent last year. Enrollment also incurred a 5.8 percent drop in the number of undergraduates.
Ben Shoemaker, associate director of admission, said Otterbein had focused on enrolling students from Columbus City Schools as part of its mission to serve its community. Shoemaker said Otterbein has worked with teachers and counselors as well as with “I Know I Can”, an organization that helps Columbus City Schools students to have better access to college educations.
“A lot of times students couldn’t come to Otterbein because they couldn’t afford it. We’ve worked very hard to make sure students who have need have access to different types of aid that can help them be here,” Shoemaker said.
A new financial aid model, initiated over the summer, may have contributed to bringing Columbus students to Otterbein. Shoemaker said that the model looks at a student’s academic strengths and attempts to meet any overall family need. Shoemaker said that while Otterbein has historically been generous with its financial aid, the new model will ensure an appropriate amount of aid distribution.
“People look at the published cost of attendance, it’s pretty intimidating, but the reality is that through scholarships, through grants, through other means we really do make sure that at the end of the day students feel like they can afford it and they can be here and they can get access to the quality education that Otterbein has to offer,” Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker said that the increase in the percentage of men on campus came about through emphasizing the issue to faculty and coaches, who could encourage more men to apply. Shoemaker said that the recently announced systems engineering major, which is a field that consists predominately of men, is another factor encouraging men to be applicants.
The 2014 Census reports from the Office of Admission indicate that the 2,343 undergraduates in Autumn 2014 was 136 students less than in 2013. The report also indicates that the number of traditional full-time freshmen dropped by seven students from 567 last year.
At the Oct. 25 Board of Trustees meeting, Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, vice president of enrollment management, said that this is a result of the high number of private schools in Ohio and a tendency of Ohio graduates to move to other areas of the country. Blackburn-Smith also attributed the lower enrollment to a low number of high school graduates.
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Do Christmas on a budget this year
