Enrollment figures for the 2017 spring semester were released by Bowling Green State University on
Monday, showing total enrollment at all BGSU campuses is up 1.2 percent. The headcount of graduate and
undergraduate students on the main campus showed an increase of 2.29 percent.
According to Cecilia Castellano, vice provost for Strategic Enrollment Planning, and Peggy Booth, dean of
Graduate College, this small change is noteworthy because of its greater societal implications and the
way students are using an increasingly popular Ohio Department of Education program to save money.
Bowling Green campus spring undergraduate student enrollment is up 3.1 percent from 2016, or 412
additional students. Meanwhile, Firelands Campus enrollment is down by 11.5 percent, with a loss of 256
students. Graduate student enrollment was also down at the Bowling Green main campus by 2.8 percent,
with 61 fewer students.
Technology enters the picture with a virtual third campus. E Campus and distance-learning programs gained
in popularity, particularly among graduate students. E Campus is the big winner, showing 121.6 percent
growth with graduate students and a 633 percent growth with undergraduates.
Increased undergraduate enrollment is happening at a time when there are a growing number of students
entering BGSU with college credits, through the College Credit Plus initiative. The CCP has implications
for future college enrollment and is showing increased popularity, with 27 percent growth in the last
year. Ohio’s College Credit Plus allows a high school student to simultaneously get college and high
school credit for the same course. This potentially lowers the total amount of time it takes to get a
four-year degree. In addition to getting a jump on college and future job market entry, there are also
cost savings for the student. The Ohio Department of Education web site states, “The purpose of this
program is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and to provide a wide variety of options to
college-ready students. Taking a college course from a public college or university is free. That means
no cost for tuition, books or fees.”
While the CCP could impact the BGSU bottom line because students potentially aren’t paying for as many
courses at the university, there are two related areas that are showing growth because of this program —
E Campus and the Accelerated Program.
BGSU’s Accelerated Programs plan for senior year undergraduates allows students to take as many as 12
credits toward their master’s program, as long as they have a 3.0 GPA.
Booth noted that the requirements for a teacher to qualify for teaching CCP courses include additional
course work, which fits in with the E Campus program. That program is broken up into two semesters of
eight weeks each, which is cited as a convenience for many teachers who have to fit the educational time
into a work schedule.
"In the last couple of years we’ve really been focusing not only on new student enrollment but
retention of all of our students. (We’re) making sure we’ve got the right academic portfolio of academic
programs and being very mindful of our recruitment and retention strategies," Castellano said.