By Pulse Staff

Despite a national decline in college enrollment, University of Findlay’s incoming class of new students made a big statement.

A report from the University of Findlay Institutional Research and Assessment office released August 26 says UF welcomed 756 incoming students this fall, 213 of whom identify as first-generation students. That total is up from 693 new students in the fall of 2024.

UF Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Nikki Hintze says the numbers this year are a good sign for UF.

“It takes an enormous amount of work from so many people across campus to build a class of this size and quality, but at the end of the day, the real reason we’re successful is that UF offers what students and families are looking for,” Hintze said. “That’s something we should all be proud of: a small, welcoming place where students feel at home, yet one where they also have opportunities to do really big things.”

Hintze said the recruitment process was very intentional and UF had to adapt and adjust recruiting practices.

“We worked hard to meet students where they were, whether that meant spending more time on personalized outreach, ensuring families understood their financial aid and payment options, or creating intentional opportunities for students to connect directly with faculty about their academic programs,” Hintze said. “Those touchpoints helped students and families feel confident in choosing Findlay.”

The eight-day report dropped to 752 new first-time full-time freshman and new full-time transfers. The eight-day in fall 2024 total was 691 and fall 2023 at 682 still showing steady growth.

University Registrar Anthony Silecchia says that the slight drop from the August 26 report and the eight-day report does not necessarily mean UF lost students in the first week. It is an adjustment that can happen for many reasons.

“We may lose some, but we usually gain an equal amount that first week,” Silecchia said in an email interview. “What this probably means is that when we closely reviewed the ‘incoming’ students, there were probably several that are ‘returning’ students (started previously, stopped attending, are now returning).”

“The preliminary numbers often change as we accurately shuffle and categorize students in the system,” UF Director of Institutional Research Kristen Lindsay said in an email interview.

The eighth-day numbers follow the last day to add a class without permission of an instructor.

“Thus, most of the registrations / changing courses is wrapped up for the semester to provide a good indication of enrollment for the semester,” Lindsay said. “However, College Credit Plus students and second 8-week block students are still being added. Enrollment can fluctuate throughout the semester.”

The August 26 report shows 76% of the new students are Ohio residents, and 13% of the 24% out-of-staters come from neighbor states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. A deeper look shows 31% are student athletes recruited directly to a team.

The eighth-day report breaks down the campus-wide numbers, not just the new incoming class. The eighth-day report shows a total of 2,290 undergraduate students at UF this fall and 760 graduate students for a total of 3,050 students.

It also shows 934 men to 1,980 women on campus.

The undergraduate enrollment summary also shows four high school students are attending UF as full-time CCP students.

Director of Graduate and International Admissions Kathy Patton says UF had 39 new international students this fall, down from 81 last year, and 163 in the fall of 2023.

“We currently have 205 international students on campus enrolled, from 40 different countries,” Patton said. “There was a big surge after things opened back up from COVID, so we had large classes for 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, with those students having graduated (most are graduate students here for two years) and current visa challenges, our total enrollment has dropped.”

While the eighth-week numbers give a snapshot of students on campus, it will take a little more time to accurately judge enrollment numbers at UF.

“Sixth-week enrollment is used to calculate most state and federal reports – as well as external marketing reports like U.S. News and Peterson’s – thus the sixth-week numbers are technically referred to as census data,” Lindsay said.

“While the national narrative is still focused on enrollment decline,” Hintze said, “our ability to listen closely, respond flexibly, and lean into what makes UF special has allowed us to not only steady the trend but bring in a class we can be proud of.”