As the temperature rises in Oklahoma during the summer months, so does the enrollment at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Graduate students increased nearly 22 percent since summer 2008. Undergraduate enrollment is up nearly three percent.
“When an economy has been deemed bad, enrollment in higher education institutions is likely to increase,” Cindy Boling, director of Institutional Research at UCO said.
Currently, 5,636 students are taking summer courses at Central Oklahoma, with 886 of those being graduate students and 4,750 undergraduate students.
Graduate school at Central Oklahoma has seen an increase in first-time graduate students who have begun their master’s program.
“This can be partly contributed to UCO’s dedicated staff, adopted streamlined admission procedures, increased communication with prospective students, new partnerships with universities abroad ... and ventures into social networking,” said Dr. Richard Bernard, dean of UCO’s Jackson College of Graduate Studies.
In addition, there has been a 10.5 percent increase in enrollment for graduate students who are continuing their master’s degree programs.
“Our graduate school at UCO is receiving applications from individuals who have lost their jobs, and we are seeking to help them prepare to return to the workforce at a higher level,” Bernard said.
“A graduate degree can be the silver lining in a person’s cloudy employment situation.
Earning a graduate degree during these rainy days will prepare a person for even better employment when the sunshine returns,” Bernard explained.
“More students are choosing to spend their summer vacations in a classroom than we traditionally see,” Boling said. “Often for employees to move up in their careers, they need more credentials, and going back to school can offer huge benefits.”
“Employers typically looked at job history when hiring and promoting an employee, but now we are seeing a new trend of employers looking at education history instead.”
Together, all the students enrolled in summer courses are taking 28,124 credit hours — up 6,710 hours from last summer.
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