Back to School 2025: UC’s sustained growth

A growing number of students are first-generation, online learners and choosing to make their home at UC’s regional campuses in Blue Ash and Clermont.

First-generation college students — the first in their family to attend an institution of higher learning —  are projected to increase by 10% and account for more than 11,000 students. 

Online learners will increase by 1.7% to around 9,700 students — marking a record high for enrollment in online programs. 

Enrollment at UC Blue Ash is projected to hit 4,900 or a 7.5% increase while at UC Clermont more than 3,300 students are expected — an increase of 6.9%. Both campuses have enjoyed steady growth in recent years.

Undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase 5.6% to more than 43,500 students across all three UC campuses, including growth in the College Credit Plus program, the program that enables junior high and high school students to take college-level courses in advance for which they earn both high school and college credit.  The program is projected to enroll 3,500 students compared to 2,707 last fall.

The College Credit Plus program was established to enhance high school students’ college readiness. It is designed to reduce tuition costs and to make college more affordable, allowing students to use those credits at UC or another institution of higher learning if they choose.

UC officials are projecting more than 8,900 first-year students at all three campuses. It would be the second-highest first-year class for the university with much of that coming from growth in first-year students at UC Blue Ash. The average GPA for incoming first-year students is 3.73.

“UC has really been building on incredible momentum over the past few years. Everything from being one of the top co-op schools in the country to moving into the Big 12 Conference has really put us in the national spotlight,” explains Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management. 

“We are one of the few schools nationally to have year after year of unprecedented growth,” says Miner. “The university has welcomed an additional 10,000 students in the past decade. What is so important to me is that these are residents from throughout Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and other areas of the Tristate. They will use their experiences as Bearcats to help our city and region grow stronger.”

Miner says a growing number of nontraditional students also continue to be part of UC’s story.

“Individuals who may have started college at 18 and decided it wasn't for them at that time are now giving higher education a second look,” says Miner. “Now they are older with more life experience and coming back to complete that degree. It offers new skills and insight along with a pathway for advancement and is valued by employers.”

First-generation, Pell-eligible students in UC's 1MPACT House got a boost from a recent $4 million gift from UC alums Jagtar “Jay” Chaudhry, CEAS ’82, ’83, Bus ’86, and his wife, P. Jyoti Chaudhry, Bus ’87. The extraordinary donation will fund the UC education of 150 students this fall with scholarships filling the financial gap of these students after other grants are awarded.

“This generous gift allows us to greatly expand the number of students who are served in 1MPACT House,” says Suzette Combs, director of Gen-1/1MPACT House program. “We are able to welcome an additional 45 students this fall. This kind of financial support is life-changing and it allows students who did not think they would be able to go to college because of finances to now attend.”

“This is additional evidence that the University of Cincinnati sees first-generation students as pioneers,” says Combs. “It’s an additional demonstration that the university and people that love the university have a commitment to first generation college students.”

2025: 54,000+ (projected)
2024: 53,235
2023: 50,921 
2022: 47,914 
2021: 46,710 
2020: 46,798 
2019: 46,388 
2018: 45,949 
2017: 44,783 
2016: 44,338 
2015: 44,251 
2014: 43,691 
2013: 42,656

UC founded cooperative education in 1906 and has since been a leader in co-op. The first co-op class involved 27 engineering students and 13 Cincinnati-area companies. After proving its success, the co-op experience began expanding to other fields. Today UC is consistently highly ranked in the U.S. News & World Report's list of leading institutions for co-op and internships.

In 2023-24, about 8,300 students from disciplines across the university participated in the program, generating $88.8 million in collective self-reported income. Co-op allows students to gain real-world work experience, test out pathways for potential careers and provide employers with a source of fresh talent and enthusiasm for their workforce.

UC co-op students demonstrate exceptional post-graduation outcomes, with 98% securing employment or pursuing advanced degrees within a year after graduation.

Abigail Miklowski, a recent College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning graduate, had four co-op experiences including one in UC Housing where she helped design murals in residence halls to improve school spirit as well as handled other projects such as reupholstering furniture, creating furniture layout and advancing other tasks to keep living spaces fresh and lively.

Miklowski also held co-ops at two New York firms, INC Architecture & Design and award-winning interior design firm AvroKO, along with another at Chicago firm Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

“I was able to explore many project types through these co-ops,” says Miklowski. “I started with an adaptive reuse project of a historical building, where we renovated an old children’s museum into a residential apartment-style building. I also experienced a more interior design focused perspective with my second co-op. During my last co-op, I had the best of both worlds.”

Co-op is what brought Miklowski, a Cleveland, Ohio, native, to UC, and allowed her to put what she learned in the classroom to use long before graduation.

“As a new architecture student, you think you will go in and design buildings,” says Miklowski. “However, you don’t design anything that concrete until later. What they are laying out in first-year are fundamental design principles. They are teaching you to think as a designer. I don’t think I appreciated it as much going through it, but I do now.”

UC welcomes Stephanie Pilat, PhD, as the new dean in the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Her tenure began in July.

Pilat earned her undergraduate degree in architecture at UC and advanced degrees at the University of Michigan. She began her academic career at UC in 2009 as a lecturer in architecture. She transitioned to the University of Oklahoma serving as assistant professor of architecture until 2016. Pilat served that university’s Division of Architecture in leadership roles until 2024.

Pilat’s research focuses on 20th century architectural theory and history, design pedagogy, Cold War American architecture, Italian architecture and urbanism and social housing.

Shaka Sydnor is the new assistant vice provost and dean of students. Prior to UC, he served as the associate dean of students at Virginia Tech. Sydnor brings a wealth of leadership experience in housing and residence life, case management, crisis intervention, policy development, strategic planning and team management.

New Student Body President Joshua Copley is all about building a better community for UC students whether it’s on campus or off-campus. The criminal justice major from Dayton, Ohio, is providing leadership for undergraduate student government, the governing body for more than 43,000 undergraduates.

Copley is working with Wilaini Alicea, the new student body vice president, in an effort to improve student-neighbor relations with a few new initiatives. Alicea, a second-year international affairs and criminal justice major from Union, Kentucky, says student leaders can also work on improving community on campus. 

“Improving off-campus relations between students and nearby neighborhoods is one of my passions,” says Copley, who lives in the CUF neighborhood — a name derived from the communities of Clifton Heights, University Heights and Fairview — which surrounds UC to the south and west of the Uptown campus. It’s a heavily student-populated residential area.

The students leaders hope to build upon the Party Smart initiative promoted by UC’s Student Wellness Center that encourages students to make lower-risk choices around alcohol and other drugs by providing resources and safety training.

They are hoping to create more off-campus events that appeal to students and permanent residents. This could be music events on U Square on Calhoun Street, a popular eating and recreational space for students,  or making better use of green spaces for activities like a free yoga class at nearby parks.

“We connect UC students with the permanent residents, and they could work together in creating an event that students and others want to go to,” says Copley. “There’s more interlap, more building connections and fostering the community itself.”

Alicea says she also hopes to better support first-generation students and aid UC's CPS Strong Initiative, which is designed to encourage more graduates of Cincinnati Public Schools to attend UC for higher education.

“I am very interested in being an advocate for all our students,” says Alicea.

In June, university officials cut the ribbon on the Sheakley Indoor Practice Facility and Athletics Performance Center, culminating a two-year construction process for the $134-million, 210,000-square-foot complex that will redefine the student-athlete experience at UC. The impressive structure is located at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Corry Boulevard.

The 84,000-square-foot Indoor Practice Facility features a 120-yard football field equipped for multiple sports. The field provides an all-weather home for UC football practices and year-round workouts. It is connected to the Performance Center's weight room, cutting-edge sports medicine and athletic training wing and performance nutrition stations.

The 96,000-square-foot Athletics Performance Center features three levels, providing nearly everything a student-athlete needs in one place as well as offices for the football program. The facility features meeting rooms, an equipment room, locker rooms, player’s lounge, dining hall and a social media content studio. The athletics-only dining hall is open to all student-athletes, giving every team at UC a state-of-the-art place to refuel.

On the academic side, the Old Chem building’s makeover is finally complete. This summer, crews completed a $190 million full renovation of the original 1917 portion of the structure facing the Herman Schneider Quadrangle. The facility contains 205,000 square feet of advanced and modern academic and research space supporting UC’s College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering and Applied Science. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Old Chem is scheduled for early September.

Students who visited the Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center back in February now know the popular campus resource has an impressive new space. It looks more like a well-stocked grocery store than a typical food pantry.

Plenty of staples like pasta, rice and ramen noodles share space with essentials like cooking oil, flour and sugar. A new refrigerated area also offers fresh vegetables, fruits and proteins. The new space is on the main floor of Stratford Heights.

The Pantry first opened its doors in 2016 and has provided free food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, diapers and wet wipes to students of all backgrounds with food insecurities. There are two satellite locations on the Uptown campus in the College of Allied Health Sciences and the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services.

During the 2024-25 school year, the Bearcats Pantry served 2,500 individual users more than 10,000 times. The center’s mission is to help alleviate food and financial insecurity among students. 

“The Bearcats Pantry and Resource Center has continually increased its service to more and more students every year,” explains Daniel Cummins, associate dean of students at UC. “The center is one of the most stable and consistent sources to meet the needs of students experiencing food insecurity.”

“We know students are coming to Bearcat Nation with excitement and a passion to succeed in their field of study, “ says Cummins. “But if they face any challenges around food or financial insecurities or anything that creates unwanted stress they can reach out to the Pantry.”

UC Blue Ash is enjoying the fourth consecutive year of student growth, while UC Clermont has seen three years of student growth. Both are giving students, in-person or online, the Bearcat experience they need.

“We are seeing more and more students choose Blue Ash and Clermont for the smaller class size, more localized support and more affordable tuition,” explains Miner.

A growing number of these students are taking advantage of specialized programs on UC’s regional campuses while also opting to live in residence halls on the Uptown campus. “This year more than 500 first-year students at Blue Ash are living in the dorms at the Uptown campus,” adds Miner.

Students at UC Blue Ash are enjoying a renovated campus that includes a new three-story atrium that adds nearly 6,000 square feet to the front of Muntz Hall, the flagship building for the college. The atrium provides students with a modern new space to meet, study or take a break between classes.

There are also five study rooms that are designed for group study. Other updates to the first floor of Muntz Hall include a new student services wing and completely renovated Student Life & Success office.

Students in the popular dental hygiene program at UC Blue Ash will benefit from a new and improved dental hygiene clinic that includes 30 new dental chairs and state-of-the-art software and dental care equipment. Blue Ash now offers students a new associate degree in hospitality management program that is fully online. UC Blue Ash boasts more than 50 academic programs and an authentic UC education with bachelor’s and associate degrees, certificate programs and a wide range of microcredential courses.

Read more about UC Blue Ash.

At UC Clermont, students will have the flexibility to choose from several new academic programs adding to more than 60 career-and-transfer-oriented offerings available.  

Some of those associate degree programs include cancer registry management (offered online), hospitality management (online with a certificate option) and neuroscience. There is a new online bachelor’s degree program in health informatics along with certificates offered in insurance and finance management (online) and narrative medicine.

UC Clermont also now offers students the Cronin Career Scholars program, the first paid internship program of its kind available to UC Clermont students, which collaborates with on-campus and community organizations to create local internships.

Featured image at top/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand