UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TUESDAY
The Student Voice Since 1903
FEBRUARY 8, 2000
Enrollment numbers drop; credit hours on the increase By Mike Greer
Stathlititer
E
nrollment is 1.6 percent from last year. The current enrollment at UCO is 13,195, down from 13,413 last spring and 14,247 in the fall. "We always compare spring to spring, fall to fall," said Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management, Jerry Legere. "We'll graduate more in December than we'll bring in newcoming freshmen," Legere said. The biggest drop is in the graduate student population. "For teachers, there's not a lot of incentive for a master's because there's not the salary incentive," Legere said. To combat the drop in graduate students, UCO has begun offering new graduate courses. UCO introduced a Masters of Science in Forensic Sciences program this spring. This semester there are four forensics classes. This summer there will be three. In the fall, there will be six classes offered. "There's probably 35 students that have been accepted to the program and are attending. Forty-five were accepted but some are delaying to the fall," said Dr. Fred Grosz, chairman of the chemistry department. "There are only a few programs like this across the country that were built from the ground up. That should attract students from across the country," Grosz said. While the number of UCO students is down, the number of credit hours being taken is up. "There are 142,817 hours being taken this year and 142,279 last year. That's a .4 percent increase since last spring," Legere said. The number of international students is also on the rise. There are 1,561 international students this semester, up 94 from last spring. "International students are often attracted to UCO by word of mouth," Legere said. Dr. Ron Paddack, director of International Student Services, frequently recruits and speaks overseas. One reason for the drop in enrollment is the economy. If it's booming like it is, people are working. They're not going to school," Legere said. The freshman and sophomore populations were up this year. "This can be attributed to the opening of the University Commons, to better training for residence halls staff, and the wonderful recruiting job of Perspective Student Services," said Director of Residence Life Todd Duncan. Y 1-,9
—Staff photo by Landon Sayler
Queen for a year... Kharoline Mkhize, Miss Black UCO for the year 2000, takes her victory stroll at the end of Saturday's pageant. Mkhize competed against six other contestants for the crown. Mitchell Hall was filled with enthusiastic supporters who cheered and, at times, interacted with the competitors. Mkhize performed an original monologue about living under apartheid in South Africa.