Courtney Bryce
EDMOND — The state trend for Oklahoma universities has been a decrease in enrollment for the 2007-08 school year. However, enrollment at the University of Central Oklahoma has increased by 507 students since fall 2003 to a current enrollment of 15,753.
“We have been growing,” said Steve Kreidler, UCO executive vice president. “What is significant is that OU and OSU lost 2,000 (enrolled students) between the two.”
Between 2003 and 2007, enrollment decreased by 1,438 students at the University of Oklahoma and 581 students at Oklahoma State University. Kreidler said enrollment decreased at the other nine four-year regional universities by a total of 342 students.
“The most important trend is that we had a peak in 2004 of students graduating from high school (in Oklahoma),” he said.
The number of high school graduates in rural areas has been decreasing since 2004. Kreidler said one of the reasons UCO’s enrollment has grown is that the number of high school graduates in central Oklahoma has remained stable.
“We’re doing a great job in providing a great education at a low price,” he said.
Kreidler said UCO has students from 71 countries and every U.S. state except Vermont and Delaware enrolled. About 1,800 students live on campus and 300 to 400 live in Greek houses. Kreidler said another 6,000 to 7,000 students live within a 2-mile radius in rental houses and apartments. He said UCO does plan to add more housing in the future.
“We’re working on a campus master plan right now,” Kreidler said.
He said more students mean more young people will be spending money in Edmond and positively impacting the local economy. Staff, faculty and budgets also will grow, Kreidler said.
UCO currently has an economic impact of $500 million on the local economy each year.
“Our goal is to become Oklahoma’s great metropolitan university,” Kreidler said. “Our goal is to accommodate all the students that want to get an education at UCO.”
OU and OSU already do a great job of providing comprehensive research institutes, he said.
In order to accommodate the growth, Kreidler said they will add classrooms and online courses in the future. He said the university offered 43 more online classes last year and will add 50 or 60 more this year.
Kreidler said students also have the option to earn UCO bachelor degrees in certain programs at Rose State College. UCO even has its own buildings on the college’s campus.
