“UC welcomed 50,500 students when classes began on Monday, Aug. 21, a 5.39% increase from the same semester last year.” Miami’s enrollment is below 20,000.
"It’s the brightest and most diverse first-year class we have ever had,” Miner said. “We are seeing the impact of UC’s entry into the Big 12 as we are welcoming students from across the country.” These out-of-state tuition dollars are precious!
The excitement surrounding UC in SW Ohio is palpable. It seems they are doing everything right these days.
Yep, that is right. The 20,000 figure is for comparison’s sake. There are some faculty on campus pushing Miami to become an R1 institution, but that doesn’t seem to be a priority by the administration folks. The most important part of the story is highlighted in bold. Sports do bring money if done appropriately …
Clifton is still not a college environment…but it is what it is…and it’s in a city which kids today crave…Action…pro sports…and, of course, UC is now BIG TIME athletics…so there’s that.
Miami’s enrollment has traditionally been capped. Since all freshmen are required to live in dorms we only admitted the number who could fit into those rooms. Back in the day, Admissions lost state subsidy for going over the cap. I don’t know if that is true today. Limited access is one way Miami always maintained its elite public university status.
But Miami is still a top national public university, according to various ranking services regardless of that admissions rate, which might be quite misleading because guidance counselors steer applicants more today toward colleges where they are likely to be admitted and away from schools where they likely wouldn’t. Pre-application screening is common place now.
Yes, we have evidence that more students than before are choosing UC over Miami. UC admission folks are heavily going to high schools, like Talawanda and Lakota, to promote their programs with counselors. But it is not just students. My division lost 3 faculty members to UC in less than 2 years. Some colleagues semi-openly discuss that they would move to UC if they had a chance. It is not that Miami is doing badly. Again, it just feels UC is doing everything right these days.
These numbers partially explain why Miami is ahead of UC on national rankings
Millennials and Gen Z also like urban environments. They like going to college in urban environments and working in urban environments, the opposite of Oxford. Wayne St. has garnered more attention in Detroit, Grand Valley St.'s downtown Grand Rapids campus has done the same. Michigan and Michigan St. have increased their presence in Detroit big time in recent years. Indiana and Purdue have done the same in Indianapolis. At the very least, urban programming is a must but obviously campuses in thriving urban environments have become more popular.
Lots of truth in this. After the tranquility of isolated pristine campuses for junior boarding school, prep school and college, he chose to go to law school in Chicago and now lives and works in downtown San Francisco. He liked the big city environment of UChicago better than the suburban environment at Stanford. Now I can’t pry him out of the City, even though he hates certain things about it. He’s 31.
Miami’s largest ever freshman class enrolled in 2021, and the incoming class in 2022 was smaller mainly because there is a limit on the resources available. Miami’s total enrollment is about as high as it can be right now.
I also don’t personally see the incentive to become an R1 university. Maybe that would be a selling point for professors and the assumption is that would net out to a higher quality education? I personally feel like the quality of teaching at Miami is better than examples I’ve seen at larger universities where you end up with GAs teaching classes instead of professors. I’d rather Miami focus on doing what they do best (teaching undergraduates) rather than research.
There is only so much revenue undergraduate programs can produce. Executive education (MBA, EMBA, Executive PhD, etc.) is where the money is, but outside Miami’s strength. There is a big push now for ECE and CAS (science) faculty to get grants, as a share of the grants goes to Miami. The R1 status most certainly helps with that.
I guess my point is, should Miami be pursuing those things for the sake of revenue or recruiting more elite professors/students and that’s the only end goal, or is it something that truly ties back into the core mission. Seems like you’re saying the latter, and I’ll admit that I’m not plugged into higher education enough to have an educated opinion on what Miami should be doing. But I just think the calculus around what is right for Miami should be different than other schools whose goals are more in the realm of producing world class research, rather than undergrad education.
UC is several thousand less per year. Room,board,tuition.In state.
Plus easy for commuters,and then it’s even less $ obviously.
The freshmen aren’t there for research.
Then there’s the UC lousy graduation rate.39%?
And the neighborhood is sketchy.
Otherwise it’s a great pick.
Very unfortunately, it is not either/or. Recruiting high-quality faculty requires a lot of money (salary, labs/research money, etc.). Miami’s core mission is still (and will likely always be) undergraduate education. Given the increasing competition Miami faces, plus demographic issues, fewer international students, and low government subsidies, diversified revenue sources beyond tuition money are needed for scholarships (discounts), building facilities, attract and keep qualified professors. Hence, a push for grant money, donations, executive/professional education, and so on.
