Published by Communications and Public Affairs (519) 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338
News Release
January 22, 2003
U of G on track to accommodate double cohort, stats show
The University of Guelph is on target with its plans to accommodate growth from the double cohort, figures made public today by the Ontario Universities Application Centre and Council of Ontario Universities reveal.
Guelph saw its number of first-, second-, and third-choice applications to its main campus and the University of Guelph-Humber increase by about 55 per cent, from 13,599 last year to 21,082 in 2003. “We have been planning for this student growth since 1998 and were anticipating a systemwide applicant increase of this proportion,” said Maureen Mancuso, associate vice-president (academic) and chair of the University’s Enrolment Co-ordinating Committee. “We based our strategic planning at both our Guelph campus and the University of Guelph-Humber around that systemwide expectation. It looks as if those projections are holding true, which means we are right on target and will be able to accommodate the growth we planned for.”
Guelph expects to admit about 600 more students next fall at its main campus --bringing its first-year class to about 4,000 -- and make an additional 700 spaces available at the University of Guelph-Humber. Applications to the University of Guelph-Humber increased from 1,048 in 2002 to 3,483 this year.
“The new classroom complex and the new Guelph-Humber buildings will open this summer before the additional intake in September,” Mancuso said. “We also will continue to guarantee on-campus housing at U of G for semester-one students who apply by the deadline and will have other residence housing available for returning students. There are also various projects underway in the city that will provide housing for students, so I am happy to say we can accommodate this growth both in and outside of the classroom.”
Systemwide, more than 101,700 students applied for admission to Ontario’s universities this year, up from 69,300 in 2002. Guelph saw its total number of applications increase from 18,867 last year to 38,605 in 2003, an increase of about 104 per cent. But Mancuso points out that the increase in U of G’s first-, second- and third-choice applications was much lower – 55 per cent. “These applications are the true indicator of student interest in enrolling at Guelph,” she said. “Keep in mind that each applicant may send applications to more than one university, which is why the number of applications is not a measure of the number of students seeking access to higher education.”
Historically, about 20 per cent of students who apply to Guelph and are offered admission end up registering. “Because we planned for this growth by adding additional spaces, we expect that percentage to remain about the same,” Mancuso said. “I should add that systemwide, only about 65 per cent of those who apply to university end up qualifying and registering.”
Guelph will begin making offers to students who have an average of more than 85 per cent in early April and will send out the rest of its admission offers starting in May.
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