With a new school year about to start, the University of Akron is looking at higher freshman enrollment and a more robust financial picture compared to one year ago.
Last year, the university saw a big drop in enrollment and faced a $30 million deficit. But this year’s incoming class is projected to be bigger by about 10 percent. And President Matthew Wilson says the deficit was addressed by careful spending and hiring, and without large-scale layoffs.
“I think you’ll see a lot of excitement coming out of the University of Akron this year that will help us close that $29 million deficit that we have and start to be able to operate on balanced budgets in coming years.”
That projected $29 million budget gap for the new school year is already down from a previous estimate of $40 million. Wilson says Akron’s new cybersecurity degree – as well as growth in its law school – have helped to increase enrollment.
In a bid to boost freshmen in the future, the board of trustees has approved studying whether to reduce the surcharge for out-of-state students, who currently pay about three-quarters more than in-state students. Wilson says that could bring in more people from outside of Ohio and outside of America.
“Regardless of what’s happening in the political realm, what we have seen is that there’s still a demand for higher education here in the United States from overseas students. And we believe that we’ll be able to attract a greater number of international students.”
Wilson says international students have shown great interest in Akron’s engineering and law programs. He adds that Summit County is a good fit because it’s welcoming of foreigners and also has a low cost-of-living.
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