Patience will be a real virtue for Tri-State residents going to or traveling past the University of Cincinnati Wednesday morning as the first day of classes brings almost 2,000 more students than last year.
UC enrollment officials say they have stretched out the school day to accommodate the additional students. More of these new students are being assigned to early morning classes that start as early at 8 a.m.
That means more students, faculty and staff will be up early, hitting roads and looking for parking spaces around the Uptown and Clifton neighborhoods.
The university is expecting over 38,800 students to arrive for classes on the main Uptown campus Wednesday. While that's not a record, it is more students than this campus has seen in 28 years.
What is setting records is the number of freshman students heading classes at UC for the first time. There will be more than 6,000 UC freshmen students this year.
Enrollment managers say these increases have been building over the last few years, with the recession playing a role by keeping more Cincinnati college students at home. UC Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Manager Caroline Miller tells 9 News the enrollment increase comes after years of increased recruitment at the University.
Miller adds, "We think the economy is part of it, causing more students and families to consider costs as a factor in where they'll go to school. More Cincinnati based students are trying to save money by staying closer to home and they have chosen UC as a good option."
Miller also says this enrollment growth not only means more students at the main campus, but also at UC's other campuses in Batavia and Raymond Walters in Blue Ash.
So just as officials are expecting a lot of new commuter traffic in Cincinnati's Uptown, those other UC neighborhoods will probably see busier roads starting Wednesday morning as well.
For more back-to-school information, including how to choose the right Tri-State college or university, check out our new site, CincySchoolZone.com.
