FRANKLIN IN THE NEWS: Enrollment growth makes Franklin University the largest private school in Columbus area

Contact:

Sherry Mercurio
Executive Director, Office of Community Relations
(614) 947-6581
Email: sherry.mercurio@franklin.edu

(The following article by Sheridan Hendrix was featured in the Columbus Dispatch on July 11, 2023)

Enrollment growth makes Franklin University the largest private school in Columbus area

When Franklin University graduates walked across the commencement stage in May at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, they were not only marking their own academic achievements. They were also making university history.

Franklin's Class of 2023 was the largest in the university's 120-year history, with nearly 1,000 graduates.

It was a "momentous milestone," Franklin University President David R. Decker said, which is also reflected in the school's overall enrollment growth in the past few years.

In fall 2022, Franklin enrolled more than 11,500 total students, an 8% increase from the previous academic year.

The Downtown university is now the largest private school in Greater Columbus, Decker said — an encouraging sign in higher education as many other institutions, especially private schools, have seen stagnant or declining enrollment during the COVID years.

By comparison, Denison University and Ohio Wesleyan University saw undergraduate enrollment increase 4% and 5% in fall 2022, respectively. Meanwhile, Otterbein University and Capital University reported about 6% declines in overall enrollment. (Denison and Ohio Wesleyan do not offer graduate programs.)

"We have strong momentum," Decker said.

Decker attributes Franklin's successes in the last few years to four factors: access, affordability, quality and relevance.

The majority of Franklin's student body — abut 77% in fall 2022 — are adults over the age of 25. The average Franklin University student is in their early 30s, Decker said. More than 60% of Franklin's students are women, and about half of all students take classes part-time.

Many are often juggling classes with careers and families while pursuing additional certifications, while others are mid-career professionals who started college elsewhere and never finished.

"Our students are working students trying to navigate a degree as quickly as possible for as little as possible," he said.

The economic downturn caused by COVID didn't send droves of adult learners back to college like the Great Recession did in 2008. But Decker said Franklin still saw enrollment growth during the pandemic.

About Franklin University

Accredited, nonprofit, and dedicated to educating adults since 1902, Franklin provides onsite course options at our Main Campus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, and is an innovator in providing personalized online education. The University offers applied in-demand undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs that enable adult learners to achieve their educational and professional goals. Through agreements with partner institutions, the University also offers international academic programs, including its top-ranked MBA.

Franklin University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and holds specialized accreditations for specific academic programs through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, and the Commission on Accreditation of Health Informatics and Information Management Education. The National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security have designated Franklin University as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE).