Thanks to a significant upsurge of students from outside B.C., the University of British Columbia’s first-year class of 2008 will be as academically strong and more geographically diverse than ever before, even as the number of B.C. Grade 12 students declines in some areas.
UBC’s Vancouver campus will welcome 5,405 first-year students – up from 5,035 in 2007 – which includes increases of 50 per cent from Ontario, 36 per cent from Alberta, and 48 per cent from other Canadian jurisdictions.
For UBC Okanagan, increases of 56 per cent from overseas students and 36 per cent from Alberta students have contributed to an incoming first-year class of 1,312, a change from 1,261 in 2007.
The number of first-year international students is up by 19 per cent on the Vancouver campus and 27 per cent on the Okanagan campus, compared to 2007.
Overall enrolment at UBC Okanagan has grown by nine per cent to 5,325. Total UBC Vancouver enrolment is generally steady and projected at 44,355, down by one per cent over 2007.
The growing out-of-province demand for a UBC education is helping offset the impacts of decreasing B.C. students coming through Grade 12, an ongoing strong economy that lures students into jobs, and more higher education choices.
With a mean entering average among direct-entry students of 86 per cent, the same as in previous year, the new long-distance demand at both campuses means university officials look forward to an incoming class that is as academically strong and more geographically diverse than in previous years.
“I think we are seeing the reputational pull of an institution that has consistently ranked in the top-40 worldwide, along with an intentional effort to increase recruitment out of province and country,” says UBC Registrar Brian Silzer. “We are now attracting more of the best and brightest from Canada and around the world. This is a good thing for UBC and a great thing for our province.”
UBC President Stephen Toope, upon his installation in September 2006, identified increasing students from the rest of Canada and beyond as one of his challenges, while working to serve students of B.C. saying, “If we do not do a better job amongst Canada’s universities in furthering inter-provincial student mobility we will reap the consequences: regions that do not understand each other, provinces that perceive themselves to be isolated, the lack of those personal connections that make a truly national politics and society possible.”
Enrolment Contacts
- Brian Silzer, Associate VP and Registrar, 604.822.3265
- Deborah Robinson, Associate Registrar and Director, Student Recruitment, Admissions and Awards, 604.822.2853
- Andrew Arida, Associate Director, 604.822.2890.
International Enrolment
- Craig Klafter, Associate VP, International, 604 822-5607
Housing
- Fred Fotis, Executive Director, Housing, 604.822.5790
Backgrounder
Total enrolment for both campuses is 49,680.
2008 Vancouver Campus Facts
(As of August 26, 2008)
Undergraduate: 35,373 (Nov 1, 2007: 36,079)
Graduate: 8,982 (Nov 1, 2007: 8,641)
Total: 44,355 (Nov 1, 2007: 44,720)
Vancouver 2008 First-Year Class
