The University of British Columbia is serving more B.C. students on its campuses and seeing strong growth for the seventh straight year in the Okanagan.
The Okanagan campus will welcome 2,049 new first-year students, a 12 per cent increase – and with the largest growth coming from the Lower Mainland, up 32 per cent – compared with 2010. The Vancouver campus will see 5,913 new first-year students.
“Our international reputation for education and research excellence continues to drive a strong demand for a UBC education,” said James Ridge, Associate Vice-President and Registrar. “Students recognize the value of a UBC degree and the opportunity to learn and interact with the brightest minds from B.C. and around the world.”
The largest-ever incoming class to the Okanagan campus will bring the campus population to 7,901 students, more than doubling the 3,516 students seven years ago when the campus was launched. Total graduate student enrolment is 710, up by 34 per cent from 2010. The campus is also attracting students from across Canada and internationally, with one in three new students coming from outside the province.
UBC’s Vancouver campus total enrolment will be 47,781 this year, including 37,551 undergraduate and 10,230 graduate students. The University is aiming to hold undergraduate enrolment at this campus steady.
The total number of international undergraduate and graduate students at Vancouver is 7,759; the number of international students at the Okanagan campus is 597. Seventy-eight countries are now represented by international students on the Okanagan campus, up from 22 in 2005.
Significantly more students were admitted this year using broad-based admission criteria, taking into account applicants’ grades alongside their extracurricular and life experiences. Approximately one in four new students to the Vancouver campus was admitted this way, compared to one in 10 last year. Both campuses are expected to expand the use of the holistic admission model in the 2012 admission cycle.
Social media has played an increasing role in engaging prospective UBC students. Recruitment teams on both campuses made use of Facebook (facebook.com/youbc), Twitter (@youbc) and the University’s new mobile app to reach out to and communicate with students. The app, available on iTunes, also features videos from the University’s YouTube channel (youtube.com/youbcvideo). The recruitment website (connectionsforlife.ca) attracted over 90,000 unique visitors this year, while the main recruitment and admissions website, you.ubc.ca, received close to a million unique visits.
Enrolment Contacts:
James Ridge, Associate Vice President and Registrar, 604.822.3265 or james.ridge@ubc.ca
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