Even as Ontario high schools produce fewer graduates these days, Brock University\u2019s numbers appear to be defying the gravity.<\/p>\n
In a year when Brock officials have stepped up efforts to engage potential students, and when spring Open House drew record crowds, Brock\u2019s confirmed applications for 2017-18 are tracking ahead of where they were at this time last year.<\/p>\n
Data\u00a0compiled by the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC) shows that Brock\u2019s confirmed application numbers for undergrad and graduate students combined were up 5.2 per cent from a year ago. That\u2019s more than double the average 2.4-per cent growth rate for all 20 Ontario universities.<\/p>\n
In the benchmark \u201c101\u201d category \u2014 students entering first-year university directly from Ontario high schools \u2014 Brock currently has one of the top four growth rates in the province, up 8.6 per cent over last year, compared to the Ontario university average of 1.1 per cent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a momentum,\u201d said Jamie Mandigo, Vice-Provost of Enrolment Management and International. \u201cPeople can feel the buzz.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brock\u2019s own analytics also reveal other positive indicators:<\/p>\n
Brock\u2019s enrolment last year reached 18,704, and Mandigo says that while no university will know their numbers for this year until classes start in the fall, the latest figures are more evidence that Brock is in major transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a real sense of renewal,\u201d said Mandigo. \u201cWe have a new president coming in, we keep building world-class facilities, and our faculty and staff are actively providing experiential learning opportunities for students throughout the community.”<\/p>\n
In less than a decade, Brock has constructed more than $200-million worth of cutting-edge teaching and research facilities, thanks to generous private and government investments.\u00a0Major new\u00a0assets include the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex ($112-million) and Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts ($45-million).<\/p>\n
In terms of teaching, Brock is in Ontario\u2019s top 5 universities for professors who have won 3M National Teaching Fellowships, considered Canada\u2019s most prestigious prize for teaching excellence at the university level.<\/p>\n
Brock graduates also do well on the career front. The Ontario government\u2019s latest figures show that, two years out from graduation, Brock grads had a 95 per cent employment rate, which is higher than the provincial average.<\/p>\n
Brock’s momentum has been captured and communicated through the new “Experience” brand campaign. Launched in the fall of 2016, the campaign highlights Brock’s leadership in experiential learning and its highly-ranked student experience, and has been prominent throughout Ontario over the past several months.<\/p>\n
Mandigo said it is encouraging\u00a0that the latest data shows positive signs across a range of categories. While enrolments remain healthy for Brock\u2019s two largest Faculties \u2014 Social Sciences and Applied Health Sciences \u2014 the University\u2019s other Faculties delivering undergraduate programs (i.e., Math and Science, Humanities and Goodman School of Business) have also seen increased confirmations in excess of 15 per cent compared to last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudents have many options in where to go to school, but our hard work and reputation is getting noticed,\u201d said Mandigo. \u201cLook at the growing number of first-choice selections for Brock. People know they get a great student experience when they come here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are becoming a go-to place. The numbers show it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ontario high schools may be producing fewer graduates, but Brock University\u2019s popularity with new students appears to be defying the gravity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":45324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,3319,4052,1],"tags":[182,5435,1547,5436],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45305"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45341,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45305\/revisions\/45341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}