Ohio Northern University’s Fall 2025 first-time first-year enrollment has increased to its estimated highest level of more than a decade.
As previously reported by Northern Review, the Fall 2024 first-year class increased in size for the first time since 2021. Data from three Institutional Research Fact Books — 2024-2025, 2023-2024, and 2021-2022 — as well as a recent university press release and comments from Ohio Northern’s Vice President of Enrollment Retention are combined to produce the following graph of first-time first-year enrollment trends:
Figure 1: First-time first-year enrollment. Years 2017-2024 taken from the Ohio Northern Fact Books 2021-2022, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025, estimate for year 2025 based on Ohio Northern press release and comments from Vice President of Enrollment Retention.
A recent press release from Ohio Northern University’s Office of Marketing and Brand Strategy informed Northern Review, alongside dozens of other local media outlets, that “Ohio Northern University will welcome more than 750 first-year students, its largest freshman class in more than a decade…First-year student enrollment at the University is up by more than 10 percent. Members of the incoming class come from Ohio, 23 other states, and 12 countries.”
Geographic Breakdown
In 2024, first-time first-year enrollment was notable for its geographic diversity; a higher number of U.S. states were represented than the prior year. Based on the final report of the Ohio Northern Fact Book, the number is up again by a small margin for the 2025 academic year, but otherwise slightly lower than in most recent years.
Figure 2: Number of US states sending first-time first-year students to Ohio Northern by year. Years 2020-2024 taken from the Ohio Northern Fact Book 2024-2025, year 2025 taken from Ohio Northern press release.
Figure 3: Map of United States by number of first-time first-year students during 2024. Data compiled from the Ohio Northern Fact Book 2024-2025.
The minor downturn of 2025 can be contextualized by considering the overall proportion of first-time first-year enrollment coming from Ohio, which is not presently available for 2025 but can otherwise be found in the Fact Book. The immunity of overall out-of-state enrollment to fluctuations in the number of states in which Ohio Northern is successful at recruitment indicates an overall stability which may be betrayed by the above graphs.
Figure 4: Percentage of first-time first-year students coming from Ohio. Data compiled from the Ohio Northern Fact Book 2024-2025.
How and Why Ohio Northern Collects Enrollment Data
In a comment to Northern Review, Bill Eilola, MBA, vice president for enrollment management at Ohio Northern, suggested the university may see a ten percent increase to create the largest first-time first-year class in over a decade. This is in line with the account of the press release, but Eilola qualifies that “enrollment counts won’t be officially determined by the Office of Institutional Research until after the start of fall semester.” Eilola adds, “[t]his demonstrates that students and their families continue to recognize the value and the return on investment they receive from an ONU degree.”
Josh Deans, MA, is the director of institutional research at Ohio Northern. Ohio Northern’s website identifies the Office of Institutional Research as “‘Data Central’ for all things Ohio Northern University.” Institutional Research is responsible for analyzing data related to ONU’s academic success, including enrollment, retention, and post-graduation outcomes.
Deans shared with Northern Review how the Office of Institutional Research handles enrollment data for the university: “IR takes what we call a census snapshot every semester. This occurs at the end of the 15th day of classes and allows us to have a static view of data from year-to-year.” According to Deans, enrollment data is otherwise stored in Banner.
Tracking enrollment trends is probably one of the most important data functions of [Institutional Research].
Director of Institutional Research Josh Deans
Deans remarks that this data “serves as a foundation for planning and decision-making across the university.” He argues that “[u]nderstanding who is enrolled, where they’re enrolled, and how that has shifted over time can inform operations across the institution. It helps answer questions such as how many sections of a course to offer and how to allocate resources.” The Institutional Research webpage identifies “University leadership in the Office of the President and Provost” in addition to the Board of Trustees, deans, department chairs, faculty, staff, and students alike as audiences at ONU served by the office, and “Government Agencies,” “Media,” and “Public at large” as external audiences.
One of Institutional Research’s most significant publications is the annual Fact Book, multiple of which were drawn upon for data in this article. The 2024-2025 Fact Book includes enrollment information used in this article, in addition to enrollment by major, participation in athletics, membership in Greek life, and outcomes for alumni.
A Robust Recruitment Strategy
Ohio Northern’s enrollment success can be understood in the context of its recruitment strategy. Eilola shared with Northern Review that ONU identifies potential new students via “extensive data analysis, utilizing past enrollment figures, current population demographic data, and consumer market analyses.”
Once prospective students have been contacted, one goal for admissions is to have them visit ONU. Opportunities for prospective student engagement on campus include Polar Preview Days, which are open to any prospective student, and Orange and Black Days, which are offered to accepted students and include more interaction with different university actors.
Our communications focus on the benefits of an ONU degree and the ONU experience, with a goal of having them visit campus and apply for admission.
Vice President for Enrollment Management Bill Eilola
Eilola identifies a few other offices of Ohio Northern University whose efforts contribute to recruitment success. He cites athletics for prospective students who are “in the recruitment process for athletics and have contact and support from our coaching staff.” He continues, “[a] positive visit experience is also supported by our Physical Plant team who make campus look good and our Dining Services staff who provide a positive introduction to our dining hall.”
The Value of an ONU Education
Dave Kielmeyer, MA, executive director of the Office of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Ohio Northern confirmed to Northern Review that this fall’s first-year class will be the largest in more than a decade; he predicts that accounting for transfer students and and the first-year cohort of the Pettit College of Law (around one third of which Kielmeyer attributes to ONU’s relatively new online J.D. program) bumps the total number of new students at ONU to “more than 900.”
We’re achieving this success because students and their families are increasingly recognizing the return on investment and value of an ONU education.
Executive Director of the Office of Marketing and Brand Strategy Dave Kielmeyer
Kielmeyer stresses the value of an education from Ohio Northern as a factor contributing to enrollment success. He comments that this value is “backed up by our rankings in national publications and our real-world outcomes.” Kielmeyer cites recent rankings from nationally renowned universities, specifically Ohio Northern’s placement as “the best value university in Ohio and the Midwest” in 2025 rankings (published in the preceding academic year) by the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. News and World Report, respectively. Ohio Northern University’s coverage of these rankings, referred to Northern Review by Kielmeyer, can be found here and here.
Northern Review has previously reported on similar rankings during the 2023-2024 academic year. Then, Ohio Northern was placed as #2 in the nation, the highest ranked school in Ohio, in Best Regional Colleges Midwest, a category of higher education defined by U.S. News and World as institutions which “focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.” Ohio Northern University’s coverage of this ranking can be found here.
At the time of writing, 2026 Best College rankings are not yet released by either the Wall Street Journal or the U.S. News and World Report. Niche.com, which has published its 2026 +Best College rankings at the time of writing, places ONU as the #8 Best Value college in Ohio. The Princeton Review includes ONU in the midwest section of its “2026 Best Colleges: Region by Region” feature. The Princeton Review’s list is not ranked.
Conclusion
Despite a state of fluctuation in higher education, Ohio Northern University has pushed forward in recruitment, placing the Fall 2025 first-time first-year enrollment at an estimated ten-year high. As a metric, enrollment is deeply valued by many university actors, and is one of many metrics of success monitored by the Office of Institutional Research. ONU’s increased enrollment is the result of a combined effort of many university offices and departments led by Ohio Northern’s Enrollment Division. In particular, the value of an ONU education is defended by the university’s placement in several state and regional “Best Colleges” rankings, which are only beginning to emerge for 2026.