Thanks to a significant upsurge of students from outside B.C., UBC Okanagan’s first-year class of 2008 will be more geographically diverse than ever before, even as the number of B.C. Grade 12 students declines in some areas.
Increases of 27 per cent for international students and 36 per cent for Alberta students have contributed to an incoming first-year class of 1,312 at UBC Okanagan, up from 1,261 in 2007.
Overall enrolment at UBC Okanagan has grown by nine per cent to 5,325. This includes 293 graduate students, an increase of more than 26 per cent from 2007.
“UBC Okanagan is attracting more and more students from outside our region,” says Doug Owram, Deputy Vice Chancellor. “This indicates that we’re building a great reputation at home as well as across Canada and around the world. We offer a highly respected UBC degree, and the opportunity to become part of an intimate learning community in the Okanagan. It’s an attractive package and a winning combination for students deciding where to study.”
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. Overall UBC Vancouver enrolment is projected at 44,355, down slightly by one per cent over 2007.
Owram notes that the growing out-of-province demand for a UBC education is helping offset the impacts of decreasing B.C. students coming through Grade 12, a relatively strong economy luring students into jobs, and a greater number of higher education choices.
“With a mean entering average among direct-entry students of 80 per cent, the long-distance demand at UBC Okanagan means we’re looking forward to an incoming class that is both academically strong and more geographically diverse than in previous years,” Owram says.
Here is a snapshot of enrolment this fall, and what’s new at UBC Okanagan:
Total enrolment for both Okanagan and Vancouver campuses is 49,680.
2008 Okanagan Campus Enrolment Facts
- Undergraduate students: 5,032 (Nov 1, 2007: 4,617)
- Graduate students: 293 (Nov 1, 2007: 231)
- Total students: 5,325 (Nov 1, 2007: 4,848)
| Okanagan First-Year Class | 2008 | 2007 |
| % from Lower Mainland | 18.8% | 23.9% |
| % from Okanagan | 35.2% | 39.0% |
| % from Rest of BC | 16.1% | 12.6% |
| % from rest of Canada | 20.8% | 18.1% |
| % from rest of the world | 9.2% | 6.5% |
| % male | 44.3% | 44.5% |
| % female | 55.7% | 55.5% |
| Mean entrance average from secondary school |
80.2% | 80.0% |
Okanagan Admission Requirements
| Arts | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
| Engineering | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
| Fine Arts | 67% and portfolio |
| Health Studies | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
| Human Kinetics | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
| Management | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
| Nursing | 79% |
| Science | Guaranteed admission at 75% |
Awards and Financial Aid
UBC will provide $4.5 million at UBC Okanagan in student financial support, in the form of awards, bursaries, scholarships and fellowships. UBC has a policy that no qualified domestic student be denied access for financial reasons alone.
Housing
- 1,078 single student housing spaces at UBC Okanagan. Another 356 student spaces are scheduled to open for Autumn 2009.
- First-year students at UBC Okanagan pay residence fees of $3,543 for a single traditional unit or $4,132 for a single semi-traditional unit, and $2,300 for the minimum meal plan.
For more information about UBC Vancouver enrolment, please see:
http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-114.html
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