Ohio State University's enrollment climbed to a record 68,183 students this fall, with 62,010 of them on the Columbus campus alone, according to the university's latest enrollment census. The Columbus campus also posted record undergraduate enrollment of 47,308 students, while the school's online programs grew by 26.7 percent to reach 4,196 students, an increase of 884 students from the previous year.
The numbers, first reported by WSYX, show total enrollment up 1.4 percent over last year, with the Columbus campus specifically rising 1.1 percent. The incoming class included 8,585 new first-year students in Columbus, 375 more than the prior year, with 70 percent of them coming from Ohio. Those new students arrived with an average ACT score of 28.6 and an average SAT score of 1300, according to the same report.
University President Ravi V. Bellamkonda, who assumed the presidency in 2026 following the resignation of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., as reported by the Morning Journal, said the university is attracting talented students from Ohio and around the country, per the university's news release. Ohio State pointed to experiential learning, industry-connected internships, research opportunities and immersive campus life as draws for the incoming class, the release notes.
Retention Ticks Up as Regional Campuses Surge
First-year retention on the Columbus campus reached 93.9 percent, up from 93.5 percent the year before, per the enrollment census cited by WSYX. Ohio State's regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, Newark, and at Wooster's ATI, meanwhile, posted a 4.1 percent jump in total enrollment to 6,173 students, with new first-year enrollment there climbing 6.1 percent to 3,256 students — a 22 percent increase over two years.
That regional surge coincides with the first semester of Ohio State's Regional Campus Commitment program, which offers tuition-free education and covers mandatory fees for qualifying first-year students with family incomes below $100,000, according to Ohio State University. Graduate enrollment held stable at 11,427 students, while professional enrollment rose 1.3 percent to 3,281 students, the university's report states.
AI Curriculum and a Google Partnership on Campus
Ohio State has also been leaning on technology investments to sustain its growth. The university established a partnership with Google Public Sector in September to open a dedicated space in its Innovation District, giving students and faculty access to Google Cloud computing, DeepMind AI models, and student research ambassadorships, according to The Lantern.
Starting with the freshman class of 2029, the university's campus-wide AI Fluency initiative will require every undergraduate to demonstrate proficiency in applying artificial intelligence within their major before graduating, with new courses and expanded offerings introduced to support the effort, per the same Ohio State report. The university also launched BuildX, an entrepreneurial program aiming to produce 100 investable student-led ventures annually by 2030, leveraging startup mentorship from regional investors.
National Rankings Rise as Private Colleges Struggle
Ohio State's momentum comes alongside a jump in national rankings. In the U.S. News & World Report 2027 Best Colleges rankings released this month, the university climbed to 14th among public universities nationwide, per the university's own report.
Ohio State's expansion stands in contrast to struggles elsewhere in the state's higher education landscape. Wright State University reported a 2 percent total enrollment increase over fall 2025, reaching 12,157 students across its Dayton and Lake campuses, with first-time student enrollment up 43.5 percent since 2021, according to Wright State University. Private institutions have fared far worse: Fitch Ratings downgraded Xavier University in September, citing preliminary fiscal 2026 performance and a budgeted fiscal 2027 deficit, as reported by Higher Ed Dive.
Growth and the K-12 Pipeline
The gains at Ohio State and Wright State also draw attention to the nation's K-12 pipeline.
Separately, a U.S. Senate report released in September found that 94 percent of Division I college athletic departments ran operating deficits in the 2023-24 academic year, according to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Even as flagship universities like Ohio State post record enrollment, the broader financial picture across higher education remains far less certain.
