By Monty Siekerman
Ohio Northern's total enrollment is 3,108 students, a 4 percent decrease from fall semester 2015. The number of new undergraduate students is up 4.3 percent.

The decrease is primarily due to a higher graduation rate, up by 8% from the previous year and reflecting specific steps the University has taken as part of The Ohio Northern Promise to encourage higher student completion rate
ONU’s educational experience, including its student-recruitment and enrollment efforts, is guided by “The Ohio Northern Promise,” an initiative that strives to ensure that higher education, historically a key enabler of social mobility, remains accessible and affordable for students and their families.

The initiative emphasizes reasonable cost, timely completion, quality education and high career placement rates.

The number of new undergraduate students for fall 2016 is 673, an increase of 4.3 percent from last year.

The 2016 incoming class is a diverse group, especially geographically, and includes students from 26 states as well as international students representing 12 countries.

Approximately 15 percent of new students in fall 2016 are legacies, meaning they have family members who are Ohio Northern alumni.

The quality of the new class is consistent with previous classes. The average high-school GPA of the freshman class is 3.66, and the average ACT score is between 25-26, which is similar to recent incoming classes.

The freshmen to sophomore retention rate is a very high 86 percent.