
Since 2016, Wilfrid Laurier University has seen an increase of over 100 per cent in graduate school applications for various programs โ nearly doubling interest in the graduate and postgraduate departments at the school.ย
In 2021 in particular, Laurier has experienced a surge of roughly 1000 new graduate school applicants โ a 25 to 30 per cent growth โ compared to this time last year, showing an unusual rise in potential students.
While it is a phenomena that graduate school applications for certain programs tend to increase during โtimes of economic downturns,โ the nature of a global pandemic has created the unprecedented situation of increases across the board.
Douglas Deutschman, associate vice-president and dean of the Ffaculty of Ggraduate and Ppostdoctoral Sstudies at Laurier, attributes this increase in part due to Laurierโs strategic planning efforts.
โItโs part of a longer-term trend โฆ thereโs been an emphasis as a comprehensive university in increasing research activity [and] increasing graduate numbers,โ Deutschman said.
โSo we have been thoughtfully and carefully reviewing our graduate programs, both in terms of the offerings we have and the class sizes โ weโve been increasing [them] โ weโve had some new programs come online and weโve also been increasing enrollment in some.โ
According to Deutschman, since 2016, Laurier has been averaging an overall growth in graduate applications of approximately 15 per cent. Last year, during the pandemic, compared to other universities who saw decreases in their applications, Laurier instead saw a โflattening outโ of their numbers.
โThis year, it seems like weโve had a surge that makes up for last yearโs flattening, so it continues the trajectory that we started in 2016 and 2017,โ Deutschman said.
โI think thatโs really encouraging and itโs really exciting, as I think Laurier is embracing a broader identity as a comprehensive university.โ
A greater number of applications for graduate programs will allow Laurier to be more selective of its applicants, which will likely increase the overall quality of those programs.
It will also likely advance Laurierโs effective conversion rate for students, which is the number of people that will come to Laurier after theyโve received an offer from their selected program.
โWeโre making fewer offers per application and weโre still getting very good conversion rates โ probably enhanced conversion rates relative to five years ago,โ Deutschman said.
โI think that suggests that Laurierโs graduate enterprise is building momentum and getting some recognition for some of the strong programs we have.โ
Because of this surge, many schools are also experiencing the issue of whether or not to โover-offerโ acceptances into graduate programs due to concerns about what the fall term will bring for conversion rates.
โTheyโre worried about people not coming in the Fall because of changing circumstances โ financially, personally, COVID-19, [etc.],โ Deutschman said.
โFrom what Iโm hearing from other Deans, our increase is typical or above-average. Some schools are planning to over-offer in a significant way, different from other years, and others are planning to essentially follow the same logic as previous years.โ
This year, Laurier will most likely not be increasing their offer rates for graduate programs.
โWeโre really not expecting to see conversion rates be lower than previous years, and they didnโt change that much last year, so I wouldnโt expect them to change much this year,โ Deutschman said.
Looking to the future, Deutschman is optimistic about what the year to come will hold for graduate programs at Laurier.
โThis year, weโre coming out of COVID-19, we donโt know exactly when and how that will progress, but itโs progressing, and so the future is becoming more certain in terms of the kind of experiences grad students will be able to get, and particularly hands-on and experiential learning, which has been so terribly impacted by COVID-19,โ Deutschman said.
โI am very excited about the growth in our graduate programs, in terms of [the] diversity of programs weโre offering, the diversity of students weโre attracting and the growth weโre seeing, and thatโs really gratifying.
โI think Laurier is still going through this evolution toward a more research-intensive, comprehensive university, and itโs nice to see that progressing. So, for me, thatโs the most exciting thing to see and I donโt see any reason for that to stall. It seems to be going well and I think weโll continue that trajectory,โ he said.
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