Enrollment Numbers Continue to Climb at USU

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By Catherine Meidell in The Utah Statesman, Wednesday, March 10, 2010

 

USU enrollment staff has been toying with the idea of creating a waiting list of future incoming freshmen, because an increase in enrollment as well as issues associated with accommodating more students have been recognized, said Admissions director Jennifer Putnam.

 

“The economy, hands down, has fed that increase in application,” Putnam said.

 

During the third week of the spring 2010 school year, USU’s enrollment was up 1,363 students from fall 2009 semester, which is an increase of more than 6 percent, according to Utah State Higher Education. Enrollment numbers have not only heightened at USU, but have been elevating throughout the state at all public higher education institutions. Admissions from all 10 public universities saw a total increase of 13,104 students, a 9 percent increase.

 

“We’ve seen steady growth, but it’s not significant enough yet to impact students’ education,” Putnam said.

 

Admissions faculty has observed positive and negative effects that may result from the enrollment increase. With a larger student population, USU entities, such as the USU Bookstore, Housing and activities, rake in more money. On the other hand, the budget to improve all aspects of academics suffers because there is “no money to backfill,” Putnam said.

 

With recent and future budget cuts that limit staff, faculty and course options, it is unlikely that a large portion of additional students will be able to attend USU. However, USU’s regional campuses will be able to be more flexible with enrollment, said James Morales, Student Services vice president.

 

“I’m looking at all regional campuses, and we have grown at a rate of about 5 percent on the Logan campus, but the regional campuses have grown over 17 percent,” Morales said. “It’s not as expensive to have students at the regional campuses because they are living at home and eating at home.”

 

It has become necessary that Admissions work toward the possibility of filtering enrollment to ensure students’ education is not negatively affected by an increased student population that cannot be financially supported, Putnam said.

 

The economy has affected many elements of the college application process. According to USU’s enrollment summary, out-of-state student enrollment is up 18 percent while Utah resident enrollment is up 8 percent.

 

Putnam said this may be due to the low cost of Utah schools in comparison to other states. She said she believes students are applying to more colleges so they have a better chance of getting into multiple universities and can then compare educational costs. Applications are coming in earlier as well, in order to decrease stress on families with college-bound high school students and sometimes college-bound parents. The number of nontraditional students enrolling at USU’s Logan campus and regional campuses has also increased, Putnam said.

 

“I’ve heard stories of so many students with one or no parents working this year,” Putnam said. “Those kind of stories have just volcanoed after the last year and a half. We have seen a huge increase of students applying for need-based scholarships.”

 

However, scholarships throughout the USU campus have been eliminated due to lack of funding. Some scholarships that still exist are now worth less financially than they previously were.

 

Though the economy plays a pertinent role in enrollment increase, Morales said there are other reasons as to why application rates have gone up.

 

“One of the most important reasons is that USU has been very proactive and very aggressive in going out and recruiting students,” Morales said. “We have gone even as far as Chicago to recruit.”

 

He said coupled with President Stan Albrecht’s vision to increase enrollment through efficient marketing, enrollment has increased because USU offers quality education and experiences to its students. When USU’s rocket team or athletic teams receive national attention, the university’s reputation is boosted and people seeking an education become interested in what USU has to offer, Morales said. He said four to five years ago enrollment was decreasing, but Albrecht had a goal from the beginning to improve application numbers.

 

Putnam said, “We couldn’t do what we do if administration wasn’t behind us. They’ve made a loud statement to say USU has a lot to offer.”

 

She said USU collectively has a sense of momentum and when students and alumni spread the word about USU, energy can be felt.

 

Morales said USU recruitment is making an effort more than it ever has before to connect with potential Aggies.

 

“I’ve been through the low, and now I’m seeing the high,” Putnam said. “It’s exhilarating.”

 

Though the enrollment increase is exciting for USU Admissions, a continual increase during the current struggling economy will lead to application adjustments. Putnam said deadlines for applications will be tighter and it is possible that academic requirements will one day become more difficult for incoming students to comply with.

 

– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.usu.edu