Recently, a huge focus of the Elizabethtown College administration has been to increase enrollment. As seen with the second article in this series, Etown has seen a decline in applications (though some of it was a purposeful decline) and enrollment over the years.
As such, the responsibility falls on the College to increase those numbers through various recruitment strategies. Some of the most notable strategies recently have been the Tuition Transparency initiative and the “You-Minded” campaign, launched Sept. 12. However, according to Interim Vice President for Enrollment George Walter, the decrease in tuition showed success in other colleges when it was not the only marketing strategy used at the time.
To give some background of the College’s other recruitment strategies which rolled out within the past few years, Etown hired Walter to focus on the fall 2017 recruitment campaign following the departure of the previous vice president for enrollment. Etown also commissioned a study from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). ACCRAO sent a group of individuals to assess Etown’s recruitment strategies and report their findings.
“I was presented with a report that had a series of findings and recommendations,” Walter said. “I was asked to take that report, and to where the College deemed it appropriate, take action.” ACCRAO’s recommendations, as well as Walter’s own suggestions, built the recruitment campaign into what it is today.
Etown’s recruitment strategies mobilized to reach a wider pool of prospective students or to dedicate more resources to existing outreach programs. For example, in this area of the state, the Latinx and Hispanic population has risen, yet until the summer of 2017, there was not a Spanish-speaking individual working in the Admissions Office. An open admissions position was then repurposed into an assistant director position which coordinates for Latinx and Hispanic recruitment. Pages on the Etown website were translated into Spanish as well.
A new outreach program targets home-schooled and cyber-students. Because of the faith-based similarities between the two, Etown found it beneficial to partner with the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania (CHAP). With this partnership, Etown hosted a Saturday session to share information on financial aid and admission processes in general across all colleges, and not just at Etown. The goal of this is to provide information and resources to individuals who otherwise would not receive them due to being home-schooled.
The Alumni Association became more involved with the recruitment process as well. Since Etown has alumni all over the world, Etown has recruited alumni volunteers to expand the College’s outreach through an active network in places Etown, otherwise, could not devote full-time staff and resources. In addition to past students, Etown also recruited current students to return to their high schools to talk with seniors and other interested students about Etown.
“I know from my experience, the best salespeople that you have … are your students,” Walter said. According to Walter, getting a prospective student on campus increases their likelihood to enroll by about 20 percent. The overall yield for fall 2018 students was 26 percent, but the yield of prospective students who visited campus was approximately 46 percent.
These are only a few of the dozens of outreach strategies the College has implemented within the past few years. There are countless other strategies the Admissions Office is using in conjunction with the new “You-Minded” campaign and Tuition Transparency initiative to maximize outreach and marketing at the College. That’s how Etown is attracting new students. However, what are they doing to accommodate students who are already here?
The Commuter House is a notable example of a recent accommodation made for Etown’s non-residential population. This new house provides a place for commuters to study, do work and relax in between classes on-campus, since unlike residential students, they do not have a dorm room to return to when not in class.
“On days I have big gaps between classes, I tend to have to find some spaces to hang out and do homework,” sophomore commuter Courtney Jones said. “The College is very considerate in keeping commuters in mind and making sure there are plenty of spaces for us to utilize.”
Jones also said that the addition of the Commuter House shows her that the College is trying to provide commuters with more spaces tailored to them and more resources just for commuting students.
“Just having advisors that I can reach out to at any moment’s notice in order to answer a question is so helpful,” Jones said. “There are immense services and offices that I can reach out to at any moment. Everyone truly cares about having a great experience.”
Etown promises a wide variety of resources and a quality education for its current students, and the Admissions Office is confident in its yield of enrolling prospective students if they visit campus. All of these initiatives for enrollment and for improving the College are established to make Etown more appealing to prospective students and current students alike.
