Submitted on behalf of President Peggy Williams and Larry Metzger, dean of enrollment planning
On the Admission front, we have very good news to report. As of May 4th, we appear to be on target to reach, and even slightly exceed, our goal for first-year student deposits with a quality profile virtually identical to 2006. Our plan is to have 1,782 new students (1,632 first-year and 150 transfer students) enrolled as of October 1, 2007. At this time transfer deposits are on target while deposits from first-year students are ahead of expectations.
Total applications for first-year or freshman students hit another record high (12,505), 1.3% higher than last year. Transfer applications, however, were down substantially (562) 21% fewer than last year at this time. A new record was set in the number of ALANA applicants who numbered 1,942 (1,879 freshmen and 63 transfers), up 11.9% over last year. The number of international applicants also increased slightly to 499 (477 freshmen and 22 transfers), up from 488 in 2006.
The profile of the applicant pool this year was comparable to last year with an average combined Verbal and Math SAT score of 1172 versus 1170 last year and an average high school percentile ranking in the top 25% versus the top 24% last year – making this once again one of the strongest applicant pools in the history of Ithaca College.
The average combined Verbal and Math SAT scores for accepts was 1202 compared to 1206 last year. The average high school rank for accepted students was in top 21% compared to the top 20% last year.
This year we launched a number of new admission initiatives intended to improve yield including the creation of the Flora Brown award for promising students, the naming of the former Deans’ scholarships after distinguished faculty and alumni, the creation of a new Admission video and a welcome packet for accepted students. Substantive revisions were made to the Ithaca Today programs to create a more academic focus and provide for greater student and faculty involvement. The myIthaca website was enhanced to incorporate GoalQuest personalized information services including IC Peers (a Facebook-like social networking service for our accepted students) to which more than 1,800 accepted first-year students and transfers are currently subscribed. And finally, we launched our new Admission publication “fuse,” a magazine written by current students for prospective students. The first issue was mailed in early April. Current plans call for four to five issues to be published per year.
Our financial aid picture for incoming students is also healthy. Although we made more money available in initial packaging to accepted students, both in need-based and non-need based aid, our tuition discount rate for paid freshmen and transfers is basically consistent with last year, due primarily to our success in improving yield among those able to attend Ithaca without institutional grant support.
The staffs of all our enrollment services offices (Admission, Bursar, Financial Aid, Institutional Research and Registrar) together with the staff of the Office of Information Technology Services are to be commended for their efforts this past year in working to meet our enrollment goals while implementing the comprehensive new SCT Banner student information system, endearingly dubbed “Homer.”
Commendations are due as well to faculty and staff in all the schools and divisions for their collaboration/leadership in so many recruiting-related activities and initiatives. And a special thanks to those in Marketing Communications for their creativity and expertise in helping IC communicate more effectively with prospective students and their families.
