Ithaca College

Submitted on behalf of Eric Maguire, vice president for enrollment management.

I know that many within the IC community have heard bits and pieces of information regarding our fall 2010 entry class.  I am writing today to provide a more complete picture of undergraduate recruitment statistics and projected freshman enrollment.  It is important to note that many of the enrollment statistics hereafter are projected forward to October 1 and are subject to change depending on the magnitude of our summer melt.  

Applications - Demographic data predicted a slight downturn in applications for the Ithaca College fall 2010 entry class, taking last year's 12,752 applications down to 12,662.  However, the College received 13,191 freshman applications for the fall semester, an increase of 3.4% over last year and 4.2% above demographic predictions.

Admits - Last year, the College admitted 9,471 applicants for an admit rate of 74.3%.  As we all know, such admission decisions contributed to a rather large freshman class.  This year, the College reduced the number of admits by 368, taking our total number to 9,103 or 69.0% of applicants.

Enrollment - Our goal was to arrive within a 5% margin of error of the 1,650 student target.  That is to say, we could arrive plus or minus 83 students of our goal and still meet financial and residential parameters.  As it currently stands, we anticipate our official October 1 enrollment count to arrive between 1580 and 1600, or a 3-4% margin of error.

Financial Aid - Without going into complex details, I will simply state that we will reach our goal of reducing the discount rate and staying within our financial aid budget, while helping many families facing financial difficulty.

Class Profile - It is a bit premature to announce the profile of the incoming class, as summer melt may still add some variability.  However, I will mention that the College should experience improvement with many key indicators.  Our average SAT score is expected to improve some 8 to 12 points relative to last year.  Our trend toward greater ALANA diversity should continue, as we anticipate slight, yet continued progress.  Our international student population should return to more familiar levels after representing a smaller portion of last year's class, and the College's gender distribution should show signs of greater balance.

I may be a little biased, but I am certainly pleased with our enrollment outcomes this year.  We met our objectives of exceeding demographic projections, stabilizing enrollment, and using financial aid resources more efficiently.  The fact that we were able to achieve those goals while simultaneously enhancing the class profile speaks volumes regarding the momentum of Ithaca College.  I would particularly like to recognize three groups and one individual for their efforts: the members of our campus community who are activity engaged in student recruitment (such as open house programs, IC Peers, etc.), the admission and SFS staff who have done much of the heavy lifting to support these efforts, and in particular Dr. Yuko Mulugetta, who adds tremendous insight to our process and, therefore, is being recognized with a promotion to director of enrollment planning effective June 1.

Looking forward to next year, we will continue to face challenges (demographic, economic, and otherwise), but I have great confidence in the collective effort and forward momentum of Ithaca College.