The focus on student recruitment shifts during the spring semester from generating applications and admitted students to obtaining enrollment deposits and engaging prospective students in the campus community to increase the likelihood they will attend the university in the fall semester.
Understanding our recruiting numbers at this point in the year can help determine our focus in recruiting moving forward.
*All numbers are point in time, pulled from Tableau on Jan. 22, 2023, and compare to the same point in time during previous years.
Applications
Applications to the College of Journalism and Mass Communications for 2023 (463) are currently up by 16% percent over 2022 (399). Applications to the University overall are down 3.5% dropping from 16,859 in 2022 to 16,269 in 2023.
The college’s increase is driven by applications from resident students, which are up to 203 this year over 140 last year. Applications from non-resident students for 2023 (255) are down by one student from 2022 (256). International student numbers remain low but increased to five from 3 in 2022.
The number of applications from underrepresented students increased from 27.57% of applications in 2022 to 32.61% of applications in 2023. Applications from American-Indian students increased from 0 to 4, Asian students increased from 8 to 13, Hispanic & Latino students increased from 39 to 66 and multiracial students increased from 16 to 31. Applications from African American students decreased from 38 to 31 and Pacific Islanders decreased from 1 to 0.
Admitted Students
Of the 463 current applicants, 389 have been admitted, an increase of 15.8% percent over 2022 (336). The University has admitted 13,712 students for fall 2023, a decrease of 5% over 2022 (14,440).
Our current admission rate (84%) decreased slightly from 2022 (84.2%). The current admission rate for non-resident students (85.9%) is slightly higher than the admission rate for resident students (83.3%). Our admission rate is below the overall university rate of 84.3%.
While not as dramatic as the increase in applications, the proportion of our admitted class that identifies as underrepresented also increased for 2023 from 24.7% to 27.8%. Admitted students who identify as Asian increased from 8 to 10, American Indian from 0 to 2, Hispanic and Latino from 35 to 44 and multiracial from 11 to 26. Admitted students who are African American declined from 24 to 23.
Enrollment Deposits
The focus in recruitment will now shift toward yield and encouraging students to pay their enrollment deposit.
The College is currently down two enrollment deposits from 2022, dropping from 65 to 63, which represents a decrease of 3.1%. University-wide enrollment deposits are down 1.8%. Our decrease is driven by enrollment deposits from non-resident students, which dropped from 27 in 2022 to 22 in 2023. Enrollment deposits from resident students increased from 38 to 41.
Current data on enrollment deposits shows signs of improvement in enrollment from underrepresented students. The proportion of enrollment deposits from UMR students increased from 15.4% in 2022 to 25.4% of all enrollment deposits for 2023.
Over the next several months, the college will engage in a number of activities and events to encourage students to pay their enrollment deposit. The recruiting team will conduct a calling campaign in February, launch an ambassador mentor program that will run throughout the spring and host several events to engage with admitted students. Please be on the lookout for opportunities to support these important efforts.