Banner Year for Ithaca College’s Admission Efforts

The official fall figures released on October 1 confirmed that this has been a year of records in admission and enrollment at Ithaca College. With the number of applications (11,144 --- up nearly 13 percent over last year) hitting an all-time high, the College was able to lower its acceptance rate to 66 percent and matriculate a class with the highest academic profile in College history. The average combined SAT scores for this class are 14 points above last year and the average high school rank is in the top 21st percentile, both new records.

"Even though the College was conservative in awarding financial aid packages, the yield on offers of admission was 26 percent," says Larry Metzger, dean of enrollment planning. "This includes a historically high number of students who took the College up on an ‘offer of another major’ --- applicants who were rejected in their original program of interest but whose academic standing was fully acceptable in other program areas."

Metzger says that when the yield began coming in higher than expected last spring, steps were taken to reduce the impact, including closing down admission for first-year students early and lowering the transfer admission target mid-cycle.

The record-breaking year extended beyond the profile of incoming students. The freshman-to-sophomore retention rate rose to a new high at 87.2 percent, with the total number of returning students at 109 more than enrollment models based on past years had projected. Even between the beginning of the semester and October 1, when about 30 freshmen would be expected to withdraw from the College, only 19 students chose to leave this fall. The higher retention, combined with the entering class of 1,755 freshmen and 129 transfers, has resulted in a projected annualized full-time undergraduate degree-credit enrollment (AFUDCE) of 5,881 for this academic year. The AFUDCE is the figure used for budget-planning purposes. The total student headcount for this year is 6,483.

"To have set a new standard in just one of those areas would have been noteworthy," says President Peggy R. Williams. "Clearly our ability to attract such numbers of students --- while at the same time raising the bar on quality --- is a direct credit to the growing reputation of our academic programs and to the dedication and hard work of all those who contribute to our admission efforts."

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, enrollment at some colleges dropped this fall despite the growth in the college-age population. Ithaca, however, was in the company of such institutions as Dartmouth College and George Washington University in setting enrollment records.

"We are not alone among private institutions in exceeding our enrollment target this year as families apparently showed an increased willingness to go the extra mile financially to enable their children to attend high quality selective independent institutions," says Williams.

Williams acknowledged that the larger numbers have presented some challenges for the College to overcome as well. The sizeable incoming class, when combined with the greatest-ever number of seniors who chose to remain in campus housing, has required the use of temporary housing accommodations in residence hall lounges and the conversion of some double rooms to triples. To compensate for the inconvenience, the College is providing additional services as well as a rebate to students in this type of housing.

"Significant increases in faculty and staff positions had already been included in this year’s budget to address the planned rise in enrollment," says Williams. "We have since allocated even more resources to support the larger student population, including additional faculty to accommodate more course sections and additional staff in student services."

While applications were up for target populations, including students of color (up 16 percent), Metzger notes that the necessary early closure of admissions may have had a negative effect on the ability to recruit a number of students of color whose materials were incomplete at the time and who in other years the College would have continued to work with beyond the scheduled due dates. Still, the incoming class includes 128 students of color, matching the figure of two years ago. The total enrollment of full-time undergraduate students of color grew by 20 from last year, to 463.

The institutional plan approved last spring by the board of trustees called for modest growth for the College, with the AFUDCE leveling off at 5,700–5,750 students by the 2002–03 academic year. Though the admission successes of this year and last put the College ahead of schedule, that goal will not be revised.

"At our meeting this fall the board reaffirmed our commitment to that level of enrollment," says board of trustees chairman William Haines. "We want to ensure that the College retains the essential characteristics that have made it so attractive to students in the first place."

To help with planning and to provide an independent analysis of the College’s admission model and recruitment efforts, the College will be working with the nationally known consulting firm of Scannell and Kurz. The purpose of their work will be to bring a fresh perspective to the analysis of the College’s enrollment success in recent years and to help adjust admission processes, programs, and strategies.

"The challenge now," says Williams, "is to contain and maintain the AFUDCE at the 5,700–5,750 level. Current world events and the economic uncertainty they have generated add new and complicated variables to our enrollment planning, but Ithaca College is fortunate to be operating from a position of strength as we recruit students for the incoming class of 2002 and beyond."