Due to this year’s low enrollment, Bradley is looking into strategies to attract students to the Hilltop.
The decline in enrollment numbers is evident all over the Midwest, according to Assistant Director of Admissions Cory Craig, and the issue may be attributed to an increasing number of high school graduates not pursuing bachelors degrees or leaving Illinois to attend college elsewhere.
“We face real challenges with fewer numbers of high school graduates in Illinois year over year,” Craig said.
This year’s first visit day was Friday, Sept. 26, with more than 30 Student Admissions Representatives (STARs) working to incite visitors’ interest in campus.
Visit days such as these are prime times for attracting students, so changes have been made in an effort to increase enrollment.
“We worked with faculty to find a format that is more conducive to students and parents interacting with faculty members to find out more about their majors, study abroad opportunities, academic extra-curricular activities, internships and job placement,” Craig said.
This year, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has hired five student interns, an increase from last year’s four. Additional changes may be seen in tour times and dining options.
Tours now last 75 minutes instead of 45-60 to allow visitors to experience more parts of campus. Lunch tables in dining halls are being reserved for visit day attendees to increase traffic flow and decrease congestion.
The visit day included a welcome from President Joanne Glasser, a tour of campus, an activities fair and meetings with a member of the faculty.
“We were able to move to an activities fair during registration, which allows our faculty to have an open-ended time slot with their visiting families at the end of the day,” Craig said.
According to Craig, the Department of Enrollment Management along with the university will be trying a variety of strategies to combat low-enrollment.
“We are doing the best we can and working with faculty and staff around campus to ensure that we enroll as many freshmen as possible while maintaining Bradley’s excellent academic profile,” Craig said.
Please check on the statement that “the decline in enrollment is evident all over the Midwest”. This is not factually correct. A very small percentage of schools have declining enrollment and virtually none missed their target by as much as Bradley. Also, this is not the first time in recent years that Bradley has fallen short–I believe it has missed 4 of the last 5 years. Unheard of at other institutions. Budget cuts need to start at the top with leadership change.