Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts is confident that the University will still attract a high number of applicants despite the decline in high-school graduates nationwide. Photo by Amanda Suardana.
College enrollment rates are set to decline for the first time in a decade, according to a report from Admissions Lab, an Atlanta-based higher education consulting firm.
The report suggests an overall decrease in high-school graduates, as well as demographic shifts within that population — trends that could cause colleges to rethink their recruitment strategies.
According to the Admissions Lab report, more than 18 states will produce at least 5 percent fewer graduates during the coming decade, spurring greater competition among universities to recruit qualified students. Still, some experts believe higher education institutions have failed to fully recognize this coming trend.
“We’re still preparing to educate the last generation,” said Greg Perfetto, vice president for research and development at Admissions Lab. “The next generation is going to be more practical in their approach to college. They’re going to be looking for more affordability.”
At the University, Dean of Admissions Greg Roberts said he does not anticipate the University will feel the widespread effects of the demographic shift, considering the accessibility of the school’s financial aid program.
“We already have one of the best need-based aid programs in the country in AccessUVa and one of the best and most committed financial aid departments you’ll find anywhere,” Roberts said. “We always spend time evaluating the admission year and frequently have discussions with Student Financial Services about how we can work together to attract and enroll the best and brightest students.”
Perfetto noted that many schools today market the college experience instead of the quality of education. Furthermore, he emphasized the need for universities to employ a refined modern approach to recruiting in general.
“Colleges tend to be very passive in how they recruit students,” said Perfetto, noting the staggering number of “stealth applicants” whose first contact with an institution is the submission of their application. This passive approach to recruiting has forced prospective students to turn to new media to make an informed choice.
“Students are much more proactive in looking for a college now,” Perfetto said. “They’re using social media. I think colleges have to adapt to that new technology.”
Despite the national trends, Roberts did not express concern about the University’s future admissions.
“We are in no danger of running out of qualified applicants,” Roberts said. “A modest one-year decline will have little impact in our ability to enroll a strong and diverse class.”
The University saw an increase in the amount of applications received this year, Roberts said, although the number of high-school graduates fell across the country. Students who do apply to college are applying to more schools, he said, a trend that particularly applies to selective institutions.
Roberts said the greatest obstacle the University faces in recruitment is competition with other top institutions and with schools that offer full or merit-based scholarships.
“There are many great school out there. The students applying to U.Va. are among the best in the country and likely have many fine options,” Roberts said.
I think UVA had better be prepared and not be smug about trends not affecting them. They are just as prone to the effects of market forces as any other school and their best value ratings that they have had for years are starting to fade as they keep jacking up tuition. Also, AccessUVA is for the most strapped folks, not the kids with middle income parents so it is not a cure all. That kid is just being asked to pay more and more every year.
People are starting to wise up about college education and realize it is a commodity and that you can get the same thing for a wide variety of prices. People are really starting to shop for price and do things like go to community collage for a couple of years and then go to an in state school to get their degree for a fraction of the costs.
Why go undergrad to private school X or out of state when you can get the same undergrad education pretty much anywhere? You are just paying for a designer label. There are smart kids and professors at most every big university. It is not where you went but what you make of it. In the work force it is production, not what school you went to. I have been out over 15 years and I don’t think more than 3 or 4 people give a hoot where I went to school but they do care about my resume since I have been working and the skill sets I have gained.
Also, I think it is ironic that colleges are so liberal and say they care so much about the poor and yet they turn right around and every semester charge many hundreds of dollars to financially strapped students for books.
I remember quite well buying books that I barely used and received A’s in the classes just from taking notes and going to class. I just wish professors would ditch these overprices relics and dinosours and go virtual instruction. With the internet and computers, why do you even need textbooks? That is so old school. Of course, we have to keep the book companies and book stores open but why are colleges so worried about those folks?
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UVA shouldn’t be affected too much by the “passive” approach to recruiting. No matter what happens, the University will remain a destination school. Schools that are at the top of the rankings and have national recognition won’t be hurting for applicants, in my opinion.
As for Jeff’s point about colleges being “liberal,” but jacking up tuition year by year, I think the liberal tendencies remain in the academic side of things. Tuition increases and other such initiatives are decided by the business side of things. I would equate people on that side of things like Leonard Sandridge who raised boatloads of cash for the University to be more like a Fortune 500 CEO as opposed to an altruistic academic. That’s the nature of the beast though. You can’t keep providing education and the quality amenities that are offered to UVA students without getting the monetary backing.
I do agree, though, with Jeff’s point about books. There were some classes where I definitely needed them because a lot of the onus was on us as students to grasp the material and having a back up at home while studying was worth its weight in gold, however there are a lot of classes where the professors provide so much in terms of lecture materials and whatnot, that a great grade can be achieved without paying the exorbitant textbook prices.
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