More Aggies than expected
USU’s enrollment numbers did not drop as much as expected after last year’s age change for missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Official enrollment numbers were released Thursday from the Utah System of Higher Education for all eight of Utah’s public colleges and universities, and although they have shown a slight decline, the change was not as drastic as anticipated.
From fall 2012 to 2013, the headcount for USU students dropped from 28,786 to 27,812 – a total of 974 students. From that number, there are 288 fewer male students and 686 fewer female students, according to Michael Torrens, director of the Office of Analysis, Assessment and Accreditation.
However, when considering full-time students, USU had a drop of 2.04 percent, or 392 students.
One assumed reason for the drop in enrollment was the lowering of age requirements for LDS missionaries, announced in October 2012.
James Morales, vice president for Student Services, said most of the negative effects the university could have seen, such as budget cuts, were minimized by increased recruiting efforts.
“Nobody knew that announcement was coming,” said John Mortensen, assistant vice president for Enrollment Services and Retention. “As soon as we knew about it, we were really proactive. I think we were probably faster than anyone in our response. I don’t think our admissions office gets enough credit in minimizing the effect of it as much as they should.”
Corey Mikkelsen, associate director of recruitment, said the announcement made increased the necessity to focus on transfer and out-of-state recruiting. He said when the Utah Legislature approved a waiver for out-of-state tuition fees, it helped give nonresident students more motivation to consider USU.
“Before the waiver, it was kind of like going out and recruiting without ammunition,” Mikkelsen said. “We did a lot of the same things we always do. We just magnified it. We had open houses in spring instead of just fall. We gave scholarships on the spot to those who qualified.”
The nonresident waiver allows students from out-of-state with a certain academic standing to go to school for their first year while paying the price of in-state tuition. They are expected to attain residency in that year to continue to pay resident tuition.
The legacy waiver was already in place to some extent, allowing children of USU alumni to go to school and pay in-state tuition, but the state has extended that scholarship to grandchildren of USU graduates as well.
“More than one faculty member has told me that it is much more diverse,” Morales said. “There are students from different backgrounds, which leads to a broad array of perspectives when it comes to the classroom.”
Morales and Noelle Cockett, executive vice president and provost, said this diversity is a good thing.
“Increased diversity will give our students increased opportunities for conversations and observations that may differ from what they’ve heard or experienced in the past,” Cockett said. “This helps to broaden their educational experience as they prepare to move into the world and their chosen careers.”
Mortensen said recruiters have focused on most of the Western states, specifically California and Arizona.
Paige Zollinger, a senior in marketing, has been on the legacy scholarship since she started at USU. She has helped with recruiting in her home state of California as a part of the USU< span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.15;"> Ambassadors.
“One thing about Utah State is that we like to show that personal touch,” Zollinger said. “I’ve been able to relate to kids from out of state and build that connection. I think they like being able to talk to someone who has been in their shoes.”
Zollinger said her parents attended USU, so she’s always known it was an option, but there are some students this year who had never had such a connection.
“I came here not knowing a single person,” said Ally Bronte, a freshman studying communicative disorders. “I’ve never met a single person who went here, but my college counselor brought it up.”
Bronte said she had been looking at schools outside of her home state of California, and this school had both the major she wanted and the scholarship she was looking for.
“Since it’s a big school, I thought you would have your small group of friends and that’s all you knew,” Bronte said. “But here, everyone always says ‘Hi.’ Everyone wants to invite you to do things. Everyone is just so friendly. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Bronte, also an out-of-state ambassador, said she plans to share her positive experience with other potential students during recruiting visits.
-m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu
Enrollment per year at USU (Information courtesy the USU AAA Office)