Enrollment at Vincennes University continues to lag behind last year’s numbers, but officials there are focusing on better ways to communicate with prospective students.
Sarah Fortune, senior director of external relations, reported to members of the university’s Board of Trustees during a Zoom meeting Wednesday morning that, so far, 1,161 students have been admitted to VU for the Fall 2021 semester, specifically to its Vincennes campus.
Last fall, the university had 2,219 admitted at this same time, although she did note that distance education enrollment rates are way ahead, likely due to COVID-19.
The university has continued to see its on-campus enrollment numbers trend downward amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but VU is not alone, Fortune told the board.
Community colleges across the country this year saw a decrease in their enrollment at a rate of 7.5%, Fortune said, citing the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Fortune told the board about a variety of ways in which they are trying to reach more students and improve communication with those who express an interest in attending VU.
From the moment a student calls or visits the university’s website, Fortune said they are focusing on making it “a better experience” overall.
They’ve updated several marketing materials, she told the board, including a poster that is sent out to all students accepted to VU, a partnership with Ewing Printing. Those students are then encouraged to share a photo of themselves to their social media accounts to celebrate their acceptance.
In addition to receiving that poster, Fortune said each and every student accepted into the university gets a personal phone call from an admissions counselor.
Fortune, too, said they’ve updated many other informational materials, including a book that outlines all of the housing options on VU’s campus, one that offers everything from maps to images and even how close each of the housing options are to other university amenities.
Fortune told the board that during this COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve given “every single piece of print material a refresh.”
They’ve also taken into account the kinds of information that would entice potential students, so instead of just touting “small class sizes,” Fortune said they’ve taken the time to outline the benefits of small class sizes to a student’s education.
VU is also on all of the social media platforms, including TikTok, and the university, too, recently purchased a program called Slate, which, among many other things, allows the admissions team to better and more efficiently communicate with students, largely through text.
Fortune explained that they were able to send out a mass text recently to those who had started filling out applications for the upcoming fall semester but, for whatever reason, didn’t complete them.
They got upwards of 90 responses, she said, and a team of support staff members immediately started working through them to help those prospective VU students.
VU president Dr. Chuck Johnson said the university’s yield rate has long hovered around the 40% mark, and they’re hopeful Slate — among other efforts being taken on by Fortune and her team — will help admissions members to increase that percentage.
“This is going to be a good opportunity for us to craft those (student) relationships so we can impact those yield rates,” he said.
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