Colleagues,
On an ongoing basis, the Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Action Team (CEMAT) coordinates enrollment management efforts at UWM, focusing on a variety of strategic efforts that include recruiting, retaining and graduating students, as well as providing support and services that promote student success. The focus in this email update is on students new to UWM, comparing Summer/Fall 2017 application and admitted student statistics to where we were a year ago at this time for Summer/Fall 2016. Unless otherwise noted, the information below is as of July 10, 2017.
New Freshmen
Compared to Summer/Fall 2016, applications are up 1.8% for a total of 10,301. The number of admitted new freshmen is unchanged from Summer/Fall 2016 at 7,285. Given previous application and admission behavior, approximately 99% of anticipated activity has occurred. In other words, our pool of prospective students is close to being complete. UWM has received applications from 3,840 underrepresented students, an increase of 5.6%. Admits for underrepresented students are up by 1.2%.
New Transfer
Continuing a trend of recent years, new transfer applications are down by 7.4% for a current total of 3,456. Admits are down by 6.6%. System-wide the reported number of transfer applications as of July 1, 2017 are down by 8% and admits down by 6%. Please note: transfer students apply later than new freshmen. As a result, we are only around 92% through their enrollment funnel, based on prior year activity.
Illinois
Expanding recruitment in Illinois is a key priority of UWM’s Strategic Enrollment Management plan, now in its first year of implementation. Given additional marketing and recruiting efforts (two new recruiters were hired), we are beginning to see results with freshmen applications from Illinois at 1,364 (up 19.6%) and admits at 973 (up 11.5% compared to last year). Further, transfer applications from Illinois increased to 431 (up 4.4%) with admits at 306 (up 9.3%).
Finally, the Graduate School has coordinated the inclusion of select graduate programs in the Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) tuition discount program, which may also lead to an increase in graduate applications from Illinois. As of July 10, there are 150 admitted graduate students who are eligible for MSEP.
New Master’s
At the master’s level, applications are up by 1.6% for a total of 3,194. Admits are up by 8% at 1,866. Given previous application and admission behavior, approximately 95% of anticipated activity has occurred.
New Doctoral
Doctoral applications are down by 1.9% at 1,269. Admits are up by 1.4%. Approximately 99% of anticipated activity has occurred.
International
Coincident with national trends, after years of growth in international students, the University is facing a drop in applications. Summer/Fall 2017 admitted applications compared to Summer/Fall 2016 figures are as follows:
Applications are down 19.7% for undergraduates and down 1.2% for graduates, a total of -7.6%. Undergraduate admits are down by 6.2% and up 8.8% for graduates, for a total increase of 2.8%.
Honors College
As of June 1st, there were 706 admits to the Honors College, of which 212 have accepted the offer of admission, up from 202 accepted students at the same time in 2016 (a 5% increase). The average ACT for students who have accepted offers is 28.6 and the unweighted GPA average is 3.8. Further, these students, on average, are in the top 10% of their class. Indeed, in terms of class rank, ACT and GPA, this year’s cohort exceeds last years in all measures. Of the new cohort, 33% have selected majors within L&S, 19.5% in Peck, 11.6% in CEAS, and 10% in Lubar.
Financial Aid
For the 2017-18 academic year, the U.S. Department of Education made the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available starting October 1, 2016, three months sooner than past years. As a result, the Office of Financial Aid was able to process awards for new prospective students earlier. As of May 29, 2017, 5266 awards have been processed, an increase of 25.02% compared to the same time last year. This may have a positive impact on yield (applicants who ultimately enroll).
The revised historic trends model from OAIR projects that new freshmen enrollment in Fall 2017 will be 3,105 (0.03% increase from Fall 2016). New freshmen enrollment is projected to increase again in Fall 2018. Further years out are a bit more variable with a general increasing trend from Fall 2020-Fall 2025. The total university enrollment in Fall 2017 is estimated at 25,556 (1.8% decrease from Fall 2016).
In summary, there are positive areas (new freshman applications, Illinois, Honors, master’s, and an earlier start to awarding financial aid) in this challenging environment. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA), the Graduate School, the Center for International Education, and schools and colleges have worked hard to attract additional applications and to increase the yield of students who have applied for Fall 2017. As we progress in implementation of UWM’s Strategic Enrollment Management plan, initiatives within for which we anticipate significant ROIs over the next several years include:
- increasing daily tours and visit opportunities,
- on-site admissions at high schools,
- early declaration of majors and meta-major development,
- further expansion of supplemental instruction,
- financial planning and support initiatives,
- refinement of academic advising initiatives,
- implementation of First Year Learning Communities,
- recruitment from Illinois both for new freshmen and transfer students,
- international recruitment efforts, and
- increasing transfer, Flexible Option and veteran student populations.
The impact of these initiatives on student enrollment can be tracked through the SEM Dashboard.
On behalf of CEMAT,
Johannes Britz, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Katie Miota, Interim Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Date: July 12, 2017