Undergraduate Student Access - Cornell University Division of ...

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2. To provide financial assistance to those students who,because of limited financial resources, could not otherwiseaccept admission.• According to a 1985 report on financial aid:In 1981, in recognition of a stabilization of federal financialaid support and the increased burden being placed onstudents, Cornell conducted a comprehensive review ofits financial aid policies. At the conclusion of that review,the University reaffirmed its commitment to a separationof admissions and financial aid decisions and established apolicy to continue the precepts of access and choice whilemaintaining the goals of quality and diversity. As a resultof this review, grant or scholarship dollars were directeddifferentially within demonstrated need. Criteria for determiningthe different levels of loan and work (and thusthe variable level of grant or scholarship support) includedeconomic, academic, ethnic and other qualities.• In 1985, the trustees adopted the following progenitorof what would become the institution’s currentadmissions/financial-aid policy.Cornell University makes admissions decisions withoutregard to the ability of students or parents to pay educationalcosts. Students who demonstrate financial needwill be assisted in meeting that need through one ormore of the following: federal and state grants, employmentopportunities, loans, the Cornell Tradition program,scholarships from endowments and restricted funds, andCornell grants. Annual adjustments will be made in self-helpand family contribution levels. Particular attention will begiven to the needs of low-income and minority studentsin determining self-help levels (academic year work andloans) in the financial aid package.Achieving Cornell’s dual goals of excellence and diversityin the undergraduate student body as espoused byits current policy requires the coordination of activitiesin four distinct yet related areas—enrollment management,recruitment, admissions, and financial aid.National Demographic ChangesThe National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)tracks public and private high school graduates inthe United States and has projected the number ofgraduates through 2012-13. As the population of thiscountry grew after World War II, high school enrollmentexpanded. The number of high school graduatespeaked in 1976-77, at the very end of the “babyboom” wave. (See graph below.) At that point, thenumber of graduates declined, and has since reboundedonly partially. NCES predicts that this secondgrowth spurt will last until 2008-09 and then a newdecrease will occur in public high school enrollments.(Private high schools, which have produced about 10to 11 percent of all high school graduates since themid-1950’s, are not expected to experience a declinein enrollment after 2008-09.) Even taking into accountsuch fluctuations, there will be a 2.1 percentnet increase in high school production from 2005-06through 2012-13. Full-time undergraduate enrollmentin U.S. colleges and universities is expected to increase8.8 percent over the same period based on the 2008-09 surge, which will affect the following four years ofcollege enrollments.Cumulative Change in the Number ofU. S. High School Graduates From 1956-57(numbers in thousands)2,0001,8001,600ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENTEnrollment management entails activities that supportthe institution’s decision to maintain or alter the sizeof its undergraduate population. Institutions managetheir enrollments within the context of nationaldemographic changes and international fluctuations,such as political instability and currency exchangerates, that are beyond the institutions’ direct control.Most institutions in the U.S. (but not Cornell) employthe use of institutionally awarded financial aid as atool to help manage enrollments, by offering meritbasedaid to non-needy applicants and employing admit-denystrategies to regulate their tuition discounts.Numbers in Thousands1,4001,2001,000800Private High School Graduates600Public High School Graduates400200057 61 65 69 73 77 81 85 89 93 97 01 05 09 13Academic Year Ending7
Enrollment Management at CornellDespite the fact that Cornell is very selective anddraws its enrollment from a large applicant pool, theuniversity is not immune from national and internationaldemographic and socio-economic changes. Forexample, the dip in Cornell’s undergraduate enrollmentthat occurred during World War II (see graphbelow) was not well anticipated by the institution justprior to the war. Also, the above-described projectedgrowth in high school production through 2012-13will not be uniform, as the western portion of thecountry—with larger populations of Hispanic Americans—willenjoy far greater increases than the easternhalf, and some states, including New York, will seedeclines. (See graph at right.) These regional differencesare important to Cornell as it currently draws a disproportionatenumber of applicants from areas of thecountry that are expected to experience slight declinesin public high school production through 2012-13.Cornell’s current approach for undergraduate recruitment(see page 11) anticipates these changes in waysthat the institution did not in the 1940’s, allowing theuniversity to react more nimbly to external events.Projected Change in the Number of PublicHigh School Graduates by GeographicRegion from 2005-06 through 2012-13Compared to the Proportion of Cornell’sFreshman Enrollment from those RegionsFar WestSouthwest –MountainSoutheastMiddleAtlanticMidwestNewEnglandNew YorkPortion of Cornell'sEnrollmentProjected Changein Public HighSchool Graduates(10%) 0% 10% 20% 30%PercentNumberUndergraduate Enrollmentat Cornell University (as of the third weekof the fall semester; includes students in off-campusprograms and those registered in absentia)16,00014,00012,00010,0008,0006,0004,0002,000Contract CollegesEndowed Ithaca027 33 39 45 51 57 63 69 75 81 87 93 99Fall SemesterA separate issue is the optimal size of the studentbody. While Cornell has periodically examined thatquestion—and in some cases has taken actions tochange its size—the fact remains that for most of theinstitution’s life, undergraduate enrollment has grownwithout a deliberate plan. The university’s expansionfrom 412 undergraduates in 1868 to 13,718 in 2004(counting on- and off-campus students as well as thoseregistered in absentia) represents an annual compoundedgrowth rate of 2.6 percent over that 136-yearperiod. The reasons that undergraduate enrollmentstend to grow are fourfold:• High Demand – The university’s academic programsare very popular, gaining the attention of highlyqualified students across the nation and aroundthe world. Cornell had 24,444 applications for3,050 slots for the Class of 2009 (which will matriculatein the fall of 2005).• “New” Equals “Additional” – A second factor thatresults in enrollment growth is the fact that mostnew programs represent additions rather thansubstitutions for current programs and their atten-8
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Page 16 and 17: Profile of the Class of 2008 - Firs
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