survey of admissions directors - Inside Higher Ed

Are test scores up? What about the discountrate? Did we recruit significant numbersof minority students? Did our effortsto target veterans yield results? Does theclass include more full-pay, low-income,or international students? Which studentsdid we get (or lose) that we really wanted?How did we fare given the economicdownturn that is playing havoc with somuch of American higher education?The Inside Higher Ed Survey of Collegeand University Admissions Directorsaddresses key issues that confront leadersin admissions and enrollment managementacross American higher education. Thesurvey questions address a pressing arrayof challenges that confront admissions directorsat two- and four-year colleges acrossthe United States:• What are the two most importantadmissions issues/challenges currentlyconfronting your institution over the nexttwo-three years?• Has your campus increased its effortsto recruit specific undergraduatepopulations?• How important are various strategiesas part of the recruitment and admissionsactivities at your institution?• How would you rate the effectivenessof various resources that prospectiveundergraduates often use toinform their admissions activities?• Does your institution admit somegroups of students (such as athletes,alumni children, full-pay students,minority students, veterans, etc.) who,on average, have lower grades and testscores than other applicants? Do yousupport this institutional practice?• What’s the policy at your institutionabout using commission-paid agents torecruit international students?The survey data offer new insightsabout admissions policies, practices andpriorities during (yet another) periodmarked by significant financial challenges.The Inside Higher Ed Survey of Collegeand University Admissions Directorswas conducted in August and early September,2011. The survey involved the useof two questionnaires – one for four-yearcolleges and universities and a seconddesigned specifically for community colleges(with many questions asked of bothgroups). An e-mail invitation with a hotlinkto an online questionnaire was firstsent in mid-August to either the seniorenrollment management or senior admissionsofficer (dean/director) of some 2,040public and private nonprofit two- andfour-year colleges and universities acrossthe United States. Discounting some 200non-deliverable emails, the actual surveysample included approximately 1,840two- and four-year colleges and universitiesthat enroll 500 or more students. Atotal of 462 senior admissions and enrollmentmanagement officers completed thesurvey by September 3, 2011. (Additionalinformation about the survey methodologyis presented in Appendix A.)2011 SURVEY OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS DIRECTORS INSIDE HIGHER ED5