Slumping economy won’t hurt enrollment

With an economic slump, lower high school graduation rates and the cost of a college education higher than ever, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln may have to work harder to keep enrollment increasing.


In a recent speech, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman said while the university may have a tougher time this year than in the past, UNL will be working harder than ever to keep enrollment up.


A big problem for UNL's numbers is the fact that the number of graduating seniors from Nebraska high schools is expected to level off this year and start to decrease in the future.  Graduating seniors should drop from 22,659 in '08-'09 to 22,092 in '09-'10, according to Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.


Because there will be fewer Nebraska graduates to draw from, admissions is turning its sights to out-of-state students, said Alan Cerveny, dean of admissions.


The economic crisis may put a damper on those plans, however.


"The general consensus is that students want to stay closer to home," Cerveny said. "That creates a challenge for us."


Still, he's not too worried. Getting out-of-state students requires a long-term focus on an area and developing consistent relationships over time, Cerveny said.


Admissions Counselor Kristi Decker said she has had a few more calls than usual from families worried about the cost of coming to UNL.


However, Decker, who recruits in South Dakota and Minnesota, said in general, recruiting has been normal in her region.


"I wouldn't say it's very different from other years … we always just tell them they can talk to scholarships and financial aid," she said.  "We just want them to know as always that we want them at UNL."


This year, even through a time of budget cuts, admissions is working hard to get the best students to come to Nebraska, Cerveny said.  However, they have worked to recruit more cheaply, by using e-mail and social networking Web sites to cut back on expensive trips out of state.


This extra focus on out-of-state recruitment doesn't mean admissions is scaling back efforts to draw in Nebraska students, though.


"Every year our Nebraska students are where we start," Cerveny said. "We certainly don't take them for granted."


UNL may be losing some of these students to community colleges as families find themselves in tougher economic situations, Cerveny said.


"There's more of a concern about finances in general than I've seen in quite a few years," he said. "It's not so much about the here and now but what's going to happen a few years down the road."


However, he maintains that despite the higher up-front cost, UNL is the best choice.


"The way to look at the cost of education is as an investment," he said. "We're one of the best values in higher education."


While the numbers say UNL might be in trouble in the next few years, Cerveny said it's also important to look beyond to the quality of students UNL has been recruiting. Incoming students' average GPAs and test scores have been increasing every year, he said.


"The last seven years in a row, each and every class has been more talented that the previous one," he said. "That to me says we're doing something right."


jennagibson@dailynebraskan.com