UNL and other colleges fight admissions melt

College admission could be the next part of high education to take a hit from the poor economy, as some officials worry that larger than average numbers of incoming freshman will melt away over the summer. 

Admissions melt is when students enrolled at a university change their minds over the summer and decide not to attend that school. With the sagging economy forcing families to make tough financial decisions, some admissions officials are concerned more students might be staying home this fall than in the past.

The recession has been a concern for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said David Burge, associate dean of admissions, and recruiters have stepped up their efforts to compensate. 

UNL has moved to an 18-month recruiting model, Burge said, where recruiters start talking to high school students halfway through their junior year and keep working with them until the summer after their senior year.

Admissions offices expect a certain number of students to not show up after enrolling in the spring, Burge said. UNL typically loses around 2 percent of students who pay an enrollment deposit, down from around 5 percent three years ago.

Recruiting students over a longer period of time and engaging them with social networking tools like ClubRed, a Facebook-style site for UNL students, have helped UNL retain more enrolled students, Burge said.

"We're able to make connections a lot better than we have before," he said.  

UNL requires students to pay a $250 enrollment deposit to attend classes, which Burge said might have helped keep the loss of incoming students low. In the past, families might make deposits at a number of schools expecting to lose some of the money but with money being tighter, Burge said fewer people are willing to walk away from their deposits.

"In a struggling economy, enrollment deposits mean more than they did two years ago," Burge said. 

Other schools have also taken steps to combat the potential for increased admissions melt.

Admissions counselors at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, which usually loses around 5 percent of its incoming freshman, have increased the number of times they call to check in with incoming freshman. They've also started sending e-mail surveys asking students questions ranging from their favorite song to what they think is life's greatest unanswered question. 

Dickinson College in Pennsylvania started a committee to figure out ways to ease this year's admissions melt. The committee, which includes staff from enrollment, housing, the athletic department and other offices, meets every week to discuss ways to keep enrolled students committed to attending Dickinson.

So far, Dickinson has lost almost 7 percent of its incoming freshmen, which was the total number of students it lost to admissions melt last year, said Stephanie Balmer, vice president for enrollment and communications for Dickinson.

To help hold on to the remaining students, Dickinson's admissions melt committee sends a weekly e-mail to all incoming freshman to keep them informed on what's happening on campus. They also send more personalized e-mails to students to help answer questions and deal with individual concerns.

With many colleges facing funding problems and budget cuts, Balmer said it's becoming increasingly important for colleges to hold on to students who enroll in the spring so tuition payments can be a solid source of additional money.

"There's a great need for tuition revenue, so there's a lot of interest in keeping this class," she said. 

While the poor economy did lead to some changes in how admissions operates, Burge said so far it doesn't look like the recession will have much of an impact on UNL's enrollment numbers.

"Based on early signs, I'd be surprised if we feel the same loss other schools are facing," he said.

adamziegler@dailynebraskan.com