Meeting of Department and Program Chairs

1. Meeting of Department and Program Chairs W. Kent Barnds VP Enrollment & Communication

2. My goals for this talk • Extend my thanks • Explain what we did this summer • Explain what we learned this summer • Explain what’s ahead for Augustana

3. What we did this summer • We faced a considerable shortfall in our first-year student enrollment • We aggressively pursued students throughout the summer (first-year and transfers) • We made several internal organizational adjustments • We commissioned outside research to help us adjust

4. What we learned this summer • From an independent external “operations audit” by George Dehne & Associates (GDA) • From interviews with 350 admitted students, also completed by GDA • From Simpson-Scarbourough

5. What we learned from the operations audit

6. Unique Difficulties We Faced in 07-08 • Lack of buy-in for some faculty, coaches and administrators related to the strategic plan • Strategic plan and added benefits have outpaced the student body and some faculty • Augustana is in transition and the turmoil has impacted the recruitment environment

7. Conclusions • 2007-08 recruiting should not cause grave concerns • First-class operation • Cyclical business • 17 years-olds are hard to figure out!!! • Beyond 2008 is cause for grave concern without some significant adjustments • Demographic decline • More progress needed in building and strengthening relationships • “Crisper” message is critical

8. What we learned from the admitted-student interviews

9. Method • 350 telephone interviews with accepted students • 275 Non-enrolling students • 75 Enrolling students • Average of 22 minutes with each student

10. Demographics • Non-enrolling students tend to be • stronger in the classroom than enrolling students • stronger test takers • more likely graduates of private, independent or parochial schools • from out of state • more suburban • more male • more ethnically diverse

11. General Findings • Most important factors in deciding where to attend: • Strong majors • Location • The campus visit • Relationships and connections • Cost is a significant • SI & Augie Choice are poorly understood

12. “Major” Findings What factors were “essential” in choosing your college?

13. “Major” Findings Why non-enrolling students chose another college

14. “Major” Findings Why I chose Augie

15. Bottom-line on majors • We are not effectively communicating the strength of our majors • Strong majors make a big difference: • 10% of our non-enrolling pool said “offering a stronger program of major” could have convinced them to enroll

16. Location • Rock Island is seen as a net negative • 51% of non-enrolling students say our location is “worse” or “much worse” than their enrolling college • 23% our enrolling students its “worse” or “much worse” than their second choice college • But, it is not crippling

17. Campus visit findings • 1/3 of our non-enrolled students did not visit • Of non-enrolling kids who did visit, 9% described the campus as “ugly” and “old” and were “turned off” by the visit • 16% of enrolled students indicated they chose Augie because of the campus visit • 96% of our enrolled students described the visit as having “greatly” or “somewhat” increased their interest in Augustana

18. Relationship findings Quick preview of the bottom line: you matter. • 25% of non-enrolling students wanted to meet a faculty member here but couldn’t/didn’t • Of the students who do not meet with a faculty member during a campus visit, two-thirds went elsewhere • Our faculty are more effective in those meetings than any other college’s: • 8% of our students chose us because of “professor, quality of the faculty” • 0% of the non-enrolled students said that about their current school • 83% of our students said meeting with you substantially increased their interest in the college

19. A bit more on relationships Other relationships matter, too • With my staff: 20% of non-enrolling students indicated contact with admissions was “worse” or “much worse” than at enrolling college • With coaches: 46% of non-enrolling student-athletes had no contact with an Augustana coach or the contact was “worse” or “much worse” than at their enrolling college

20. Findings about finances Finances are important, value is more important • 55% of our non-enrolling students said Augustana would have cost “more” or “much more” than the college they chose • 38% of non-enrolling students said financial aid would not have convinced them to come here • 55% would not attend even if the cost to attend Augustana was equal to that of the institution at which they chose to enroll • One-third did not even submit financial information so they could get an aid offer from us

21. S.I. and Augie Choice Findings • 74% of our enrolled and non-enrolled students did not know enough about Senior Inquiry or Augie Choice to form an opinion about either program

22. Break down by gender

23. Break down by ACT

24. The Big Picture: What Matters Most

25. What we think we’ve learned • The non-attending students are a very desirable bunch • They see us “another nice little college” but not much more – we suffer on questions concerning the presence of an intellectual environment on campus, strength of major, and grad school prep • We want to talk about “liberal arts,” they want to hear about majors • We need to think and talk differently about Rock Island • Two major strategic initiatives (Augie Choice and Senior Inquiry) are poorly understood • We have not gotten students excited about the opportunity for international study • The students weren’t reassured about our ability to help them prepare for a career • Students are still very much influenced by traditional forms of communication – print materials and personal contacts with teachers, coaches and counselors • Non-attending students felt that our faculty was inaccessible • Our personal contacts went much more poorly last year than we realized

26. What’s ahead • Dehne’s bottom line • Three new things we’re going to try • Three new ways to help faculty help us

27. Conclusion #1: Don’t Sweat 2007-08 “Given the quality of the admissions recruitment operation and the College’s commitment to marketing the new strategic plan there is no question in our minds that if two or more of the above factors had not been in play this year the new student enrollment goal would have been met once again.” (George Dehne & Associates, August 2008)

28. Conclusion #2: Sweat 2008 and beyond  “Augustana is in a difficult spot because…  • The demographics of the upper Midwest generally and Illinois specifically have changed • The number of high school graduates is in decline • Interest in small private colleges is declining. • Private is no longer perceived as better than public on grounds of program quality or quality of education • The market that served the College so well for so long, fueled by the generous Illinois scholarship program, is no longer there . . . It is being replaced by a demographic with fewer resources, less pride in stretching to pay for their child’s education, and more affinity for larger less expensive public universities.” (George Dehne, August 2008)

29. Three new things we’re going to try • We are hiring a much cuter, aggressive and persistent admissions staff • I’m switching from a bowtie to major bling • A puppy – the Augie Doggy -- for every new student!

30. Four new ways to help faculty help us • Better communication, advance notice and coordination • Departmental liaisons • Explicit recognition by Faculty Welfare • Better record-keeping and follow-up information for you