UP! UP! and Away!
Chowan welcomes the Class of2001
and begins enrolling 2002
FIRST-YEAR student enrollment is up!
Transfer student enrollment is up! Total
institutional enrollment is up! And, the en
rollment management staff is on the road again to
enroll the Class of 2002!
The department was delighted to have sur
passed their goal and to have enrolled 340 students
who were not at Chowan during the spring semes
ter of 1997. The numbers include 277 full-time,
first-year students, 44 transfers and 19 students
who left Chowan for a period of time and have
returned to complete bachelor degrees. The total
compares to a first-year student enrollment last
year of 328.
In addition to new students, Chowan retained
74% of the spring semester student body, giving
Chowan a total fall enrollment of 764 students.
Not only is the total an increase over last year, but
it exceeds enrollment and budget projections.
The striking feature about the Class of 2001, in
general, is an alert and positive attitude. In profile,
they bring a slightly higher mean high school GPA
of 2.622 compared to 2 .607 last year They are of
traditional college age and come from homes around
the world —Austria, Belaruse, Japan and a wide
variety of states. The majority are from North
Carolina (34%), but Virginia students are a close
second (31%). Other states well-represented are
Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and New' York.
Four students have come from California and two
from Washington The mix contributes to the
wonderful diversity that iS integral to the Chowan
education.
In addition to meeting enrollment goals this
year, the office met the following operational goals
as well. With the expertise of Dr. Andrea Eason,
executive director of information technology, and
Bill Harlow, a senior graphic communications major,
Chowan launched their own website on the
Internet. The site includes a means by which
prospective students can apply for admission to
Chowan directly from the Internet. A strong
enrollment management staff was established that
works well as a team and work began on the
development of a statistical profile of the student
who is successful and remains enrolled at Chowan.
Chowan employed an experienced, marketing
consultant to assist the college in conducting
marketability research and to design a plan to
increase visibility.
Competition among colleges for students who
are prepared for college-level work continues to
strengthen Increasingly, public colleges and
universities, like private institutions, are depending
on enrollment numbers to determine operating
budgets and recruiting is more sophisticated and
more closely tied to financial aid than ever before.
The media publicizes the price gap between
public schools and private institutions, but often
neglects to focus on the benefits of the latter In
fact, a recent nationwide poll indicated that only
24% of high school students intend to enroll at a
private college. Consequently, the enrollment
management staff faces a challenging year as they
bring in the Class of 2002.
The office has set specific goals for 1997-98
recruiting, the first of which is to saturate the
Hampton Roads market Traditionally, Chowan has
drawn the most significant number of students from
this area and the college has greater name recogni
tion there than any other large population area. It
is geographically within the distance that would be
convenient for many to attend Chowan. The
college will invite guidance counselors from the area
to visit campus m conjunction with the Historic
Murfreesboro Candlelight Christmas Tour and
arrange for current students to visit their home high
schools to encourage others to attend.
Chowan plans to enroll more students from
North Carolina and more Baptists from North
Carolina. North Carolina students are eligible to
receive the North Carolina Legislative Tuition Grant and can attend Chowan
more cheaply than students from out of state and Chowan offers scholarships
of at least $1000 to students who are members of churches affiliated with the
North Carolina Baptist State Convention.
Department members will determine target audiences in response to the
marketing consuUant's research results and design materials and advertising
suited to each market. In addition, they will employ a professional design firm
to develop a set of recruiting materials that incorporates a new marketing image.
Enrollment coordinators will contact a portion of the next prospect pool,
by phone, in order to gage their level of interest in Chowan before appropri
ately tailoring mailings and strategies. They will work with the office of alumni
affairs to host receptions for prospects, newly-accepted students and alumni in
selected areas.
In order to increase the number of students on campus who have had
See CLASS OF 2002 on Page 6
NEW STUDENTS ENfiOLLED FALL 1887
AUSTINE
EVANS
Vice
President
for
Enrollment
f Manage
ment
Department surpasses
goalfor Fall '97
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Hometowns
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members
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CHOWAN TODAY, Fall, 1997 — Page 5