University ready to handle another large first-year class

The record enrollment of new students last year was thought to be an anomaly, but with an incoming class just under the 6,040 students of one year ago, admissions officials now are calling it a new trend—one that they want to reverse before the fall of 2006. In the meantime, the University has made preparations to handle the influx of first-year students, whose numbers are estimated at just over 6,000.

Katelyn Russell, a freshman undergraduate engineering major from Sterling Heights, Mich., and members of the Move-in Makers help one of her classmates move into the Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall Sept. 1. (Photo by Lin Jones, U-M Photo Services)

Alan Levy, director of University Housing Public Affairs and Information, says although housing will be very tight, the department will be able to accommodate the additional students. Extra capacity created last year in Baits Houses and Oxford Housing, as well as the conversion of more than 350 apartments previously designated for single graduate students and students with families in Northwood III on North Campus, will help take care of the additional students. At the same time, it will help meet the on-campus housing demand for continuing undergraduates.

Parking and Transportation Services will continue the new bus routes and service levels put in place last fall to help students from those residences get to Central Campus, where the majority of first-year classes are held, Levy says. To ease pressure on dining in the residence halls and to offer students more convenience with a grab-and-go eating option, the University added the Oxford Express and Baits North Star quick food retail operations last year, which will continue to serve students in those facilities. Meal-serving hours in dining halls also have been extended for the new academic year.

"The experience last year handling the University's record enrollment has helped us prepare for another larger-than-expected class," says Carole Henry, director, University Housing and assistant vice president for student affairs. "We reviewed what went well last year and what could be improved upon, and have worked to make adjustments to ensure that new students this fall have as positive an experience as possible. Other departments, especially Transportation, have improved the infrastructure that supports more freshmen and sophomores living on North Campus."

The academic side also has responded to the increased numbers with the addition of more sections of popular courses.

Admissions leaders say a new application, an increase in online admissions and the normal unpredictability surrounding the number of student acceptances likely all played a factor in the second year of higher-than-anticipated enrollments. The University target for first-year students was 5,500 for this year, a figure that mirrors pre-2004-05 enrollments.

Director of Admissions Ted Spencer says last year his staff determined that a new application requiring students to write a number of essays had contributed to the surge in numbers. Their conclusion was that students who took the time to fill out the more rigorous application were those who really wanted to come to the University, so the applicants were more likely to accept U-M's offer of admission than were previous candidates who only paid a fee and filled out a form.

After last year's phenomenon, admissions staff members were determined to rely less on historical trends and began to watch the process closely. When fewer deposits than expected rolled in earlier during the admissions season, they opened the door to more students.

Spencer says it is clear now that more was at play than the change in the application, including effects brought about by the increased use of technology and enhancement of the personalized recruitment process.

He says a recent trend of students waiting longer to see what each school's financial aid package looks like—which often isn't known until after the acceptance letter arrives—and an increased use of convenient Web-based enrollment fee payment options means students now can wait until the last minute to pay the deposits, which often are the best indicators of acceptance of the University's offer. This year, the University received 70 percent of student applications online.

In addition, there appears to be growing evidence of a stronger correlation between an increase in attendance at recruiting events and higher enrollment. For many years that trend was not as apparent, he says.

"Even though we try to predict behavior based on past experience, it's always a guessing game to an extent," Spencer says. "But clearly these new trends that we have learned are being felt nationwide call for a different strategy."

Henry agrees, saying in the fall of 2006 the University will have a much more difficult time if the class remains the size of the one this year, because Mosher-Jordan, which houses 480 students, will be closed for renovation. The project to upgrade the residence hall will begin as soon as students move out in the spring, pending approval of renovation schematics by the Board of Regents at an upcoming meeting.