Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about the FAFSA debacle.
I'm shaking my head at how badly this went and wondering if, as some aptly suggested, there has been some accountability (=firings) within the agency. I can't recall a bureaucratic botch as far reaching as this one.
The DOE is auditing the entire department it seems
With classes starting this week, does anyone have any numbers about what enrollment looks like for the Fall semester?
With classes starting this week, does anyone have any numbers about what enrollment looks like for the Fall semester?
I've been told from someone in position to know that the freshman class will be about 600.
When you think about it, if that is the number then the importance of athletics is even greater than before as I'm guessing 125-150 new students and transfer arrive because of athletics. They also come from all over the country and around the world so act as a very solid advertising arm as well.
@valpo95 My comment from one week ago still seems to be the consensus opinion of the few faculty with whom I spoke yesterday. Looking at the released numbers from Fall 2023, the total of "first-year degree seeking students" stood at 600. If there is a reduction of 10%, we can expect 540 this year not counting non-degree students. The transfer count last year was about 110. Exact retention figures are unknown, so the precise overall enrollment is still to be seen. The first Census date is Sept. 3.
With the first day of classes one week from today and the fall faculty workshop tomorrow, the bad news rumor in campus discussions is that we can expect maybe as much as a 10% decrease in incoming freshmen, but the good news is that there should be no decrease in the number of new transfer students.
ValpoPal, could you clarify how you're getting 600 for last year? I'm not doubting that you're right, but just having trouble getting the numbers to tally up that way (and not sure which columns/docs to use for this stat).
- When I look at the 2023 New Student Headcount, the total undergrad freshmen across all the colleges was only 530 (so 10% off that would mean somewhere around 480 for 2024?)
- When I look at the 2023 Full Time Equivalency numbers, the undergrad freshmen across all colleges comes out to 555 (so 10% off that would mean somewhere around 500 for 2024?)
Is your "600" number for 2023 'first-year degree seeking students' including sophomores, juniors, and seniors who transferred in?
@vuindiana The 600 number is rounded from 599, which was the total of "new first-time students" (573: includes first-time full-time and part-time bachelor's degree seeking students who are classified as sophomores because of AP or other credits; otherwise, pure freshmen would be 530) and "new Access students" (26) reported last fall (9/8/23) by the university. That same data states that there were 104 new transfers. If you include "non-degree students," the sum of all new undergraduate enrollment for Fall '23 was listed as 729.
...the bad news rumor in campus discussions is that we can expect maybe as much as a 10% decrease in incoming freshmen,
I spoke to a person who has some knowledge of the enrollment this afternoon, and I was told the hope was that the decrease in incoming freshmen would be held to 8%.
Hope that the decrease in incoming freshmen is held to 8%? If someone accepts this as positive performance, I would like to know what they think the goal (that people are held accountable to) should be for next year?
Given the FAFSA impact, it sounds like a fair evaluation of VU's recruiting should include a benchmark comparison of how the screw-up affected comparable institutions in terms of % drops in entering classes.
FWIW, the undergraduate fall enrollment at my mid-sized, private, comprehensive university in Boston was definitely impacted by FAFSA. I don't have specific numbers, but it sounds like the incoming freshman class is roughly 10 percent under target numbers sans the debacle.
I am sticking to my prediction for Valpo from one month ago.
With the first day of classes one week from today and the fall faculty workshop tomorrow, the bad news rumor in campus discussions is that we can expect maybe as much as a 10% decrease in incoming freshmen, but the good news is that there should be no decrease in the number of new transfer students. There are various valid factors cited in the recruiting results, but speculation is that the disparity between meeting freshmen and transfer goals might indicate the FAFSA "disaster" as having a contributing role for fewer incoming freshmen.
What’s the over/under on 2150? That’s my guess.
The university's census date was Sept. 3. The enrollment data for Fall 2024 is finally available. A quick glance shows 499 freshmen in the "total student headcount" (though there is a discrepancy since the "new student headcount" lists only 480 freshmen, perhaps 19 new student freshmen entered with a sophomore credit status), and if you add "special" students in the "total student headcount" the figure is 540 (as I predicted two months ago, down 10% from last year's 600).
Total undergraduate count is 2142. New graduate students is 177, and total of graduate students is 456. Therefore, total student head count at university of undergraduates and graduates: 2598.
New students listed as any denomination of Lutheran is only 5%. Roman Catholics are the highest religious group listed at 17.5%.
https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/institutional-research/enrollment-data/
