The number of student applications submitted to Vincennes University for the Fall 2016 semester is down by 16 percent, so university officials are bracing themselves for a smaller freshman class.
Kristi Deetz, VU's director of external relations, on Wednesday told members of the university's board of trustees that as of the beginning of this week, the incoming class had 76 fewer students than on this same day last year.
VU kicked off its two-week student registration program, Start VU, on June 14, and in its first week, 354 students registered.
That's compared to 476 during the first week of Start VU registration last year, Deetz said.
Start VU, Deetz said, is a good indicator of overall enrollment as that is where the highest volume of new student registrations occur.
And while last week was down, this week started strong, she said, with 246 registering so far. That's about 40 students more than during the second week last year.
That said, the incoming class still has about 76 fewer students than in 2015.
Total enrollment for the main campus has reached 3,045 students, which represents a 5-percent decline, she told the board.
But VU isn't the only university experiencing such trouble.
Deetz said there are “enrollment changes” occurring all over the country. There has been a “national issue” going on, she said, since 2010.
Data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that the greatest declines are being felt by two types of institutions, Deetz said: for-profit universities and two-year institutions such as VU.
There are 820,000 fewer students attending community college, Deetz said, than six years ago.
Deetz said VU did experience a decline in enrollment after 2010 but then saw a two-year surge. Now it seems the university has yet again entered a downward trend.
She said the current trends are driving VU's market research and will alter efforts to reach potential students.
Already, she said, an online chat option for parents wanting to talk with someone in the admissions department has been added, and a texting service recently debuted.
Deetz has also increased the university's social media presence.
“We just want to increase those touch points with prospective families,” she said.
VU board member Reggie Henderson asked if VU shouldn't expand market efforts highlighting its degree and certificate programs, such as automotive technology and advanced manufacturing or construction trades.
Deetz said that would continue to be the university's focus as well as its affordability as VU is the most affordable residential college in the state.
“That is a great opportunity for VU,” she said. “We are the most affordable yet we continue to offer new programs.”
The board also approved the addition of a hospitality management concentration to its hotel/motel management major, one they believe will be especially helpful to those students transferring to Purdue University.
And they said good-bye to two board members, Anne Emison Wishard of Indianapolis, who was appointed to the board by Gov. Mitch Daniels in August 2005, and Joslyn Gray of Evansville, who has been serving as the student representative appointed by Gov. Mike Pence.