Ball State University's expanded recruitment efforts have led to a rise in the number of students who have applied and been accepted this year.
Compared to this time last year, the number of applications received has increased by 9 percent, while the number of students accepted has increased by 11 percent, according to the Office of Admissions.
However, there has been a slight decrease in the number of students who have officially enrolled so far.
As of Friday, only 1,160 people are enrolled for next year. At this time last year, 1,218 people had enrolled, Dean of the Office of Admissions Larry Waters said. This is a 4 percent drop.
Up until this year, Ball State required a $50 enrollment fee that was refundable until May 1, Waters said. Now the university requires students to pay a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee, he said. The $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee was a directive from the president, Waters said.
Waters said he thought the change in fees played a role in the smaller amount of actual enrollment so far, because students wanted to wait until they were sure they wanted to attend Ball State before sending money.
"If a student pays the $100 enrollment fee, it indicates a serious intention to enroll," Water said. "Some universities charge $200. We chose not to do that. It applies to the tuition in the fall, so it doesn't go into some hole. We are not doing anything new here. New for us but not for institutions in Indiana."
Tom Taylor, vice president of enrollment, marketing and communications, said the application and acceptance rates had been steady throughout the past couple of years.
"The increase could be in part due to the buzz of Ball State being the number one wireless campus in the nation," Taylor said. "The hard work of the admissions office by doing more traveling and getting out to other places probably also has something to do with a larger amount of applications."
Waters said the Office of Admissions had done more this year to try to promote geographic and cultural diversity than in the past.
"We have been going to places all over the country and have gone to states we have not gone to before," Waters said. "We generally go to schools in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, but this year we are also going to states along the east coast as well as Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota."
In order to promote diversity, Waters said the university strategic plan says at least 10 percent of the student enrollment must be minority.
"Even though the university requires 10 percent we usually have more who apply, just the enrollment is not always there," Waters said. "This year we have had 101 more minority students than last year."
The admissions office has also worked more aggressively to get National Merit Scholars of color, Waters said. The university has 21 National Hispanic Scholars, which increases cultural diversity, and the admissions office is trying to attract more African American National Achievement Scholars.
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