By Marcelle Rutherfurd
It has already been reported that the current freshman class, the class of 2021, is uniquely small. As the fall semester reaches its midpoint, there is an increase in campus tours, as current high school students are starting to make decisions about their college education.
Although the University did not get the normal amount of students in this year’s freshman class, Vice President for Communications Gayle McIntosh has been very open about the fact that this is not a bad thing in terms of the goals of the admissions department.
“Enrollment is both an art and a science — we work to enroll each year a class of students who will make the most of their time here at Puget Sound. This year’s first-year class brings a great deal to the college: they are academically talented, geographically diverse and 31 percent identify as students of color (this is something we’ve been working on campuswide),” McIntosh said.
In an effort to diversify the campus, the University took a more focused approach to its outreach. As The Trail previously reported, there are more students than ever who are from Tacoma. This is due to an effort by the University to increase local outreach. However, this positive change came with a few small issues.
“There are also fewer students in the class than we expected; a few years ago we had more than we expected. Each situation brings its own challenges, but our budgets are structured in such a way that we can accommodate natural ebbs and flows in enrollment without compromising the quality of the education that students receive,” McIntosh said.
One of the factors contributing to low numbers is geographic, there are less out-of-state students on campus this year, especially from California, which is traditionally a large recruiting area for Puget Sound.
There are many factors involved, but probably the biggest is that we have fewer students from both California and Oregon this year. This is true for many colleges, due in part to changes in in-state enrollment practices throughout the University of California system,” McIntosh said.
This is a financial issue in part, as California students receive a sizable in-state tuition discount if they choose to attend a University of California (UC). However, regions are not the only factor at play.
“Changing demographics in the United States are another factor; for several years now there has been a decline in the population of traditionally-aged college students, so there is more competition among colleges for best-fit students. Still, as evidenced by application numbers and inquiries, interest in a Puget Sound education remains high,” McIntosh said.
The admissions team is not worried yet about next year’s’ recruiting numbers, as there is still a substantial amount of incoming students showing interest in the University.
“We are always looking for new ways to get the word out about Puget Sound, and our colleagues in the enrollment office are busy recruiting next year’s class now. We had a strong turnout for the first Discover Puget Sound day of the year, and that’s always a good sign,” McIntosh said.
“In terms of where we are recruiting, as a national liberal arts college we cast a wide net across the United States and, increasingly, abroad. Particularly strong states for Puget Sound include those locations where we have very active alumni groups, such as California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon and, of course, Washington,” McIntosh continued.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the University as more and more diverse freshman classes are attracted to the school. Although the numbers may be small, the school appears to be very focused on changing the traditional makeup of the freshman classes and welcoming a broader spectrum of students here to the University.