EMU tries to entice children of non-resident alumni by offering them in-state tuition
In an effort to boost enrollment, Eastern Michigan University is launching a new program encouraging alumni that have moved away from Michigan to send their children to EMU at the in-state rate.
Mike Morris
This year the school projects a 1 percent enrollment increase.
"Our goal is to get this 1 percent or more," Regent Mike Morris said to EMU admissions staff during a Board of Regents committee meeting. "So we encourage you all to step up."
The new alumni program is accompanied by a reboot of EMU admissions office practices in an effort to become more responsive to applicants and a marketing campaign directed at attracting international students to EMU's online course offerings.
The school also is considering a switch to the Common Application. When U-M switched to the Common Application for entry into the 2011-12 freshman class, the school received a record-high number of applications.
Despite wanting to increase enrollment, EMU raised undergraduate application fees by 75 percent, bring the fee to $35.
"We welcome our alumni and their children back home to Michigan and to Eastern," EMU President Susan Martin said when introducing the new program at the regents meeting Tuesday.
Martin said EMU plans to strengthen its relationship with community colleges. Roughly 50 percent of students who enroll at EMU are transfers, according to EMU Provost Kim Schatzel.
"We need to be able to extend the work we've done in that area and to be innovative and a bit more creative," Schatzel said, adding that EMU wants to be "recognized as a university that embraces online."
Between 17 percent and 19 percent of EMU classes are currently offered online, Schatzel said.
The new programs were established to remedy decreasing enrollment. Schatzel said that prior to her joining the university this year, the admissions office didn't adequately respond to students and send acceptance letters in a timely manner. One of her goals as provost, she said in an earlier interview with AnnArbor.com, is to streamline the admissions process.
"One of the areas that I spent a lot of time with is taking a look at the application management system we have in place," she said Tuesday.
Said Regent Francine Parker: "We’re actually going to put things in place that people have been complaining about for many years."
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
Geoff Larcom
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 3:51 p.m.
The following comment, by "WhatsupwithMI" is buried in the replies section of one of the remarks here, but is worth sharing on the more visible general comment string here: I don't really know where to begin, as your comment touches upon so much. -Universities are not like public high school. Students are responsible for their own actions. All universities have support structures in place for students who choose to use them, if they are having trouble. -You are comparing a Tier 3 institution, attended most frequently by individuals from working-class families (many of whom have no other family members who attended college, often poor preparation in terms of study skills, resources available at their high school, etc), with one of the highest-ranked Tier 1 institutions in the nation, and a completely different student population and concomitant study skills and preparation (as evidenced by threshold GPA requirements and other metrics). -You are comparing institutions with a 3-fold difference in annual tuition rate, and a student population who often has to maintain a source of income to pay from school, with a population who often does not need to do so. Many of the started-but-not-finished numbers also come from students who have for many reasons chose to start a education program at EMU, but transfer elsewhere once their GPA shows they can succeed despite poor high school performance.
Geoff Larcom
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 3:48 p.m.
Regarding tuition: For the past three years, Eastern's tuition and fee increases have been 3.8 percent, 0 percent and 3.65 percent. Including this year's 3.95 percent, Eastern's four-year increase is only 2.86 percent, or just $32 more per credit hour than four years ago. With the approved increase for fiscal year 2012-13, it is expected that Eastern will remain Michigan's leader in tuition restraint, with - by far - the smallest increase over the four-year period of any of Michigan's 15 public universities. Eastern has maintained this level of affordability during the most significant shift in state funding for higher education in Michigan's history, which included last year's reduction of 15 percent. Note: Geoff Larcom is a director of media relations at EMU.
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 1:18 p.m.
And in the meantime they announced tuition hikes of just under 4% just on this mornings news.
GL
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 3:14 a.m.
I'm sure hundreds and hundreds of alumni from across the country are just dying to send their son or daughter out-of-state to attend EMU. Not too desperate on the part of EMU.
whatsupwithMI
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 1:21 a.m.
Reporter and/or Editor tries to generate an unbiased, facts-only headline, will have to redeem themselves in later attempt.
Goodneighbor
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 12:28 a.m.
Please clarify this issue: "Alumni may also partake in the program." (paragraph two above) By the information provided here, if an out-of-state student attends EMU for, ..oh, say, a year, leaves the school (thus becoming an alum), and moves out of Michigan he or she now may return and receive in-state tuition rates. Is that correct? Thanks.
Goodneighbor
Thu, Jun 21, 2012 : 1:14 a.m.
[ ...a reply to the "reply", :-)! ] With all due respect..., an "alum" designates a former student who may or may not have graduated from the given institution, and that is, in fact, why I was questioning the issues that are raised in the article. (...let me get out the dictionary, :-)... [I'm surprised that you did not, :-) ...] ! ) From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: alum·nus noun \?-?l?m-n?s\ plural alum·ni\-?n?\ Definition of ALUMNUS 1: a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university
Holly Smith
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.
An "alum" is a person who has graduated from an institution, not just attended and then dropped out/left before graduating.
Jay Thomas
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 10:38 p.m.
The goal of every university these days seems to be to get as big as possible. More professors, more students, more buildings... more. Now, EMU fails to graduate the majority of students attending there. Shouldn't that be the priority?
whatsupwithMI
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 10:05 a.m.
I don't really know where to begin, as your comment touches upon so much. -Universities are not like public high school. Students are responsible for their own actions. All universities have support structures in place for students who choose to use them, if they are having trouble. -You are comparing a Tier 3 institution, attended most frequently by individuals from working-class families (many of whom have no other family members who attended college, often poor preparation in terms of study skills, resources available at their high school, etc), with one of the highest-ranked Tier 1 institutions in the nation, and a completely different student population and concomitant study skills and preparation (as evidenced by threshold GPA requirements and other metrics). -You are comparing institutions with a 3-fold difference in annual tuition rate, and a student population who often has to maintain a source of income to pay from school, with a population who often does not need to do so. Many of the started-but-not-finished numbers also come from students who have for many reasons chose to start a education program at EMU, but transfer elsewhere once their GPA shows they can succeed despite poor high school performance. There are many numbers to work with here, if Mr Larcom feels like it they can be shared from someone authoritative.
Jay Thomas
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 5:13 a.m.
My point is that EMU is a FAILING SCHOOL where most of the students don't graduate (unlike U of M where most do). Before you seek to boost enrollment (which this policy change will do) you should do a better job seeing the students you have through to graduation. All they seem to want is more bodies!!
whatsupwithMI
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 1:23 a.m.
There are diploma-mills if you just want to shove people through a degree program without any pretense at rigor. What's your point?
TheGerman
Wed, Jun 20, 2012 : 12:33 a.m.
Nope. Paying their coaches top dollar is more important than education.
Geoff Larcom
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 9:01 p.m.
It's important to note that prior to this past year's basically flat enrollment, student numbers at Eastern Michigan University had increased by more than 7 percent in the previous two years, propelling the University to the fifth highest total number of students in its 161-year history. Note: Geoff Larcom, a former Ann Arbor News reporter and editor, is executive director of media relations at EMU.
Elaine F. Owsley
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 8:52 p.m.
Iowa State granted in-state status to military veterans, maybe they still do. Sometimes you just have to go half-way. I don't agree that people who aren't interested in college would sign up in big numbers. For many, just the chance they could afford a college education would be enough. But then, my glass is usually half-full.
YpsiVeteran
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 8:20 p.m.
Apparently, college degrees aren't enough to help these people figure out that raising tuition and fees isn't going to help boost enrollment. It would seem that offering a better value for the tuition dollar might be an idea worth investigating, at which point people would make it a point to find you, instead of you having to beat the bushes and spend lots of money on slick advertising campaigns to lure them to your product...er...university.
Rob
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 7:36 p.m.
The common app will increase the number of applications from students who are not serious about EMU. The current application is not onerous. Any reasonably intelligent person could fill it out in fifteen minutes. If this change is made, it will result in EMU employees spending their time processing hundreds (if not thousands) of additional applications from students who aren't serious about the school.
Bill
Tue, Jun 19, 2012 : 6:49 p.m.
The idea of offering in-state tuition to alumni is an excellent idea and one that will hopefully result in increasing overall student enrollment. With the high cost of education today, I believe some alumni will seriously consider this program. The new program may also help to promote alumni investment in EMU.