Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 26, 1995 TAG: 9506260161
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
After Virginia Tech disclosed a $12.2 million budget shortfall in April, administrators faced a challenge: boost out-of-state admission, and revenue, by 400 students.
Though the numbers won't be certain until school starts in August, it looks as if Tech has met that goal through three initiatives, including one that may help to nearly double the number of students entering Tech's venerable Corps of Cadets.
"I have never seen a campus come together and work as hard at recruiting," said Charles Dudley, director of Tech's honors program.
If that hard work pays off in the form of a larger out-of-state contingent to its freshman class, Tech may be able to breathe somewhat easier in the budget year that begins July 1. A drop last year in out-of-state enrollment contributed to the money gap.
The higher tuition out-of-state students pay may provide the revenue needed to close the shortfall, said Dwight Shelton, the university's budget director. If it exceeds even that, then some money may be rolled back into academic programs, which already have accepted a 5 percent budget reduction for the 1995-96 fiscal year.
"What we have is a fall enrollment projection and we really won't know until those students show up," Shelton said. The numbers should be firm by the time Tech's board of visitors meets in August.
As of last week, 4,830 potential Hokies had accepted offers of admission out of the university's 11,600 offers, according to Jacqueline Nottingham, assistant director of admissions. That figure includes 1,360 out-of-state students, or 28 percent of the freshman class, slightly higher than the state-mandated 25 percent. Overall, the number of freshmen is 600 higher than the usual class size of 4,200.
But those are soft numbers. Even though would-be freshmen have mailed in a nonrefundable $300 room deposit, some still wait until the last minute to decide which school to attend. Tech sees lots of students, particularly those with the best test scores and other qualifications, who compile several scholarships in an effort to put together the best possible financial package, said Julie Sina, financial aid director.
Tech isn't alone in seeking the young scholars. "Everyone's competing for that same pool of students," she said.
To meet the challenge of 400 out-of-state students, Tech's staff used three strategies, all of which brought in students whose Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and other qualifications are above the freshman average. Those three programs include:
Pursuing 250 out-of-state students with the lure of one-time, $2,000 scholarships. To qualify, a student must have a minimum SAT score of 1,100, compared with the freshman class average of 1,074. The private Virginia Tech Foundation is paying for the $500,000 program. As of last week, this program had attracted 243 students, all of whom had already been offered admission. The incentive is a way of guaranteeing that they'll actually enroll in Blacksburg.
Seek 50 more out-of-state students for the university's honors program, again with the $2,000 incentive. Honors-eligible students needed to be in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and have a minimum SAT of 1,200, though the second standard soon will be revised upward to reflect a "recentering" of SAT scores nationally that occurred in January. Most of the 50 students took the SAT before the change.
Use the new Emerging Leader Scholarship Program to increase out-of-state numbers in the Corps of Cadets by at least 100. Winners of an emerging leaders scholarship qualify for a subsidy equal to the cost of room and board (about $3,100 this coming academic year) that's provided as long as the student remains in the Corps of Cadets. The money for the pilot program comes from Tech and the corps alumni association.
"This turned out to be an attractive program for all sides," said Col. Rock Roszak, head of the Air Force ROTC program at Tech. Unlike many of its competitors, Tech had no room-and-board subsidy for winners of an ROTC scholarship, which typically covers all or most of the cost of tuition, he said.
By making the subsidy available, Tech has boosted membership in the Corps of Cadets, added out-of-state students and done so with 100 students whose average SAT is 1,130. The number of Air Force ROTC scholarship winners alone more than tripled, from 19 last year to 60 so far this summer, he said.
Overall, the early figures show freshman enrollment in the Corps of Cadets has nearly doubled, from 126 last year to 244 this summer, said Nottingham of the admission's office.
"We're bringing in a little bit higher-caliber student to Virginia Tech, which then attracts more of the same level student or higher," Nottingham said. "Everybody always wants the best and the brightest."
by CNB