Using smartphones and livestreaming, colleges and universities in Rhode Island have been able to bypass the COVID-19 pandemic to connect with prospective students, showing them around the campus, introducing them to key faculty members.
But they can’t replicate the smell of waffles in the dining hall or allow students to experience the rustling of autumn leaves on campus.
Virtual strategies have limitations. And across Rhode Island, many universities are pulling out the stops to recruit a robust first-year class in 2021.
The timing is critical. Application deadlines at many colleges have already passed, and students need to make a choice by May 1. If the pandemic continues to prevent schools from offering in-person tours and events on campus this spring, getting those student commitments is all the harder.
So far, several colleges and universities say they are keeping pace with, if not exceeding, the number of applications received in 2020. Transforming those interested students into accepted students will happen in the months ahead.
At Providence College, the administration hopes to enroll 1,075 students in the fall, said Raul Fonts, associate vice president and dean of admission and financial aid. As of the Jan. 15 deadline, 11,004 applications were received, up 2% from the number in 2020.
‘It was the first time in my career I’ve not been to a high school in person.’
RAUL FONTS, Providence College dean of admission
Getting that increased number required a lot of work. Like most universities, Providence College had to abandon its traditional approaches, the student-guided tours of its campus and buildings and the large in-person events that drew together students and parents.
Instead, the university is now 99% virtual in its appeals and marketing, Fonts said. This includes virtual campus tours, information sessions, tours of residence halls and outreach to high school juniors just beginning to weigh their options.
His staff of 17 typically fans out across the country.
“That was one of the biggest losses, certainly in my career,” he said. “It was the first time in my career I’ve not been to a high school in person.”
The college tried initially to allow campus visits, in small numbers, with just two families assigned to a student guide. But the spike in transmission of the coronavirus forced the school to go virtual.
Campus tours play a powerful role in influencing student choices of colleges, particularly at smaller schools such as PC. Fonts said he hopes that the college will be able to reintroduce campus visits this spring.
Top-tier universities are not facing the same challenge in recruitment during the pandemic.
“The schools with the great brands, they’re going to continue to enroll their classes,” Fonts said. “The Ivy Leagues, the Boston Colleges, the Georgetowns, the Notre Dames, they don’t have to worry. But once you get to our level … it’s so important we be able to tell our story, tell them why we’re unique.”
Indeed, even though Brown University has not held in-person campus tours during the pandemic, undergraduate applications to the Ivy League school are up 25% over last year. A university spokesman said the increase is likely attributable to the uncertainty created by the coronavirus crisis.
Akhil Gupta, vice president of enrollment management at Johnson & Wales University, said the university has hosted smaller in-person tours, and there have been some cancellations.
Because of the limitations, the university has created an “explore from home” experience, including self-guided tours of the campus and virtual college nights, in which prospective students can talk with professors.
The university hopes to gain a 10% to 20% increase in enrollment from last fall to fall 2021.
At the University of Rhode Island, administrators shifted marketing and recruitment strategies to make better use of the technologies that could reach students and their families.
Beyond that, the university offered students more direct assistance in the application process, said Dean Libutti, vice provost for enrollment management. For example, it worked with students, guidance counselors and parents to provide workshops on filling out the college application, on how to write an entrance essay and how to apply for financial aid.
“Students still need to learn about universities,” Libutti said. “First-generation students need to learn about applying to college. Parents need help and support.”
URI has taken note that international applications are rising. The university also has seen a slight uptick in students seeking to transfer to URI.
For the incoming class in fall 2021, the goal is to enroll 3,250 students. The university had received about 22,000 applications as of Jan. 20.
The pandemic has forced creative decisions. In some cases, the admissions team is employing old-school approaches, running TV ads in local markets and sending out mailers. “We’ve actually doubled our mailed pieces,” Libutti said.
Other approaches align with how Generation Z and their parents communicate. Students already enrolled at URI are available to text with prospective students. And the university established a Facebook site for parents.
Virtual events have included interactive sessions for international students, for students with military backgrounds and live tours of the campus led by a student using a streaming platform.
“What makes URI so special is the people,” said Erin Earle, the university’s director of campus visit experience. “I can connect them to our amazing faculty. I can connect them with our students.”
The one thing she hasn’t been able to figure out: “How to get people to taste our amazing food,” Earle said.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
