Going into the 2019 spring semester, the Northern Vermont University Admissions department has seen a large increase in enrollment for the upcoming Fall 2019 semester despite very daunting challenges in a very competitive recruitment environment.

As of Jan. 1, 2019, NVU has received 2,221 applications, compared to last year’s 1,446 applications, marking a 54 percent increase. 

The department also notes a 73 percent rise in acceptances and a 36 percent rise in deposits thus far.
“Right now we’re actually out performing any historical reference in the last three years,” says Michael Fox, NVU Dean of Enrollment and Marketing.

While it may be hard to determine any single cause for what by any measure is an impressive increase in admissions, those increases have come following Fox’s arrival at NVU last year and his subsequent reorganization of two separate admissions offices into one. This year has also seen a myriad of new, aggressive marketing strategies to increase interest.

“From a marketing standpoint, we’ve been very active, both in emails and outreach. Each counselor actually has a required goal that they’re supposed to be hitting each week, in terms of outreach to prospective students,” says Fox. “We’re very much focused on engaging with those students, telling them a little bit about NVU and then matching up their interests to our knowledge in terms of what we offer.”

But the initiative doesn’t stop there. Fox encourages both Lyndon and Johnson departments to work interdependently when recruiting incoming students and to tell students about program opportunities on both campuses. He believes that because each campus offers different experiences, it’s important to really talk to a student and see where their interests lie.
“We’re actively engaging with students and telling them a little bit about what makes NVU great and we’re offering both campuses up as options for them, especially where programs overlap on both campuses,” he says.

However, despite these positive, upward trends, Fox says that there’s still work to be done. He says that these figures go beyond just applications and acceptance rates, and extend to walking tours and accepted student days. He wants to remind students, faculty, and staff to do their best to continue to foster a warm and welcoming community.

“We still have visitors coming to campus every day,” he says. “We have three big events on each campus called accepted student days that are very important and [we need] participation from faculty, from staff, and even from students that help us…” he says. “Even when new students are here that the current students show them why NVU is such a great place to be… If you find that you can engage with one of the students on prospective student dates, it helps. It really kind of does show that we’re a community and that it’s important that we take pride in the institution, both Johnson and Lyndon.”