it's something that other institutions have done for years.
Ohio University is using a waitlist when reviewing applicants this year, and, as of Friday (Feb. 6), has wait-listed 346 applicants according to the recruitment and retention report given to Faculty Senate on Monday.
We made (the decision to use a waitlist) last summer at the beginning of the recruitment season. said Kathy Krendl, executive vice president and provost. This is something that's standard practice in other places it's something that other institutions have done for years.
Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management, said OU has used a waitlist in the past, and as recently as four years ago.
In order to meet our Vision Ohio enrollment goals we thought that it was best to re-instate the waitlist this year. Cornell said.
The five-year strategic plan includes goals to increase the number of Appalachian, multicultural and first generation students.
OU does not have minimum requirements for admission; rather, it looks at each application holistically factoring grade point average, SAT and ACT scores, class rank, strength of curriculum and whether academic performance improved throughout high school.
(The waitlist) is for cases when some particular admission criteria isn't as strong Becky Watts, chief of staff for President Roderick McDavis said. But they are students that we think could be successful.
Krendl said that OU is using the list because the university is concerned it will have trouble hitting its target for freshman enrollment because fewer people are living in Ohio and college-bound students face economic struggles.
We think it might be a somewhat difficult year
Krendl said. We wouldn't go to (the waitlist) unless we think we're having difficulty reaching our target numbers.
Krendl said that because Ohio's population is decreasing, it has become harder to predict how many applications will be received. She added that as more potential students have trouble paying for college, housing deposits are no longer an accurate measure of yield.
We're seeing more applicants send in the housing deposit
come to pre-college and then not enroll
Krendl said.
OU has received 13,075 applications for admissions as of Feb. 6, 96 fewer than that time last year.
Last year, OU received 14,046 applications, the largest number of applications in school history. OU's goal for freshman enrollment in 2009 is to maintain the current freshman class size.
This year we are going to receive one of the highest numbers of applicants of all time
Cornell said. I think we will have the waitlist for the foreseeable future.
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Wesley Lowery
