Bluffton University has experienced a growth in the number of attending students for the second consecutive year. Total full-time enrollment is 726, up 25 from a year ago.
Vice President for Advancement and Enrollment Management Robin Bowlus attributes the growth to the retention for this year’s sophomores from last fall, the number of new first-year students and the increase in graduate students who are a part of the master’s in business administration program.
Vice President of Enrollment Robin Bowlus. Photo courtesy Bluffton University Public Relations
Bowlus said the sophomore class had a retention rate of 72% from last year. She said that is a good percentage to be at, and about where the university is normally at, but they weren’t too sure what to expect with uncertainties caused by COVID-19. Enrollment retention is the technical term for students coming back to the same institution after their first year. Bluffton University measures its retention data from fall semester to the next fall semester.
Bowlus said the university was just five students short of meeting its enrollment goal for the class of 2024. She said they hoped to have 200, but ended up with 195.
According to a news release from the university, 31% of the first-year class are an American minority, which is a 7% increase from last year. Transfer and adult and graduate enrollment also increased.
Bluffton experienced a higher amount of summer “melting” than normal from prospective students, Bowlus said. “Melting” is when students complete their deposit and then decide to not follow through with their enrollment for a variety of reasons. Bowlus attributed this to COVID-related uncertainty about college throughout June and July.
Bowlus said students here are able to experience college and still get experience to the fullest since students are able to be on campus and have in-person classes. Because of this, she said there have been some students who decided to not attend after depositing and are now inquiring about attending in January.
“Yes, you’re wearing a mask,” said Bowlus. “Yes, you’re socially distanced in classrooms. Yes, there are other inconveniences. But, for the most part, we are doing college and [students who ultimately decided to not attend in the fall] see that now and they want to come back in January.”
Bowlus said in recent years, there has been a push to recruit more international students to help with enrollment. She said with COVID-19, that option has been taken away. She said it is unfortunate since the international students bring a lot to the campus community. This year, two new international students from Japan and Thailand enrolled.
Bowlus said the higher enrollment helps the campus and everyone on it thrive because they are able to expand their connections and make their networks with others so diverse. She said this helps prepare students for life and vocation.
“Our job is just to find the right students that have a right fit for Bluffton,” said Bowlus. “There’s a lot of varieties of students that have a right fit at Bluffton, which is so fantastic.”
Lead photo courtesy Bluffton University Public Relations
