This past academic year Geneseo did not meet its enrollment goals. This was communicated to the campus community in an email sent by the Vice President of Enrollment, Costas Solomou, on Sept. 30.
The email discussed the class of 2023’s enrollment numbers and how the enrollment office missed their enrollment target because “[the Enrollment office] anticipated more students choosing Geneseo, but the reality is that the competition for a declining market share of students in New York State is fierce.” The email also asserts that the Enrollment office made a “deliberate choice” to focus on quality to ensure an “academically excellent class.”
While the college may not have hit their target, Solomou said he believes that it is important for Geneseo to uphold its reputation.
“I started working here in mid-August, so the 2023 class was already in place,” Solomou said. “I’ve had an opportunity to look at the data. The decisions that were made were the right decisions in terms of the attributes and qualities we are looking for in our student body. Our goal is to find the right students that fit who we are as an institution.”
Director of Admissions Kim Harvey oversees the recruitment efforts at Geneseo. Harvey said that, through what she calls “funnel surveys,” the office found three main reasons why students who have been admitted to Geneseo ultimately chose not to attend.
“The common themes that pop up in terms of students that were admitted but chose to go elsewhere were financial reasons,” Harvey said. “[Responses indicate] a lack of scholarship funds, distance and our program offerings.”
Financial reasons, such as scholarship funds, are important in the college decision process. While some prospective students may qualify for the Excelsior scholarship, according to Solomou, it does not cover room and board.
“The significant cost, as you know is not in tuition, but it’s in room and board,” Solomou said. “The Excelsior Scholarship exclusively pays for tuition.”
Catherine Adams, an associate professor in the history department, utilized information she learned from the admissions office when speaking with The Lamron. Adams said that often the Excelsior program can cause students to pick schools closer to home.
“Students from New York City who qualify for the Excelsior scholarship, for example, can go to Hunter and their college funds are minor,” Adams said. “This situation requires them to pay only fees, which is an advantage to coming here for higher education and paying for housing.”
Adams said the challenge is recruiting students from downstate who would rather live closer to home than come to Geneseo.
“Particularly recruiting students from downstate has been an issue because many prefer a location near home,” Adams said. “It makes more financial sense for them, even though Geneseo tries to fill in the gap.”
The Office of Admissions hired another full-time faculty member to accommodate for the unequal population distribution throughout New York State who will focus on the concentrated downstate areas.
“This year we have added a second full-time recruiter in New York City,” Harvey said. “She is a class of 2019 graduate and is an added addition in terms of promoting and recruiting students.”
The college is looking to add new majors, focus on transfer students and encourage current Geneseo students to help promote the college.
“We are having conversations around developing a strategic enrollment plan,” Harvey said. “Things that will be part of that plan [include] taking a look at if there are opportunities to introduce new academic majors that attract more students to choosing us.”
Solomou said that they have assembled a new group that primarily looks at transfer students. “This group includes various campus stakeholders to really look at this problem,” Solomou said. “We have transfer students applying to Geneseo at a very high rate, but when they are accepted, they realize the barriers