Biola Spring 2013 Enrollment Report | Created by Jeff Koch/THE CHIMES
Biola’s undergraduate enrollment numbers have reached a plateau, and continuing graduate enrollment is on the decline. The undergraduate headcount has only increased by 0.8 percent compared to spring 2012’s headcount, according to the Spring 2013 Enrollment report, which provides a numbers overview for each department and program. The report also shows that graduate enrollment has decreased by 1.4 percent.
However, enrollment plateauing may not be negative, according to Andre Stephens, senior director of undergraduate admissions.
“There’s a plan for controlled, or stable, growth. [Plateauing] might be, in some ways, a good thing,” Stephens said.
The university’s target undergraduate enrollment increase per year is 1-1.5 percent, according to Stephens. Although the actual enrollment numbers are only increasing slightly, the interest in Biola is growing at a faster pace.
“In just two or three years, we’ve had 600 more students applying to Biola than three years ago,” Stephens said.
Graduate admissions respond to decrease
Although the undergraduate admissions department is comfortable with their numbers, graduate admissions is having a different response to their numbers change. However, the number of new students is not the issue.
Enrollment for new graduate students has actually gone up, but the number of continuing students is what is on the decline, according to Roy Allinson, senior director of graduate admissions. The reason for the decline is due to the economy, Allinson speculated.
“It’s kind of worrisome … more students are taking less units. So that’s a concern,” Allinson said.
Plans for solution
Both undergraduate and graduate admissions are strategizing to achieve their desired numbers. Although undergraduate admissions is where they would like to be, they are working to stay there through various means. Some of the more traditional methods include high school college fairs, social media and student callers. A new strategy that the undergraduate department has implemented is virtual college fairs, which allow them to reach students that ordinarily are not reached through other methods, according to Andre Stephens.
In an attempt to raise enrollment numbers, graduate admissions is focusing on online and modular programs to provide students with more flexible options. They are also aggressively recruiting for the various schools, though each school uses different means of recruiting. For example, the apologetics department uses conferences to attract students interested in apologetics. Graduate recruiting season begins in the summer, and the admissions department has a positive expectation for the fall semester, according to Allinson.
