On Oct. 27, Biola announced a giveaway for prospective students on Instagram. Biola plans to provide the winner with a full four-year tuition scholarship and three runner-ups with two “Believe Key” Disneyland passes.

According to Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing and Communications Lee Wilhite, Biola created this giveaway to encourage more prospective students to apply to Biola. This giveaway marks Biola’s first incentive program, he explained.

INCENTIVE PROGRAMS 

According to Wilhite, the National Association of College Admission Counseling changed their code of ethics to allow private universities to offer incentive programs for prospective students. Due to decreasing enrollment affected by COVID-19, Biola’s admission team needed to find innovative ways to appeal to prospective students.

“The last two fall incoming undergraduate classes of students were lower than anticipated because of COVID-19, and we saw this new incentive program as a great way for prospective students to consider applying to Biola,” Wilhite said.

DECREASED ENROLLMENT 

In 2019, 6,113 undergraduate and graduate students attended Biola. In 2021, the numbers sharply declined to 5,555 students including graduate students.

According to Wilhite, the Board of Trustees approved funding from the endowment for several  university growth initiatives to incentivize prospective undergraduate students to apply and enroll. 

“[Biola] hopes to enroll a larger, more diverse student body, which will enhance the learning experience of all of our students, including those currently enrolled,” Wilhite said. “The purpose of this program is to attract and enroll more incoming students, to help them see the potential a Biola education could bring them and in so doing, help make up for declines in enrollment the last two years due to COVID-19.”