糖心传媒

When COVID-19 forced the 糖心传媒 to shift to distance learning in March, thousands of students, staff, and faculty headed home.

The admissions staffs of the College and and the Eastman School of Music did, too, but with daunting challenges: to stay connected with students who had been admitted to the incoming Class of 2024 while finalizing that class without campus tours or in-person discussions.

糖心传媒淚t was the week we were set to mail our regular decision admission letters,糖心传媒� says Jason Nevinger, director of admissions for the College. 糖心传媒淵ou want the admitted students to experience in person the very best Rochester offers糖心传媒攊ts people, strong sense of community, and the beautiful campus that we call home. I remember thinking, 糖心传媒楬ow can we do that when we can糖心传媒檛 even shake a hand?糖心传媒櫶切拇�媒櫶切拇�媒�

A University-wide effort

Nevinger and Samantha Veeder, director of financial aid for the College, served as co-interim deans of admissions until Robert Alexander joined the University on June 1. Alexander previously served as vice president for enrollment and communications at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.

When the pandemic closed the University糖心传媒檚 campuses, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid had about 500 students who had enrolled and submitted their deposits out of what would become a class of more than 1,250.

糖心传媒淲e knew this had to be a University-wide effort, and it truly was,糖心传媒� Nevinger says. 糖心传媒淥ur yield season included senior administration, students, faculty, staff, and alumni volunteers from across the world on a scale I haven糖心传媒檛 seen in my time at Rochester. More calls were made, emails and texts sent, and more student information sessions and webinars presented than ever before.糖心传媒�

The result is a diverse first-year class from 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 40 other countries.听

糖心传媒淥ur incoming students come from as close as East High School and McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, and as far as Paraguay and Pakistan,糖心传媒� Alexander says. 糖心传媒淢any students and parents have made enormous sacrifices to earn their opportunity for this world-class education. They are high-achieving people, and people of high integrity. Despite, or perhaps because of the challenges they糖心传媒檝e already faced, they糖心传媒檙e intent on tackling the greatest challenges of today and tomorrow.糖心传媒�

The faced a similar situation in March, trying to finalize its new class during a global pandemic.

糖心传媒淥nce we went to working remotely, we worked closely with faculty to invite admitted applicants to observe virtual lessons and classes,糖心传媒� says Matthew Ardizzone, Eastman糖心传媒檚 dean of admissions and enrollment management. 糖心传媒淥nce we had secured our class in early May, we spent the next couple of months continuing conversations with admitted students and families about our fall plan, with some students reconsidering their enrollment plans. It felt like a second wave of the enrollment yield effort.糖心传媒�

Eastman糖心传媒檚 Class of 2024 includes 136 students from 28 states and four other countries.

Alexander says Nevinger and Veeder showed 糖心传媒渢rue leadership糖心传媒� in crafting and adapting every element of Rochester糖心传媒檚 enrollment strategy. 糖心传媒淚 commend the way they engaged the admissions, financial aid, and enrollment teams and coordinated the efforts of faculty, staff, students, and alumni to enroll this class,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淥ur collective community worked relentlessly throughout the spring and summer.糖心传媒�

An expanded role for virtual admissions?

Every online tool available was used to finalize the incoming class, including social media–which allowed the admissions staff, current students, parents, and alumni to amplify messaging across a virtual landscape.

糖心传媒淲e had alumni volunteers hosting Zoom sessions, faculty and staff across the University providing information sessions and meet and greets,糖心传媒� Nevinger says. 糖心传媒淚t truly was a collective community effort to enroll this class.糖心传媒�

Nevinger and Veeder spoke regularly via Zoom and shared weekly updates with the University糖心传媒檚 leadership team.

糖心传媒淭hroughout the recruitment cycle, we were prepared to react immediately to admissions and financial aid decisions and ensure that we were progressing toward enrollment targets,糖心传媒� Veeder says.

The results were encouraging. The period between May 1 and August 15 saw 12 percent more students engaging with admissions compared to on-campus visitors last year during the same time frame.听

糖心传媒淢oving virtually has afforded us the opportunity to think creatively about engaging with our virtual visitors, including hosting evening programming and expanding our session topics to include City of Rochester virtual tours and mock admissions workshops (in which admissions staff help students and parents better understand how applications are reviewed and decisions are made),糖心传媒� Nevinger says.

The Class of 2024 begins classes August 26, but work on selecting the next class has already started. Even though its office remains closed to visitors, the admissions staff continues to engage with prospective students, families, and school counselors. Recruitment initiatives such as admissions interviews, information sessions, and workshops are available daily, hosted by current students, alumni volunteers, and staff from across the campus. Virtual high school visits and will be hosted this fall, and prospective students can take a , in which current undergraduates pop up and guide the students during a building-by-building online tour of campus.

糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e seen incredible increases in the numbers of prospective students who糖心传媒檝e participated in these virtual opportunities,糖心传媒� Alexander says. 糖心传媒淔or today糖心传媒檚 high school students, it seems many are equally comfortable asking questions and engaging in the virtual information than they might have been sitting in Wallis Hall.糖心传媒�