For U.S. colleges and universities, planning for first-year student fall enrollments has grown increasingly unpredictable as students have gradually increased the amount of applications they are submitting to campuses, a leading college admissions counseling association documents in its annual report.
In the report released today, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) unveiled 2009 admissions trend data compiled from the U.S. Department of Education and NACAC surveys of college and high school counselors. The report, “2009 State of College Admission” by Melissa E. Clinedinst and David A. Hawkins, states that as admissions officers employ more social media to attract students and online applications make it easier for students to submit college applications, institutions have witnessed a decline in the enrollment percentage, or yield, of admitted students.
“According to an analysis of data collected from colleges by the US Department of Education, the average acceptance rate at four-year colleges (excluding open admission institutions) has declined slightly from 71.3 percent in 2001 to 66.8 percent in 2007. During this same time frame, the average yield rate of four-year colleges also has declined from 49.1 percent to 45.2 percent, indicating that, on average, colleges are seeing a smaller proportion of accepted students ultimately enrolling in their institutions,” according to the report.
