We continue to work extremely hard to ensure that we are attracting the best and the brightest new undergraduate students from across the state of Tennessee and the region. And when I get a chance to personally meet these prospective students, I am confident in telling them that if they come to MTSU, they will get the attention of faculty and staff that they will need to be successful in college.
In last fall’s newsletter, we celebrated that we had achieved a remarkable near 12% increase in our freshman class. It’s common with an increase like that to see the next year bring decreases in a return to the mean. I am delighted to report that we have been able to hold onto that 12% increase and even deliver a few more freshmen over the remarkable increase last year. A result like this doesn’t happen by sitting back and waiting for the students to come, or even by just doing what we have done in the past. Our recruitment team, MT One Stop, advising staff, academic department chairs, deans, and faculty have worked for a year to deliver these results. I am both pleased and proud.
We will not rest on these laurels. The enrollment management team, led by University Provost Mark Byrnes, has engaged EAB’s Enroll 360 program as a bold initiative designed to introduce MTSU to more students and increase our freshman enrollment in the coming years when the nation hits an expected enrollment cliff. Recruiting efforts will face immense challenges due to the decrease in the number of eligible high school graduates and the number of those graduates delaying or forgoing higher education.
The recruitment staff is already out in the high schools working with the incoming class for 2025. Our most fertile recruitment soil is right here in middle Tennessee. Our 12-stop True Blue Tour will begin at home on Sept. 11 in the Student Union Ballroom with the Rutherford County tour stop. We follow that event with a new feature on the tour, a student reception at the Nashville Zoo on Sept. 18. This is one of two Nashville tour stops this year as we increase our efforts to identify True Blue students close to home.
Another advancement in our recruitment events is the addition this academic year of an Admitted Student Day on Saturday, Feb. 22. At this event, admitted students will get a more thorough introduction to their academic college and major with a focus on understanding their academic program and class scheduling before they come to orientation.
And speaking of orientation, there are exciting developments in that area as well. I am pleased to announce that we are reimagining the orientation program, focusing on what students should learn before coming to campus to meet with academic advisors. A committee of faculty, administrators, instructional designers, and orientation staff led by Gina Poff will work through this fall semester to deliver an online first step of orientation in D2L, so that students learn both about the campus and about this important learning platform. We hope this will also be a “win” for instructors who will welcome students who are ready on Day 1 to use D2L.
In summary, because of our proactive efforts and ongoing strategic planning, I believe our future is bright and our enrollment will remain strong.
True Blue Tour and True Blue Preview
Sept. 4. Rutherford County College Night
Sept. 11 TBT @ MTSU
Sept. 18 TBT @ Nashville Zoo
Sept. 23 TBT @ Clarksville
Sept. 25 TBT @ Williamson County
Sept. 28 True Blue Preview
Oct. 1 TBT @ Johnson City
Oct. 2 TBT @ Knoxville
Oct. 17 TBT @ Huntsville
Oct. 21 @ Atlanta
Oct. 22 TBT @ Chattanooga
Oct. 28 TBT @ Memphis
Oct. 29 TBT @ Jackson
Nov. 2 True Blue Preview
Nov. 7 TBT @ Nashville
Feb. 8 True Blue Preview
March 22 True Blue Preview
