The Latest Update on Fall Enrollment

Dear Colleagues,

We appreciate your ongoing support of our enrollment efforts, which are critically important to every area of the University.

Please take a look at the spreadsheet for your program data for the latest enrollment information, as of this week, to understand how you can focus efforts to optimize our recruitment and yield efforts.

Undergraduate Enrollment

• Undergraduate Admissions has released all decisions for first-time-in-college students who met the regular decision deadline. We will continue to see applications but not in significant numbers. The National Intent to Enroll Deadline is May 1, so efforts are focused on yield and continued recruitment.
• Undergraduate Admissions continues to process and review transfer applications. Applications and decisions for new transfers ramp up in spring and early summer.
• You are encouraged to focus outreach by:
  • Sending welcome messages to recently admitted students who have not submitted an intent to enroll (IE), highlighting department/college opportunities and encouraging the IE by May 1.
  • Sending congratulations messages to students who have submitted their intent to enroll.

Graduate Enrollment

• Three significant efforts drive our work now: 1) admitting and funding new Ph.D. and master’s students prior to National Signing Day on April 15; 2) recruiting more applicants; and 3) connecting with admitted and continuing students to encourage them to enroll. You can help by:
  • Personalizing outreach (emails, texts, calls, advising sessions, admitted student info sessions) to new and continuing students in your programs, and
  • Reviewing completed applications and making timely recommendations on admission.

Tips to Remember

• Make timely decisions. If you are responsible for decisions in your department about graduate admissions or readmits, please ensure they are being made in a timely fashion. Additionally, if you can increase your enrollment capacity in graduate programs, say from 15 to 18 students, please consider doing so if you have qualified applicants. Reaching out to transfer students may establish a connection that will affect a student’s decision, particularly in light of the longer processing of these applications. If students are exploring multiple options, we want to be their first choice!

To support undergraduate students

• Look at space to expand. Review class offerings and determine where there is space to expand capacity in high-demand courses – either by increasing enrolled credit hours or decreasing time to degree. I encourage you to look beyond high-enrollment major courses.
• Encourage students to take action. Share messages in your classes to encourage students to review their class schedules for the upcoming term, to visit their advisor for support and register for summer/fall classes as soon as they are able. You could do this outreach in person, via email or via Canvas.

To support graduate students

• Understand the data. Review weekly application reports with 2022 comparison data, determine challenges and opportunities to enroll the summer/fall 2023 class, and make a plan to recruit and enroll students.
• Mark important dates. Please note this date for fall graduate enrollment.
  • April 15
    • Prior to this date, reach out to admitted students offered funding to encourage them to submit their Enrollment Intention Form and accept their funding offers, in accordance with the National Signing Day (April 15th Resolution)
    • The application system opens for 2024 terms. Prospective students can apply for 2024 spring, summer and fall semesters.
• Upcoming events to support graduate enrollment:
  • April 14 – Virtual Office Hours on Graduate Student Recruitment
    • Show and Tell: Host a Recruitment and/or Admitted Student Session using the Slate Event Management System
  • April 17 – Funding Q&A Session for Faculty and Staff
  • April 19 – Graduate Admissions Information Session with Graduate Programs
  • April 21 – Virtual GPD Training: Graduate Recruitment – Feeding the Recruitment Funnel
• Know your graduate resources. Bookmark GPDNet for the latest news, data, reports, deadline information, events and helpful resources for graduate education at UNC Charlotte. Subscribe to the weekly New on GPDNet email by sending a note to grad-comm@uncc.edu.