Professors now pitch students to save campuses

Skidmore College is asking professors to help sell the school to prospective students. The institution in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has instructed faculty members to open their laboratories and classrooms to visitors and admitted applicants. This move shifts the recruitment burden away from the admissions office and places it with the academic staff.

Colleges are making these changes because the supply of traditional-age freshmen is shrinking. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education projects a 13 percent decline in the national freshman population over the next 15 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the percentage of high school graduates attending college dropped from 70 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2024.

Enrollment data shows the pressure is real. A survey by the ratings platform Niche found that two-thirds of admissions leaders struggled to meet their enrollment targets in at least one of the last two years. Ninety-seven percent of those leaders expect competition to increase. To counter this, some universities are waiving application fees and offering financial incentives for campus visits. Public universities in 17 states now admit students who have not formally applied, according to the Education Commission of the States.

The acceptance process is becoming more accessible for most applicants. The National Association for College Admission Counseling reports that nearly 80 percent of first-year applicants to public colleges are accepted, up from 68 percent a decade ago. Acceptance rates at private institutions have risen from 65 percent to 70 percent over the same period. Only 33 colleges in the country admit 10 percent or fewer of their undergraduate applicants.

Despite higher acceptance rates, colleges face a declining yield. Federal data shows that the average yield at public institutions fell from 32 percent in 2014 to 22 percent in 2024. At private, nonprofit colleges, the yield dropped from 24 percent to 18 percent during that same period. This means institutions must admit roughly five times as many students as they can accommodate to fill their classes.

Skidmore President Marc Conner stated that the school depends on students visiting campus and choosing to enroll. The college has 2,719 students and saw its acceptance rate drop from 37 percent to 24 percent over the last decade. More than three-quarters of admitted students who visited last year requested to sit in on a class or meet with a faculty member. These interactions resulted in 300 personal visits.

Becca Johnson, chair of the psychology department at Skidmore, said she hears from families that meeting faculty members makes a difference. One mother told Johnson that a faculty contact was the first communication from outside the admissions office. That interaction helped the student make a decision about where to attend.