Tuesday 5/15:
Deletes: None
Adds:
Central Methodist University MO
Public schools with OOS COA per 2016 CDS (the most recent in IPEDS, sorry!) under $30k:
Peru State College NE 18,561
Bemidji State University MN 20,208
Southwest Minnesota State University MN 20,389
Harris-Stowe State University MO 21,367
Youngstown State University OH 22,282
Lake Superior State University MI 23,161
University of South Dakota SD 24,608
Edinboro University PA 25,409
University of Minnesota Morris MN 25,460
Eastern Illinois University IL 25,503
Southeast Missouri State University MO 25,867
College of Coastal Georgia GA 26,628
Elizabeth City State University NC 26,701
University of Wisconsin - Superior WI 26,831
Truman State University MO 27,298
Langston University OK 27,523
Missouri State University MO 27,532
SUNY Canton NY 27,651
Northern Michigan University MI 27,666
Northampton Community College PA 27,926
SUNY Delhi NY 28,160
Shawnee State University OH 28,791
Kentucky State University KY 28,962
Weber State University UT 29,001
Westfield State University MA 29,191
Fitchburg State University MA 29,509
Ferris State University MI 29,734
South Dakota State University SD 29,758
University of Maine at Farmington ME 29,819
Wednesday 5/16
Deletes: None
Adds:
Dominican University IL
Union University TN
Thursday 5/17: No changes.
I haven’t really paid much attention after the initial release in the past, but a couple of the schools my D19 is considering are on this year’s iteration, so now I’m curious: How long does this list generally stick around and get regularly updated?
Each member school can access (add / edit / delete) their own listing. No one knows the frequency with which any school does so. NACAC takes the list offline at some point, presumably approximating a fall semester start date. NACAC does not maintain any publicly available archived version that I’m aware of.
The thread discussing the 2016 list was closed at the end of June but from what they were saying it appears the list was still active at that point.
Last year’s list didn’t have much discussion past May so I can’t tell.
Out of town Friday; these are the changes from Thursday 5/17 to Monday 5/21:
Deletes:
Univeristy of Iowa IA (sic). They had no financial aid available at any point.
Adds, all with freshman openings, financial aid, and housing:
Gannon University PA
Pacific Northwest College of Art OR
Purdue University Fort Wayne IN
Rivier University NH
Roosevelt University IL
Savannah College of Art and Design GA
University of the Arts PA
Utica College NY
Wilkes Honors College of FAU FL
Tuesday 5/22: No changes.
Wednesday 5/23: No changes.
Thank you for keeping this up, @allyphoe It’s interesting watching the changes.
Thursday 5/24
Deletes: None
Adds with freshman openings, financial aid, and housing:
Central Connecticut State University CT
Friday 5/25: No changes.
I’m wondering what leads to a school adding themselves. It’s presumably different in each case, but I mean in general—is it delays in information filtering through the system, or early summer melt, or rerunning the financial numbers after all the information’s in, or…?
There are all sorts of schools on the list, of course, but there are a lot of regional schools, public and private, trying to build that freshman class even past May 1. For some schools, it’s a challenge, while for others it’s a real struggle. Every year, there are some truly solid schools (LACs like Beloit or even Wooster once), but for smaller regional schools (NOTE: I would not consider a school like Beloit regional; it is a national liberal arts college), things can be really tough.
There was a dip in the birth rate 18-20 years ago, and this is partly why nationwide there are fewer HS students applying to colleges (but applications are up because students are applying to many more schools). The midwest and south were especially hard hit. Grinnell, for instance, which has no problem building a freshman class, saw its acceptance rate increase from 20% to 29% because, well, that’s what it took! True, that might be just a one-year aberration, but lots of midwest schools are seeing the same trends: fewer students but more applications, as well as more competition to get students to commit. Grinnell will always be fine. So will Beloit and Earlham and Ohio Wesleyan, but these latter three schools have to work harder to do so and are often in the position where after May 1 they still have slots to fill (and slots that will disappear thanks to summer melt).
For smaller schools (LACs, small regional privates, small(ish) regional publics), every seat, ideally, in the freshman class needs to be filled. To head into the fall with, say, fifteen fewer students means a significant loss. Many of the schools on the list (especially the private ones) are tuition and donation dependent. If a college expects an average of 24K per family (per year to attend), multiply that times ten or fifteen. That’s a real loss for a small institution.
Of course, I’m sure there are less dramatic reasons why schools end up on these lists, and others can comment on those.
I think the question had to do with what, if anything, influenced the timing of a given school’s addition to the list. Why did Central Connecticut add themselves yesterday, versus when the list first opened, versus mid-June?
My guess is that it’s bureaucratic vagary, without deeper meaning. Someone got around to it, is all.
Tuesday, 5/29: no changes
I’m guessing (I’m no admittance professional so this is only a guess) that there are a couple of points when a college could potentially add themselves to the list.
The earliest ones would be the ones who know that their waitlist and transfer pool will not fill the freshman class. Those are the ones who post on the list May 2nd. Then after schools have notified waitlists and accepted transfers and had some time to see if the WL will come through, I’d expect a second wave from the people who had lower than expected yield in the second harvest.
Friday 6/1:
Adds with freshman openings, financial aid, and housing:
Alfred University NY
Clarion University of Pennsylvania PA
Concordia University - Texas TX
Maine College of Art ME
Molloy College NY
The College of Idaho ID
Deletes: none
Adds in June!!
I’m honestly surprised.