The Towerlight, April 2, 2009

Thursday www. thetowerlight. com Published by Baltimore Student Media for the Towson University Community April 2, 2009 Hundreds turned out against to counter the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest at Towson High School on Monday. page 7 ThETouiErlighb.cnm View clips from Wednesday's SGA executive board debate Hundreds of applicants left on wait list Flattening growth, increased interest leave prospective students waiting NICK DiMARCO Senior Editor Designated as the growth insti¬ tution of the University System of Maryland, not even Towson can buck the national trend of college admission offices restructuring their respective models for accepting stu¬ dents. State budget reductions have forced Towson to temporarily cap its growth to 1 percent for the 2009-10. Meanwhile, applications have con¬ tinued to roll in at a record rate. "We’ve had to put many quali¬ fied, good students on our waiting list," director for admissions Louise Shulack said. She estimated that students on the waiting list go well into the hundreds. "They’re great students. We’d love to have them at Towson but we don’t have the space," she said. In response to a stagnant econom¬ ic environment, universities are tak¬ ing meticulous steps in examining that students will honor acceptance offers and how many students each institution can afford take on. Shulack said that Towson is in the "same situation" as hundreds of other colleges, where models based on history of acceptance are now obsolete. ‘We feel like we’re sitting as the bridge for the students who might’ve gone out of state or private schools and are now looking at in-state pub¬ lic universities as an option versus those students who are looking at the economy and now considering community colleges as an option," Shulack said. Complications have risen regarding Towson’s student intake. Although the University was slated to reach 25,000 students at the main campus by 2015, that prediction was moved a year back because of the struggling economy. We’re being conservative in our prediction so we don't over-enroll," Shulack said. According to the University Web See ENROLLMENT, page 11 Student Ambassador Melanie Gormley begins a campus tour of 25 high school students and parents at 10 a.m. Tuesday in front of the Enrollment Services Building. Campus tours run three times a day, beginning at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Marketing targets students online YouTube, social networking provides Univ. access to prospective applicants ASHLEY RABE News Editor Temporary flattening of growth for the 2009-10 academic year has not affected Towson’s continued efforts to appeal to prospective students. Instead, more interactive market¬ ing possibilities are being developed to encourage high school seniors to take a second look at TU. "We will continue work with Facebook and YouTube, and they will get more sophisticated in time," Ellen Stokes, associate vice president for University marketing said. We’re trying to anticipate where students want to get their information so we can be where they are." A simple search on YouTube can result in multiple "TU Cribs" videos put together by student ambassa¬ dors. The videos give an interactive tour of the West Village residence halls, Newell Hall, Towson Run Apartments and more. There are 90 student ambassadors who work with University Marketing to sell Towson and give tours to pro¬ spective students. According to Stokes, the student ambassadors use Facebook accounts as resources to answer questions from prospective students. The most common means of of identifying pro¬ spective students is buying names from College Board. Students recog¬ nize College Board as the way to sign up for the PSAT and SAT examina¬ tions. When stu¬ dents participate in these exams, College Board sells their names to colleges and universities. "Buying names is probably 60-70 percent of our incoming freshman class. It is via direct mail,” Stokes said. College Board allows institutions to select students from a profile. Aspects include grades, location, study of interest, etc. As the selec¬ tions become more specific the cost goes up. "As enrollment growth goals come out we collaborate on how many names we should buy. You don’t stop marketing, because we want See MARKETING, page 11 We’re trying to anticipated where students want to get their information so we can be where they are. ELLEN STOKES Associate vice president for University marketing