Eastern Projects Healthy Freshman Class Aggressive Recruiting Lures More Students To University, Officials Say

Sat., May 23, 1998

Grayden Jones Staff writer

Eastern Washington University will fill its residence halls next fall as it welcomes the largest freshman class in 10 years, officials predicted Friday.

Despite a year of controversy, a surge of new students could change the four-year university’s reputation as the state’s fastest-shrinking school. It also could spare Eastern from further faculty cuts.

“The biggest change is a university-wide commitment to recruitment,” said Michelle Whittingham, associate director of admissions. “We’ve been much more visible out there.”

Some of that visibility was made possible by an extra $1.4 million in tax dollars released to Eastern last fall by the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The Olympia-based citizen’s board agreed to give Eastern the money if it would execute a marketing plan to turn-around slumping enrollment.

In addition to better recruiting, Eastern may benefit from a growing class of high school seniors and some new programs designed to get them to the Cheney campus.

Eastern shifted an additional $400,000 in tuition revenue to assist needy students.

It also became Washington’s only school authorized to slash nonresident tuition for students coming from other Western states. Thus far, 67 of them have committed to Eastern.

Officials expect a freshman class of 877 in the fall, the largest since 1988 when 925 freshmen showed up.

As of May 15, Eastern had received commitments from 680 high school seniors, up 42 percent from 479 at the same time last year. The number of transfer students has risen 58 percent from 260 in May 1997 to 410 this year.

Three out of four freshmen typically choose university housing. With the larger class, Eastern expects to lease rooms to nearly 1,300 students, filling every room. About 1,100 students live in the dormitories this year.

Brian Levin-Stankevich, vice president of enrollment management, said he expects total enrollment to reach 7,200 full-time students. That would be up from 6,945 this year, but still below Eastern’s peak of 7,635 in 1994.

Recruiters are doing well in a year fraught with controversy. Eastern’s president resigned last year and lawmakers pitched an idea to merge the school with Washington State University. The Legislature compromised by giving WSU administrative control over higher education programs in Spokane and told Eastern to concentrate on its mission as a residential, four-year school.

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