Will Spring Preview lead to higher enrollment?

Recruiting for Spring Preview. Photo courtesy: FAMU.edu

FAMU recently held its annual spring preview for incoming students, parents and alumni. The event has returned to in-person after two years in a virtual format as a result of the pandemic.

Spring Preview is one of FAMU’s prime recruiting events which aims to get students inspired and motivated to attend the university by touring the educational pathways and attending Be Out Day.

According to an article released on FAMU’s website by assistant director of media relations, Andrew Skerritt, more than 2,500 people registered for spring preview and out of that number over 1,000 are prospective students. Registered students travelled from as far away as California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Arizona.

Vice president of student affairs, William E. Hudson Jr., issued a statement about the anticipation for Be Out Day.

“We are ecstatic to host the preview again.  It is an exciting time for prospective students to visit campus, meet faculty and staff, and visit the facilities,” Hudson said. “An added bonus is the renowned Be Out Day where current students can mingle with potential students. This is the ultimate representation of the FAMUly experience as alumni are also intimately involved.”

University officials are hoping that this recruitment effort will help FAMU increase its enrollment.

Due to the rise of COVID, FAMU’s enrollment has dipped to under 9,000 students. That’s a far cry from the more than 13,000 students enrolled in the 2011-2012 school year, and it has decreased by more than 4,000 students, based on the Florida State University System annual reports.

Fall 2010 admit Michael Ballard said that his matriculation at FAMU was less significant than the experience newly admitted students have today.

“FAMU did not have recruitment activities like I see today,” Ballard said. “Honestly, I only heard of FAMU through word of mouth, past family members attending, and because it was known as a party school. I feel like the high enrollment rate was due to one of these reasons for other students, but I ended up transferring.”

Over the years FAMU has raised admission criteria. Incoming students are required to have a 3.0 GPA for the fall semester and 2.85 for spring semester. Whereas in 2018 students were required to have at least a 2.5.

In the past the term profile admit was used for students who did not meet minimum standards for enrollment, and the university made extra efforts to retain these students.

The term has been retired and now students required to receive higher testing scores and GPAs before being accepted into the university.

To find more information about spring preview, campus visits, and enrollment visit famu.edu