CARBONDALE (WSIL) -- SIU Carbondale has seen a decline in enrollment over the last decade, so the university is working to recruit and retain students.
Provost Meera Komarraju has seen many changes in her 20 years at SIU. In the last decade, there's been a drop of about 10,000 students.
She says the school's new method of bringing in more students is engagement - and it's already made a difference.
"We are pleased that for fall 2020, we are seeing our efforts sort of yielding some outcomes. We are, for example, for fall 2020 our applications are up by about 21.7%," she said.
It all starts before stepping on campus. Komarraju says the university has been doing heavy recruitment in local and regional high schools.
"And so we had faculty go there and on the hour, they were making presentations of all the careers that are possible with a STEM major," she said.
Since Fall of 2018, the university also hosts "SIU Days" where high schoolers can visit and do activities organized by degree programs they might be interested in.
Komarraju says there's a new effort to retain students by providing resources like financial assistance, mentors, and career searches, to help guide students even after graduation.
For the first time, the spring semester has extended its winter week of welcome from one week to five weeks.
"And then having something to go to even after a few weeks, I think once they've caught their breath, is good, because it gives them extensive opportunity to get to know new students and get involved in the activities," she said.
Director of New Student Programs Emily Spann says changing up their welcome events not only re-excites current students, but also incoming transfer students. She says the university is working to cater to undergrads, graduates, and transfer students individually to make sure their transition is as comfortable as possible.
"Once a student has decided that SIU is their home, then we offer a variety of orientation programs," said Spann.
Both agree in order to grow the university it also means making sure the needs of students are taken care of.
"Everybody is working toward bringing new students and encouraging them to stay here and participating the success of our students," said Komarraju.
The new enrollment numbers for the semester will be released next week.
