High Yield Forces SIU Campus to Cap Fall '06 Enrollment

We've posted a number of items lately about universities experiencing higher-than-expected applicant yield this year. Here's an unusual twist on that story:

Southern Illinois University's Edwardsville campus has enrolled so many more freshmen than it expected to this fall that school officials decided to cap fall enrollment. Admits who did not inform the school of their intent to enroll by the cut-off date are being told that there is no more room at the University this fall.

So far, about 50 students have been affected by the cap. They may be able to begin classes at SIUE in the spring.

SIUE received 6,041 applications in 2005-2006. It extended admissions offers to 4,369, expecting enough admits to enroll to fill a normal freshman class. Instead, it saw a 5 per cent increase in yield and the prospect of the school running out of class and dorm space. University officials decided to cap fall enrollment at 1,850.

We've noticed that many of the schools reporting exceptionally large increases in yield this year are large public universities. This may reflect increasing concern among applicants and parents about college costs.

Source: "For Colleges, Enrollment is Something of a Gamble," by Kavita Kumar - the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 18, 2006