Episode 30: Jana Albrecht
John Twork 0:10
Welcome to Redbird Buzz. I'm John Twork from University Marketing and Communications. Our guest today is Dr. Jana Albrecht the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management. Jana arrived at Illinois State in 2000 and spent 16 years in the Office of Financial Aid. Since 2016, she's led campus wide collaborative efforts to enroll talented undergraduate and graduate students who achieve high levels of collegiate success. Jana joins us today to share some good news and talk about fall enrollment at Illinois State and the newest class of Redbirds who recently arrived on campus.
And it's my pleasure to welcome Dr. Jana Albrecht the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management to Redbird Buzz. What's the word Redbird? For our listeners who are in Bloomington Normal, They know the community is alive with what seems like a lot of students. Can you tell us just how many incoming Redbirds and total Redbirds there are here on campus this semester.
Jana Albrecht 1:14
I sure can and this is this is really exciting stuff, John. So thanks so much for for having me asked me here. As you mentioned, I've been here for a really long time. I love this campus. And I love to talk about our new students especially but we had an extremely successful year in enrollment this year. total enrollment is super close to 21,000. It's 20 20,989. Students. Yes, incredible. And it's not the most that we've had in the last, you know, 10 or 15 years. But it's it's pretty close. Once we hit that 21,000 number. It's a good number for our campus and for our, our size and what we'd like to do with individualized attention on campus. But also we had a great incoming freshman class. So I believe that our final count will be 4147 Freshmen on campus. And that beats last year's record breaking class, or at last year's class was 3900, and about 83 students, and it was a record breaking class. So we believe that this one is going to be the largest class that we've had in the last 36 years. There's some we're, you know, talking about some things internally to see whether or not it's it's actually bigger than the class of 1986. But you know, that'll have to come for a future podcast. Well, we'll let you know how, how that all turns out.
Speaker 3 2:35
But we're putting the mystery mystery for this podcast, which would be great. Yeah.
Jana Albrecht 2:41
So we're also pretty proud of their achievements academically, average ACT score is 24. It's up a little bit from last year, our average high school GPA is 3.62. We love that. So the incoming class is extremely talented in that respect, we also have over 1000 of those students had a 4.0 or better in high school that they're, they're bringing to us. So fabulous news. The other thing that I think are more fun facts for us about we think probably 39% of those students that are coming to us actually have parents or family members that graduated from Illinois State back in the day. So that's exciting. We also know that many of them are first generation, so maybe a third of the class is probably going to be a first generation status. So that's, that's good, too, that we have that information, and we're bringing those students to campus. the thing that we're extremely proud of is this class is going to be the most diverse class racially diverse class that we have ever had in our history. Last year, we were proud of that class, it was 37% of those students were racially diverse. And this year, we're going to have about 41% of those students will will be racially diverse. So all kinds of good things on on that particular front. Oh, I should also mention mentioned transfer students, transfer students are going to be up 2% as well, new transfer students. So all around just a really good incoming class. And if you went to any of our open house events, they're excited. They're excited to learn. They're excited to be here. And, you know, we can't wait to see how they're going to change our community and our campus.
John Twork 4:23
Last year, it was really good news. It's even better news this year for the incoming class as far as the numbers go, and all of the other assets that this class brings with them as they arrive on campus. And I guess for those of us here on campus, it's sort of we've become accustomed to this good news. But this is not happening everywhere. And in fact, the trend in higher ed is that enrollment has steadily declined over the past 10 years at universities for undergraduates. Can you talk about why we're having such success here at Illinois State?
Jana Albrecht 4:56
I can and I have talked a lot about community recently. And you probably love this community, right? I do--would not be here. If you didn't, that's great, absolutely great. I don't think I knew that. But our community is fantastic, right? Where we're easy to get to, they really embrace the student population that we do have here. And I think that's, that's good to see. Our campus partners, we are a super friendly campus. And I know that every campus that any student would go to that, you know, they would likely hear some of that information. But we often ask our students, our prospective students and our families and our continuing students, you know, what are the things that they love about the institution, and a lot of it is they just feel like this is home, this is their second home, they feel comfortable. They love their their faculty in their classrooms, but they also really embrace, you know, some of the things that student affairs does for us. So the activities that they can participate in, whether that's student government, or clubs, right, we have over 400 clubs on campus. So that helps students get immediately involved. And I you know, so I think across the board, we are friendly, and welcoming, and everyone truly wants to see students succeed. And I think that makes the students feel comfortable. And I think that makes the parents you know, feel feel comfortable as well. So I think a lot of it is community and the fact that we have so many individuals on campus that care about students, and they can tell
John Twork 6:35
That individualized attention seems to touch every area of a student's academic and social life here at Illinois State. You mentioned the really impressive academic accolades that incoming students have. And I wonder, that individualized attention that even a freshman, you know, they have, if they want, they can have research opportunities with tenured faculty members. That's huge. And that, that, to me, is a separating factor that separates Illinois State from some other potential institutions, right?
Jana Albrecht 7:06
Absolutely. The number of students that will tell us that they met with their academic department, before they made their decision is huge. I mean, that's a big percentage of our students, but they meet with their academic department, and they learn the things that they can do in their freshman year. We have faculty members that that publish hundreds of articles that are co authored with students on those individual articles. So the students can really immediately get involved and interested in topics that they are super interested in and passionate about. And faculty embrace that. So they embrace the fact that students want to learn, and that they can do it immediately if they so choose. So I think that's a huge benefit for Illinois State.
John Twork 7:47
having a racially diverse class, this is the most diverse class in school history. 41%, you mentioned, why is that so important? And also, what resources are available for the those students who arrive on campus as far as retention goes, and making this a great experience for students who are racially diverse, who arrive at Illinois State?
Jana Albrecht 8:06
Yes, and, you know, diversity on our campuses has been one of our pillars for a very, very long time. And I think, as a whole, our institution embraces the fact that we want people from different backgrounds and different cultures and different races. And the things that we can do in the classroom and outside of the classroom with those different opinions is obvious, right? in the things that the students produce on campus and, and what they're interested in and what they tell us what they want when they come to an institution like Illinois State. But also, you know, we have put some things in place for retention purposes to help students. Clubs are great, and organizations are great. So the students can actively participate and get involved early on, you know, but we also know that students aren't going to come to every single classroom and do extremely well in every subject. I mean, I won't say which subjects were my favorite and weren't my favorite. But there were some you know, that I had a more difficult time with--math class, college. Hey, no, John I was a math major. Oh,
John Twork 9:09
wow. Well, I'm speaking for myself here.
Jana Albrecht 9:13
Good for you. But we also have a fantastic Study Center that helps students when they you know, they want to go in and, and we have peer mentors that work with students, we have a fantastic multicultural center. If you've ever been over there, it's just it's a great place where students feel welcome and encouraged to be themselves in that center. So I do think we, you know, try to provide opportunities for students that will get the individualized attention and will make them feel like this is their home away from home.
John Twork 9:43
First generation students is another high percentage, and that's a group of students who are are sort of blazing a trail. You know, their parents haven't been through this process before and it can be really intimidating, even for a family who has been through it, but can you just talk about you know what why it's so important to have those first generation students here on campus and what resources are available for them?
Jana Albrecht 10:05
Sure. first generation students are fantastic. And what I will tell you is that so you've mentioned that I grew up essentially in financial aid, right? So I had a lot of conversation about finances. And so that group in particular has many questions about the financial aid process. But I will tell you that our first generation students, they come in with, right, they've written down everything that they need to ask about different areas on campus. And they're the group that I often worried least about, because they asked so many great questions. But there are some services in different areas, I believe TRIO does. An event where they welcome first generation students, and they talk about, you know, what you can do on campus and where your services are, and how you can help and one of our AVPs in the provost offices, first generation, so she gets particularly involved with events and things on campus that first generation students can, can use to help find resources and you know, figure out where they need to go and what they need to do. But I have found at least in financial aid, that that is one group that they have their questions down, you know, they're ready to get those those answers and they're taking notes. So I do think they come to us with an energy about them to learn everything they can about the college experience. And that's great, because you want those students that are asking those questions in classes and outside of the classroom, because typically, everybody around them wants to know the answer to those same questions. So yeah, that's, that's a little bit about our first generation population, just
John Twork 11:40
They're the brave enough ones to ask.
Jana Albrecht 11:43
to say, I don't care. I don't know, you know what the answer to this is so, so feed me.
John Twork 11:50
And then there's the students who are either the children of or related in some way to Redbird alumni. And so we have a huge legacy population of incoming students this year. And so they probably know their way around a little bit better on a campus tour, although I'm sure things have changed since their parents or grandparents went to school here. But what does that say about this university to have so many students who have some kind of connection to ISU deciding to pursue college here?
Jana Albrecht 12:24
So you, you talk to Jeff Mavros. Last year, yes. And Jeff at open house, and sometimes Pat will will do this, too. But we always ask for the alums in the audience. And then we ask them questions about why did you come to ISU? And it's, it's fascinating what we hear from the alums, and we always in those big open house events, there are a there are a significant number of family members that are raising their hand saying, Oh, yes, you know, we're here, because because I was here before, but the One fun fact about most of our alums is that they will say, I cannot believe the Dining Center, I cannot believe how many options that they have, you know, to eat, but it pales in comparison, evidently to what they had before. So that is one thing that we hear often from our parents who are alums. But right, we have made a lot of great changes. Yeah, we have the Multicultural Center, we have the Bone Student Center that went through the giant renovation, this place, the Alumni Center went through quite quite a renovation just recently, and then, you know, those things that are on the horizon that are fantastic for us, whether that's engineering or growth in our nursing program, or what we're doing with the facility space for fine arts, I just, I think there are a lot of things that alums see that are going on at the institution that make them proud alums. And so that, you know, that does a number for me and for my heart and when we're, you know, trying to get their relatives to come to the institution. But the other thing that alums do for us, you haven't you haven't talked about this yet, John, but we do a lot of word of mouth marketing. And so we rely on our alumni, to tell people the experience that they had, and to say, Hey, go and see for yourself, you know, don't don't believe me. Take take a visit to our campus, and you'll see what kind of environment that is there and how our students feel about the institution. We always have students on those panels and they get asked fantastic questions from our prospective students, and alumni parents as well. So
John Twork 14:30
as someone who works in marketing, I can say that that word of mouth marketing is invaluable and probably better than anything that I could write or a podcast that we could produce. I mean, it truly that's authentic. And it seems like it's it's pretty profound in terms of recruiting students. So we really appreciate it when alumni can do that. We're talking today with Dr. Jana Albrecht the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management here at Illinois State who's sharing some great news with us about this year's class. overall enrollment, a big class, I imagine it creates some logistical challenges though this is the good problem to have, right? Can you talk about how campus partners work together to still hold on to that renowned, individualized experience for students? Even when you have a large class like this coming in?
Jana Albrecht 15:21
You didn't say you're gonna ask the hard questions!
But, you know, I did mention that our community released, I mean, we have a desire that students that want to come to ISU, we want them to come to ISU, we want them them to have a fantastic experience. So all throughout the, I would say, even the Fall term and the spring term, spring term a lot. We're talking about, how many students can we bring to campus? How many can we serve in, in all of the places that students will will need service in. And so we talked to student tutoring, we talked to preview staff and say, Hey, we're gonna have, you know, this freshman class, that's going to need to come through preview, and they still need to get that individualized attention, they still need to meet with their academic advisor, we talked to housing, and we say housing, you know, let us know how many students you feel like you can house in the residence hall space. So we're having these conversations constantly throughout the term, as we are monitoring the number of students that have applied and been admitted and, and paid those deposits in. And I know that it's a frequent conversation in cabinet too, right? We want all the students to come to be able to have that great experience that that we're known for. So it's really important for us to manage those numbers and know what, what we need to provide and in the fall term based on students needs.
John Twork 16:48
and having a large class last year, I think, sort of a burning question is did all those students who did most of those students stick around for this year? It sounds like many of them did, because that overall enrollment number is really, really strong. Can you talk about retention, what that number looks like for Illinois State? And maybe to what you attribute some of that success to?
Jana Albrecht 17:10
Sure. So we did you know, with that big class, we did have a lot of conversation about retaining a larger class. And would there be some, some additional issues that that came up that maybe we weren't thinking about, that would potentially hurt the retention number. So I will tell you that we have a president who's very interested in retention. And we have been talking about it for a number of years, Amy Hurd who's in the provost office now, actually has had some larger sessions with the campus community to talk about retention and how we can serve students, in better ways in all areas of campus. But the good news, after I mentioned all that, your real question was, yeah, this this large class from last fall, we believe, is going to retain at a higher rate than the than the class from the prior term. So I think we we might be at 81%. You know, we'll see once we, we flush out all those numbers. We'll see how that goes. But, you know, we have aspirations to get that retention number up even higher in the future. So yeah, that that big class from last year, retain them, retained them, well.
John Twork 18:17
What are some of the factors that lead to retention? I imagine, as simple as finding a club that really is meaningful can can keep a student here or a faculty member who student wants to collaborate on research. What are some of those factors? And how can admissions or student affairs or or some kind of entity on campus encourage those connections to occur?
Jana Albrecht 18:39
Yeah. So, you know, we do have, I would say that there are 1000s of reasons that a student will say, this is the reason I stayed at the institution. But I would say we have a broad based approach. You mentioned, you know, faculty in the classroom, a lot of times a student really resonates with a faculty member. And right, they love the same, they're, they love the same sorts of research, or they're interested in the same topics. And that goes a really long way for many of our students, for that for us to keep them here and for them to graduate in a four year period. And then, of course, there are some students that they really want to find community with their peers. And so the fact that student affairs offers so much in the way of, you know, we have a Welcome Week, where, you know, students can come and talk to various groups on campus and various groups outside of campus. We have a very active civic engagement office, that's something that's super important to some of our students. I cannot believe eSports and how that has really boomed in the last couple of years. And some of our students really find that as the place that they find, you know, that they like the best or--That's right. They they find their, their community there. So, you know, I think it's the fact that we have that broad based approach that we have so many faculty and staff members on campus that are Very interested in students being happy and being successful, that students are able to find those those pockets or those places that make them than happy and keep them on campus. So
John Twork 20:12
I'm being over here in advancement, I should also mention the Financial piece-- students, you know, who, who may find themselves facing financial hardship? There's so many donors who have stepped up and are funding scholarships that can that's another retention tool, correct?
Jana Albrecht 20:30
Absolutely. We'd love that. And because, you know, students really, they're expecting to get a Redbird scholarship, right? It's a it's a scholarship that is on our website, everybody knows that we have it, they know how they can get the Redbird scholarship. But once they see that, you know, John gave them a scholarship for $1,000, because they did this well in the classroom or because, you know, they did this in the community, or because they're a leader in student government. For whatever reason, those particular scholarships resonate more with our prospective students and with our continuing students, when it's named by an individual donor. And we I mean, we love it, because, you know, some academic departments will have events where the donors get to meet the students and the students get to write thank you letters to the donors. And it's just, it's a fantastic way to see often alumni getting back involved with the campus and for them to engage with our current students.
John Twork 21:30
So you've had back to back record breaking years? No pressure on next year, right. That's the world of admissions. Right, you celebrate for a few days, and then it's back? You've been at it since May, you mentioned right, yeah, recruiting next year's class. What are some of the opportunities that you see maybe for new growth, looking ahead to next year's incoming class and trying to try to make it three, three record breaking classes in a row, potentially?
Jana Albrecht 21:58
yeah, no pressure,
John Twork 21:59
no pressure.
Jana Albrecht 22:00
But our president tells me every day that he's great with having another great class that that comes in? So you know, that's, that's always good and fun. We absolutely want to do that. But I think that we have specifically talked about maybe some areas that, you know, we don't have as many students, so we're talking about our adult learner population, is there a way that we can serve them better than we currently have, we're pretty traditional, you know, campus as far as students who graduate from high school, and then come to us or go to the community college, and then come to us. So I think, you know, there's some potential with the adult learner population. Our graduate students really want some online programs, we don't have a whole lot of, of online programs. So we're kind of taking a look at, you know, are there ways that we can build those programs out of out of current ones that we have that meet might reach a broader range of students that we haven't before. And then, of course, we're always looking at admissions events, and how to make things easier for our undergraduate students, for our freshmen. And for our transfers, let's make the process easier, you know, let's make coming to campus easier. And so we're constantly looking at our evaluations, looking at the things that we're doing. If a student or a family if we hear enough that we haven't done something in one of our events, or they didn't hear about something, or we didn't engage them in areas that we should have been, we're very quickly trying to accommodate those requests. And, you know, we do have a new system. While it's relatively new, we've had it for a couple of years now. But it is a really great tool that allows us to communicate with students, but it also allows us to communicate with parents. So we're trying to work with other entities on campus. And maybe it's our at our chair in computer science, wants to let students know some things that maybe they don't know about the program. And we often have that. And so we're trying to set up these communications plans and whether that's going to be a letter or an email, or it's a text message, or it's something that we put on social media, we're constantly trying to figure out what students want. And then we update our processes and our procedures to to help accommodate those sorts of things.
John Twork 24:16
You've been at the University since 2000. How has the admissions process changed? Or even what prospective students and their families expect? You know, higher ed, doesn't necessarily seem to evolve that quickly. But this the prospective students certainly do and admissions has to keep up with them. And so what are some ways that admissions has been able to adapt to the changing needs of prospective students and their families?
Jana Albrecht 24:47
Yeah, it's it's funny because, you know, I work with several people that have been here since 2000. At the same time, that I joined and we laugh because we feel like in you know, from 2000 Probably even as close to, to 2010 maybe--you put the admissions application out there, you did the same thing that you've done every other year. Yeah. And the results were were fairly similar. But you are absolutely right, that students change their preferences their interests on, you know, for me an old timer, what feels like, a daily basis? Yeah. So we're really trying to figure out, I mean, which which social media platform should we be? What kinds of things should we be communicating to them? So you're right, we're constantly trying to assess whether that be through surveys that we send to students, or it's us talking to them at an open house when they when they come. Or it's our students who are ambassadors who are telling us, Jana, you know, really c'mon, and that was that was so 2000. So we try and pay attention to what they're telling us we need to provide. And it's really important in this day and age to keep current and provide what what the students are asking for.
John Twork 26:03
So for a prospective student who might be listening or for a parent or grandparent, can you talk a little bit about what is the admissions process at Illinois State like? where does it begin? And where does it end?
Jana Albrecht 26:16
Well, thanks for that question, too, because this is application season, Oh, beautiful, you know, every every student that's interested can actually go out and apply now. So we encourage them to apply early, right, go ahead and let us know that you're interested in, then you'll start getting communication from us. But the thing that I love the most is when students actually come to campus because they can see we can say a good number of things in print materials and in text messaging, and but until you come and talk to current students, and talk to our faculty members, and talk to our staff, you know, you may not feel what we feel on a daily basis. So I highly recommend coming either to one of our large open houses or daily we we have students that will come on a daily basis, very easy to get to ISU, right, the the train comes from all different places. So it is is pretty easy to get to us and bring bring your family members with you, right, let everybody see make a day of it. We also have for those who are limited with transportation, we do have some events where we bring people to campus. So there are some events with the high schools that the students could get involved in there. And then we have some days where we actually bring families to campus as well. But so important to to come and visit because I think you get a real sense of of who we are, and the family that that we become.
John Twork 27:39
So apply, visit or maybe not necessarily in that order, or what.
Jana Albrecht 27:45
Um, yeah, you can do either or.
John Twork 27:48
But those are the two main things right?
Jana Albrecht 27:50
And then once you do those two main things, then you get a nice little roadmap of here's the next step, right, you complete your enrollment deposit, sign up for your housing and dining contract. And then you'll you'll come to preview and and talk about what classes you're going to take so but those are the two main things visit, apply. And then you'll get the constant communication from us that that says what you need to do.
John Twork 28:12
And you'll be crossing the stage it's CEFCU arena is receiving your diploma cover and no time's right,
Jana Albrecht 28:17
that's fun to do you volunteer for those.
John Twork 28:18
Maybe I have I've attended one as a as a participant. And also as a, you know, Legacy family member myself. I've attended many of those. And that is there's like two great times out there. Well, there's lots of great times on campus, but move in when there's so much energy and then graduation, it doesn't get any better than that. Yes, Jana, one more question. And we'll let you get going and really appreciate you sharing this news with us today. For alumni who might be listening and who want to help with this recruitment effort and make it a third year in a row of a record breaking class. What are some things that they can do whether they know a prospective student or not to help Illinois State continue to really trend upwards in enrollment? Yeah.
Jana Albrecht 29:05
I would always say talk about your experience, you know, talk about your experience to--whenever it comes up. But yeah, but let it let them know, you know, how you felt about Illinois State University, let them know that you know, of the things that are going on and the good things that that ISU is doing for students. But hey, they can come for a visit too they can bring family members, they can bring people that live next door, we don't care, you know who they bring if they want to come to campus. But I would also say that we love their stories. We love to hear how they're doing, what they're doing, how they have found success in their individual lives, whether that's in their career, or that's in their hobby, because students love to hear what our alums are doing. So the more we can let our current students know that hey, here's here's an alum. Here's what they're doing now. And here's the success that they've had and we we like introducing alums to current students too, right? If it's, if it's something that will match with each other, and they can have good conversations about things. We, we'd be happy to figure that out as well.
John Twork 30:15
Well, that's wonderful. Just to recap largest class in 36 years, right. And some fun tidbits. Also, you may already know this. This this class' is favorite musical artists. Taylor Swift. Yes. They're the alum they'd most like to have lunch with or dinner with Craig Robinson. And they love Reese's of all kinds peanut butter, cups, pieces, etc. So you know what you can't argue with that. The you can see right there that this is a very intelligent and a class with really good taste, I would say. So thank you for your hard work, you and the entire team. It takes a village to bring in this class and to retain all of these students and to help them eventually get across that stage. Thank you so much, Jana. Thank you
that was Illinois State University Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Dr. Jana Albrecht. If you or someone you know would like to apply to schedule a visit or apply to ISU visit Illinois state.edu/admissions. I'm John Twork thanks for listening to Redbird Buzz and be sure to tune in next time for more stories from beyond the quad.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai