Although UNM spends $300 to recruit a freshman, it spends one-third more to recruit students in the top 10 percent of their high schools academically.
Because UNM is not known for academics, Terry Babbitt, director of UNM's Recruitment Services Center said it's important to recruit the state's top students to improve the University's reputation.
"For some people, particular to students in New Mexico, the number one reason students choose to go somewhere else is academic reputation," Babbitt said.
Although UNM is a good value, Babbitt said recruiters can't focus too much on that, because people won't think the University has quality programs.
"You can't focus too much on value, because people think you aren't that good, so we try to mix in the quality of our academic programs," he said.
During the fall semester, UNM recruiters try to contact all New Mexico high school seniors. During the spring semester, recruiting is focused on the top students from New Mexico high schools.
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"That makes sense," said Sean Barre, a Sandia High School senior. "Colleges want the top students at their school."
But his mother, Caryn Barre, said success isn't measured by grades. It takes a more well-rounded person to succeed in college, she said.
"It's not always the A students who are the top performers," she said.
Ed Desantis, Faculty Senate president, argued at a regents Student and Academic Affairs Committee meeting in January that students just below the top 10 percent should be recruited as aggressively. Students who work to support their families and go to school would be ideal candidates, he said.
Twenty-five percent of the state's top 10 percent of high school students attend UNM, something Babbitt said he would like to raise another 10 percent. That would bring about 500 more students to the University.
At the committee meeting, Babbitt said recruiting the top 10 percent of students is one of UNM President Louis Caldera's main priorities.
The biggest thing it would impact is UNM's academic rankings, Babbitt said. He said it would help get the word out about UNM if people knew how many freshmen were in the top 10 percent of their class.
Included in the top 10 percent group are students who have a 3.7 GPA or an ACT score of about 27. Those students are part of UNM's Star Scholars Program during their junior year. Students receive a certificate and an invitation to a reception, which their parents are welcome to attend.
They receive more brochures and information on programs, such as pre-med or pre-law, because those students are harder to recruit, Babbitt said.
It came up in a regents committee meeting in January that some parents have voiced concern to regents because their students, who are in the top 10 percent, don't receive anything from the University.
That's because they are not guaranteed anything, Babbitt said. Those students are typically eligible to apply for scholarships such as the presidential, regents or UNM Scholars Program, which are four-year renewable awards with tuition awards as high as the Presidential Scholarship. That scholarship awards $11,600 per year.
Caryn Barre said the University should be recruiting average students just as highly as the top students during the spring semester.
"I don't think the top 10 percent of anything deserves a chance," she said. "I think everybody does. As a parent, I just look at being a working person and an average student myself. I kind of feel for an average student."
But Babbitt said a cohort of top students can spread over a university.
"It sort of becomes infectious that, well, it's a good school. That's where a lot of good students are going," he said.
UNM freshman enrollment expected to plateau
Consider this: UNM's freshman enrollment has almost doubled since the inception of the Lottery Success Scholarship in 1998.
Almost every year since, freshman enrollment has increased. It was 2,639 in fall 2000, 2,821 in fall 2002 and 3,086 in fall 2004. Is there any reason to believe it won't continue to rise by fall 2005?
Because New Mexico's high school senior population is not expected to grow for another five years, freshman enrollment rates could stay around 3,000, said Mark Chisholm, director of UNM's Office of Institutional Research.
In five years, New Mexico will see a slight decline in its high school senior population that could result in about 120 fewer freshmen enrolling at UNM, Chisholm said.
"It's possible we wouldn't lose any at all, and other schools would," he said. "It's just awfully hard to say for sure."
Surrounding states such as Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Utah are going to see growth in their high school populations, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
"It must be scary for them (Texas) now," Chisholm said. "I don't know what they do."
Although New Mexico's high school population is not expected to grow, there could be localized growth in the Albuquerque area that could affect UNM's student enrollment, he said.
"That's something we could keep an eye on," Chisholm said.
The biggest change that could affect UNM's freshman enrollment is Gov. Bill Richardson's proposed changes to the lottery scholarship that include setting a flat rate for the scholarship, expanding it to include those attending private schools in New Mexico and allowing students who attend college within two years of graduation to earn the scholarship, among other things.
"If it turned out that the amount of the lottery was changed and it no longer meet the tuition charge, that could possibly have an impact on the number of students that decided to come to UNM," Chisholm said. "There is no question about that."
Other factors might include the job market heating up, where students would be able to get high-paying jobs without a college degree, a cut in financial aid programs or more students moving in or out of the state, he said.
The Enrollment Management Team has predicted between 3,000 and 3,100 freshmen will attend UNM in the fall.
Eliseo Torres, vice president for Student Affairs, said the team doesn't know what the cap is for enrollment at UNM, but because it is a public university, students would not be turned away. Only about 70 to 80 freshmen enroll at UNM during the spring semester.
"I think that's going to be a good target," said Terry Babbitt, director of UNM's Recruitment Services Office. "It seems like many more is going to put too much pressure on our facilities and our ability to have good faculty teaching. Anytime that happens, you crowd classes and take away from learning opportunities, FLC's (freshman learning communities) and those kind of things. I think you run the risk of retention dropping."
The team meets once a month to discuss how to balance enrollment with topics such as financial aid, retention rates and on-campus housing. About 20 offices on campus are part of the team.
Some of the biggest problems the team has had were finding enough space in residence halls for incoming freshmen, said Torres, who is also the chair of the team.
"We had to place students in local hotels for the first weeks," he said.
But he said they have a better handle on enrollment since the lottery started. UNM wasn't prepared then to deal with large increases in enrollment, but it is now, Torres said.
