Enrollment and Admissions Committee

The Committee on Enrollment and Admissions assists the Office of Admissions in organizing alumni/alumnae enrollment volunteers and interviewers throughout the United States and the world. The committee also serves as a sounding board for the Admissions and Financial Aid Offices on issues of broader concern, such as general admissions and financial aid practices and nationwide trends. The committee consists of members of the Alumni Council and an Associate Director of Admissions (Committee Secretary).

Report from the 203nd Alumni Council, December 1-3, 2011

The agenda of the December 2 meeting of the Enrollment and Admissions Committee focused primarily on two items: an update from Maria Laskaris ’84, dean of admissions and financial aid; and a committee project aimed at using alumni constituents to enhanceyield.

Dean Laskaris gave an update on Dartmouth’s early-decision pool, which continues to grow, with a 26-percent increase from the class of ’12 to the class of ’16. She also shared data regarding Dartmouth’s overlap institutions, which are increasingly national research universities as opposed to liberal arts colleges. Word clouds from the admitted student questionnaire were also shared, leading to a discussion of how applicants perceive Dartmouth and make decisions when accepted. Dean Laskaris also led a conversation re-capping the strategic plan discussion of the previous evening and how it connects with admissions.

Of particular interest to the committee was how the group could improve yield on admitted students. Members of the committee realized that significantly impacting the number of students we lose to our strongest competitors would be challenging, but a small, targeted pilot program could be effective. Some committee members who serve as district enrollment directors (DEDs) for alumni interviewing noted that this project would need to come from a distinct alumni group other than DEDs, given the interviewing demands on DEDs. An agreement was made to utilize committee members to reach out to targeted groups of admitted students. Communication from alumni does not simply need to be based on location, but also by constituency, interests, careers, etc. For the pilot program, the committee will focus on students who receive a likely letter, a yield communication that acknowledges prior to our notification date that Dartmouth is highly interested in the student. Committee Chair Tee Lotson ’82 will work with Joe Riley ’85 and Colleen Wearn ’06 to plan the next steps. Dan Parish ’89 and Isabel Bober ’04 will be the contacts in the admission office, and can provide student contact information beginning in mid-February.

Report from the 202nd Alumni Council, May 19–21, 2011 

The agenda of the May 20, 2011, meeting of the Enrollment and Admissions Committee focused primarily on two items: an update from Maria Laskaris '84, dean of admissions and financial aid, and a discussion of the results of the informal survey of the alumni interviewing process of our peer institutions.

Update from the Dean: Dean Laskaris highlighted the continued competitiveness of Dartmouth’s application process. While the College offered admission to 2,178 students, this was after more than 22,000 applications were reviewed by Dean Laskaris and her staff, resulting in a 9.7-percent admission rate. This year topped last year as the most competitive year the College had ever experienced.

The Alumni Interviewing Process: The committee segued from Dean Laskaris’ report into a presentation of the results of the informal survey conducted by several members of the committee on the alumni interviewing process used by several of Dartmouth’s peer institutions. The survey focused on the alumni interviewing process at Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Brown,Georgetown, Duke, University of Chicago and Colgate. While far from a scientific survey, it did reinforce many of the same process elements in use at Dartmouth:

• Nearly all interviews are conducted by alumni and off campus
• Purpose of the interviews is as much about “selling” the applicant on the school as they are about finding out substantive information about the applicant
• Some sort of structure is in place to identify, support, and organize alumni interviewers
• Limited (if any) training for interviewers
• Most have only basic communications between college and interviewers

Unlike Dartmouth, most schools are using some form of electronic interviewing mechanism (e.g. Skype) to meet with students who are in remote locations or for whatever reason are unable to meet in person. This is an area where Dartmouth could begin to experiment in the use of non-traditional interview mechanisms. The College did compare particularly favorably in its communications with alumni and its structure/training material shared with interviewers. At the next meeting of the committee, the group will begin to identify further opportunities to strengthen the alumni interviewing process and structure.

Leadership: Finally, Danielle Dyer ’81 ’89Tu passed the committee chair baton to Vice Chair Tee Lotson ’82, and Rob Kugler ’67 ’13P was elected the new vice chair.

Report from the 201st Alumni Council Meeting, December 1-4, 2010

The agenda of the December 3, 2010, meeting of the Enrollment and Admissions Committee focused primarily on two items: an update from Maria Laskaris ’84, dean of admissions and financial aid, and a discussion of the role of the committee.

Update from the Dean: Dean Laskaris highlighted that the department of admissions and financial aid is working on its communications and outreach efforts to prospective students to ensure that they are personalized, direct, inspirational, action-oriented, and interactive. This includes communications with alumni interviews for whom a live web-chat has been scheduled for January 11 at 8 pm EST. In keeping with recent trends, Dean Laskaris noted that the current applicant pool is expected to continue its rapid growth this year (it has almost doubled in the last 10 years) and that she and the other admissions officers are focused on growing the pool of candidates “consistent with the priorities of the College” and in attracting students for the “right reasons” (i.e. the students interests, passions, and ambitions are consistent with the College’s strengths). She also highlighted the “perception tracking” the department is doing with admitted students to identify if the students’ perceptions of the College during their application process matched what they found to be reality once they had matriculated. 

The Role of the Committee: The committee segued from Dean Laskaris’s report into a discussion of how the committee members could best serve the needs of the admissions team. This discussion focused primarily on the role of the alumni interviews in the admissions process, including the role of the interviewers themselves. Associate Dean Dan Parish ’89 emphasized the critical importance of the interviews as another insight into each candidate and urged interviewers to view their role as both “evaluator and advocate of the College.” At the suggestion of the admissions department representatives, the committee agreed to take on a research project to find out how other highly selective colleges and universities use alumni interviews and interviewers in the admissions process. Several committee members volunteered to contact various people they know who are involved with alumni interviewing for other schools to better understand their roles and processes. This will be the primary topic for discussion at the next committee meeting in May. 

Report from the 200th Alumni Council, May 20–22, 2010:

Committee chair Wylie Collins ’83 extended a general welcome to all members and then introduced new members. Congratulations were offered up to the admissions team, which had just completed the Class of 2014 admissions effort in yet another year of record applications to Dartmouth College.

The spring Alumni Council meeting each year is accompanied by a high level of interest among alumni regarding admissions results and trends. In response, dean of admissions Maria Laskaris ’84 and director of recruitment and communication Dan Parish ’89 provided the committee with a very thorough and impressive summary of the results for the Class of 2014. Highlights include:

• Applications to Dartmouth continue to increase, with a 3.6 percent growth rate from 2013 to 2014, and a 35 percent growth rate from 2010 to 2014;
• The overall yield has also increased, from 48 percent for the Class of 2013 to 53.6 percent for the Class of 2014. Early-decision admits increased from 401 to 460. The regular-decision yield also increased, from 36.9 percent to 41.1 percent;
• A five-year class comparison was presented in which the Class of 2010 was compared to the Class of 2014 with respect to geography, diversity, gender and academic credentials.

Maria and Dan also discussed recruiting initiatives, including both on-campus and online programs, highlighting the effectiveness and importance of encouraging students that have been accepted to Dartmouth to visit Hanover during their decision-making process as they evaluate the merits of becoming a Dartmouth student. (We all agreed there are many such merits!) Dan also discussed the increased focus on several online initiatives that have proven to be effective, and will continue to be a focus of the admissions team in its recruiting efforts.

There was a brief discussion about the continued importance of ensuring that the Enrollment and Admissions Committee takes the lead in recruiting and retaining alumni interview volunteers. In the interest of time, we agreed to spend more time on this topic in the fall as interviews get underway. Dan informed us that there were 10,768 alumni interviews for the Class of 2014, representing 57 percent of all applications. This is the highest number of interviews ever. Given the dramatic growth rate of applications, the committee’s focus on strengthening the alumni interview network will be critical. We discussed briefly the merits of refining the system to more closely monitor the number of individual interviewers contributing to the effort (in addition to number of interviews).

We briefly reviewed potential additional areas the committee can add value going forward. Wylie encouraged the committee to select very specific topics and metrics in its review of where the committee can be most helpful to the admissions team. Members of the committee agreed that the yield issue is perhaps one that the committee should study further, to see if alumni and, more specifically, the committee can further assist the Dartmouth admissions team on this important initiative.

Wylie thanked the committee for the opportunity to serve as chair and offered to continue to help the committee and admissions team in the future. Danielle Dyer ’81, ’89Tu, will chair the committee and Tee Lotson ’82 will be the vice chair in 2010-11.

Report from the 199th Alumni Council, December 3–5, 2009:

  
Alumni Interviewer Initiative: While case studies highlighted the importance of the alumni interviewing effort, we discussed our desire to continue to increase the total number of volunteers, as well as the importance of "embracing" and retaining the current roster of alumni interviewers. Based on feedback and suggestions from committee members, we plan to send out updates to all interviewers three times a year: in early fall as interviews get underway (as Dan Parish '89 did last month); during mid-season with a brief update; and at the end of the season as a thank you, with a summary of admissions results.

We also discussed reaching out to alumni through the class officer network, and Dan has been in touch with Alumni Relations to get this started. Last, and important, we asked all Committee members to raise their hand and volunteer to be an alumni interviewer, a request that we have also made to the council at large. This is a great way to help the College in a very tangible way.

Anyone interested in interviewing can register by clicking the "Sign Up to Interview" link at www.dartmouth.edu/~interviewers.

Low-income Outreach Program: Stan West '78 summarized a program he has initiated in Los Angeles that is directed toward enhancing and reinforcing the recruitment efforts of the College. We highlight this initiative as one that has very real potential. Follow-up calls to further reinforce and define this effort are under way, and we look forward to reporting back to the council in May as to progress here. To Stan's credit, he has worked at defining this effort in Los Angeles, and we look forward to hearing more on this front.

School Partnership Program: Ellie Loughlin '89 and Colleen Wearn '06 provided an update on plans to roll out, on a selective basis, a program whereby designated alumni assist the Admissions Office as representatives to specific schools. As we learned at our meeting, the number of school visits conducted by the Admissions Office dropped from 626 in 2008 to 450 in 2009 due to budgetary and time constraints. This program is intended to assist the Admissions Office in its efforts, and we look forward to a recap from Ellie and Colleen in May as to how the program is shaping up. 

Report from the 198th Alumni Council, May 14–16, 2009: 

Report of the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid:  Expanding upon her presentation to the full council earlier in the day, Dean Maria Laskaris ’84 reported that it was the most competitive year yet. With 18,132 applicants for the class of 2013, the acceptance rate was only 12 percent. Yield remains consistent with prior years at about 50 percent, apparently unaffected by several peer schools dropping early admissions programs and the uncertainty of the economy. Outreach programs such as “Dimensions” and “Discover Dartmouth” clearly are having a positive impact on matriculation rates. The class will be 51 percent female. The student body is more diverse than ever. SAT and ACT scores were as high as or higher than for past admitted students. Legacies continue to be admitted at a higher rate, although the majority is still denied admission. Following suggestions from the committee last year, Dean Laskaris sent personal letters to the alumni parents of denied and wait-listed candidates. This year the Admissions Office has been able to go to the wait list and offer admission to approximately 70 more candidates, including some legacies.

Alumni Recruiting and Outreach:  I-Track continues to improve and facilitate the alumni interview process. With greater numbers of applications, the interview reports become more significant and useful to the admissions officers as they distinguish among thousands of excellent candidates. Several alumni groups are focused on recruiting low-income students to apply to Dartmouth. Stan West ’78 described a program in the Los Angeles area.  Mats Lemberger ’06 has been working with some members of the committee to develop better resources for alumni interviewers. The Admissions Office Web site is being updated and should be completed by fall, when the next admissions season begins. Given the budget cuts that the Admissions Office must implement, the role of alumni in outreach activities is critical.

 
Leadership: Wylie Collins ’83 will chair the committee for 2009–10. Danielle Dyer ’81 will be the vice chair. Daniel Parish ’84, director of admissions recruitment and communications, continues to serve as the Office of Admissions liaison to the committee.

Action Items:  The committee will continue to work with the Admissions Office to recruit and train alumni interviewers from the classes, clubs, and affiliated groups. The committee will be preparing and distributing to clubs and district enrollment directors an outline of how to work with the Admissions Office to develop candidate lists, find venues, and invite low-income students in their area to learn more about Dartmouth. Local follow-up and support for visiting programs such as “Dimensions” will be the key to making such outreach efforts successful.

Report from the 197th Alumni Council, December 4–6, 2008:

Alumni Recruiting and Outreach: Most alumni support of the admissions process is led by the district enrollment directors and local clubs. Admissions officers made an effort to meet with alumni during their fall travel to conduct workshops on admissions and interviewing. They are also working with Alumni Relations to find other ways to conduct admissions workshops. The interviewer Web site is being updated. 

Committee Action Items: Alumni can best support the Admissions Office by conducting candidate interviews and follow-up communications, including delivering T-shirts to accepted candidates and hosting receptions. For 2009, the committee intends to:

• Work with Admissions to develop new alumni interviewer training tools
• Work with classes to recruit and train interviewers
• Work with affiliated groups to recruit and train interviewers
• Design a program for clubs to promote applications and visits to Hanover by economically disadvantaged candidates