Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana State University, and Utica College received awards during an online presentation
October 27, 2021—RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz), the leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions, has honored three colleges and universities with awards for their achievements in college student recruitment and student success. Loyola University New Orleans and Louisiana State University have been honored for their recruitment efforts, while Utica College has been recognized for excellence in college student retention.
Loyola University New Orleans received a Peter S. Bryant Marketing and Recruitment Excellence Award (MREA), which recognizes programs that have made an impact on campus enrollment. Loyola University New Orleans was honored for exceeding their enrollment goal by 23 percent and their goal for net tuition revenue by 13 percent. They reached these goals through a data-driven approach to targeting students, using their financial aid in a more targeted and strategic fashion, and working closely with marketing to develop creative communications to prospective students.
Louisiana State University (LSU) received an MREA as well. LSU has created a personalized enrollment experience at their state flagship institution. The university has been data-oriented and also went to a test-optional policy in fall 2021. They also embraced virtual platforms quickly and adapted their communications and work schedules to address the changes brought about by the pandemic. These initiatives capped a five-year period where first-year student enrollment grew by 42 percent. LSU has also increased the diversity of the student body by 108 percent.
For achievements in strengthening student success, Utica College of New York received the Lee Noel and Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award (REA), which honors achievements in student success. The college already had a strong retention plan in place to help serve its students, many of whom are first-generation, commuters, or students who work full or part time. But the campus elevated its efforts even further by putting together a re-yield and re-enrollment communication plan for their current students to increase their retention and persistence. The college also implemented a number of student success measures such as virtual advising and an academic recovery program that saw 73 percent of the participating students increase their GPAs from fall to spring semester.
The winning institutions are all current RNL campus partners and were selected by RNL staff because of the way they exemplified three key values:
- Being dynamic with innovations that break new ground and make an impact.
- Being empowered, inspiring initiative through collaboration, transparency, accountability, and ownership.
- Being unified and working together across campus and with RNL to produce greater results.
“These three colleges and universities show outstanding innovation and performance in how they engage prospective and current students in order to enroll them and increase their persistence,” said Dr. Anne Monroe, senior vice president for client experience and engagement at RNL and an enrollment veteran with more than 25 years of experience. “By being dynamic, empowered, and unified, they have been able to achieve remarkable success in the most challenging higher education environment in history.”
Loyola University New Orleans, LSU, and Utica College were formally recognized during a webinar on October 20. Watch the on-demand presentation here.
About RNL
RNL is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. The firm serves more than 1,900 colleges and universities through data-driven solutions focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right program, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. With a deep knowledge of the industry, RNL provides institutions the ability to scale their efforts by tapping into a community of support and resources.