IWP Sets Back-to-Back Admissions Records in Fall 2007, Spring 2008
Since summer 2007, The Institute of World Politics has enjoyed a record number of students graduating from its programs, as well as record numbers of applicants, new students entering its programs, and total students enrolled.
The class of 2007 was the Institute’s largest to date, with 26 Master’s degrees and 3 Certificates of Graduate Study awarded. Although the size of the graduating class in 2008 was somewhat smaller, the Institute is nonetheless proud that 70 individuals have now completed its Master’s degree program. This number does not take into consideration the hundreds of other students who have benefited from earning Certificates of Graduate Study and taking individual courses through the Continuing Education program.
The momentum of summer 2007 and its record graduating class continued into fall 2007 as the Institute saw continued growth in its student body. A record number of 41 new students enrolled in classes for the semester, representing considerable growth over fall 2006 (in which 18 new students began programs at IWP). This growth came despite an 18% rise in tuition. Applications received also increased proportionately. Overall, 93 students enrolled in classes for fall 2007, thus setting a record for the Institute.
This record proved to be short-lived, however, as the pace of both student recruitment and enrollment in the spring 2008 semester proved to be even more remarkable, with 98 students enrolled in courses at IWP. Not only did this set an all-time record for the school, it also represents a shift from the usual pattern of spring enrollment being slightly lower than that of the preceding fall. (In the past, attrition from the fall semester and relatively few students beginning in the spring has resulted in spring enrollment lower than the preceding fall.)
Tony Likins, Vice President for External Affairs, said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been growing IWP’s student body significantly, but I’m even more pleased about the momentum our student recruitment efforts are building. We’ve been working hard to ensure progress not only in recruiting students from government agencies and the military but through more traditional recruitment channels as well.” Some of the growth in the Institute’s student body has come from the new relationships with the U.S. Army (see p. 6), though many other new students chose IWP thanks to increased exposure to the school’s website, expanded advertising concentrated in well-respected local and national newspapers and journals, and an intensive campaign of visiting more than 50 graduate school fairs.
During the fall semester, IWP staff and faculty members are scheduled to visit over 70 graduate school fairs held throughout the nation, in order to promote the Institute’s programs among current undergraduate students and to increase the Institute’s public profile. As well, the Institute’s staff continue to capitalize on other marketing and recruitment tools, such as further tailoring IWP’s advertising and enhancing its publications and marketing literature.
Yet another sign of the strides made by IWP in student recruitment is the accelerated pace of new applications arriving in advance of the approaching fall 2008 semester. “I’m confident that we are on track to fulfill both our short-term and long-term recruitment goals,” said Mr. Likins.
