Story by Alexis Schindler, Staff writer 

With University enrollment down, the administration and the Student Government Association are working together to boost student enrollment and retain students currently enrolled.

The University has set in motion Phase One of their Strategic Enrollment Management Plan to reach optimum enrollment.

“Our goal is to go to 10,000 students,” Renee Fister, director of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning, said during the Board of Regents meeting Oct. 19.

SGA President J.T. Payne and Interim President Bob Jackson, along with other SGA and faculty members, have been traveling to different high schools in the University’s 18 county service region.

“From my best calculation, SGA members have visited close to fifteen high schools just this semester,” Payne said.

SGA has also partnered with the Office of Recruitment to host a Racer Preview Night on Nov. 16.

To help with this event, 65 Murray State students have volunteered their time to helping incoming students who have already been admitted to the University.

The event will allow incoming students to learn about the academic colleges and student life on campus. Students will also have the opportunity to eat dinner in the CFSB Center and stay for the basketball game that night.

This will be a way for students in attendance to be “immersed in the culture of Murray State before they ever get here,” Payne said.

Meanwhile, Jackson and other faculty members have managed to visit 16 schools in ten different counties within Murray’s 18 county service region.

“The goal is to finish visiting out throughout our 18 county service region by the end of the fall semester,” Maria Rosa, director of the Transfer Center, said at the Board of Regents meeting.

The Board is focused on boosting enrollment and retention rates of not only undergraduate students but transfer, international, military and as early as middle school students, too.

The Board has also worked to refurbish several programs, such as the Road Scholars Program.

“Our idea is to have faculty and staff joining the recruitment team and being present in these schools in our area to really visit with students,” Rosa said.

Over 150 faculty and staff have already committed to Road Scholars program.

Changes have also been made to Racer Days. Families will now have the ability to decide how to spend their time at the event versus having to follow a specified schedule like in previous years.

Prospective undergraduate students will also have the opportunity to learn more about education abroad with an Education Abroad Preview Day. This event will allow prospective students the chance to talk to alumni and current students who have participated in education abroad.

When prospective students visit campus, they will be able to expect a more personalized experience. A professional consultant was brought in to review Murray State’s campus tours to evaluate improvements that can be made to the tour process.

The days for college visits used to be spread out throughout the school year. Now, these visits have been pushed earlier in the school year.

On the topic of campus tours, student ambassadors have been making phone calls to newly admitted students, and the Racer Proud Letter Writing Program has been initiated to help further personalize prospective students’ experience. The Racer Proud Letter Writing Program allows newly admitted students to receive a handwritten letter or postcard from a current student, faculty or staff member.

For transfer students, the Accelerate U! Program is ongoing. The University has been receiving requests from out-of-states students wanting to be a part of this program and plans to look further into providing the program for those out of state.

In another attempt to boost enrollment of transfer students, new V.I.P. event locations have been established to provide information about the programs Murray State has to offer, while also allowing transfer students to apply to the University for free.

The Emerging Scholars Institute program is still in place. This program helps to retain multicultural students.

ESI offers a retention scholarship for students who came to college with no scholarships.

“For students that didn’t come with a scholarship, this gave them the ability to earn one, and that’s crucial,” S.G. Carthel, executive director of multicultural affairs, said. “Because when you work for something and you earn it, you appreciate it.”

The program offers students tutor and study sessions to help with their classes and regularly checks up on them.

To boost enrollment with graduate students, the University has offered free applications and held the Murray State Graduate Program Fair.

Although the impact of these new initiatives won’t be seen until Fall 2019, the current retention rate for first-time freshman is 76.4 percent, two percentage points higher than it was this time last year.