Annual Report
2016–2017

Fall 2017

• 30,539 Campus Record Enrollment
• 4,064 Largest First-Year Class

UIC continued a five-year trend of increasing the net number of new students, surpassing the 30,000 student mark for the first time in University history. Final census enrollment counted 4,064 new first-year students, the largest class ever, which included a five percent increase in African American students from Fall 2016. Not including the first fall-term cohort of UIC Global students, the new first-year class rose 19 percent to 3,940 students compared to Fall 2016. New transfer (2,189; up 12 percent), graduate (2,374; up six percent), and professional (885; up 12 percent) students increased in Fall 2017.

Admissions Via Excellence

• 30 Admits

The Admissions Via Excellence avenue guarantees admission for first-year applicants who rank in the top four percent of an Illinois high school's graduating class. Thirty applicants received admission for Fall 2017 when they otherwise would have waited until March, and in some cases, would have been denied due to low ACT scores. Twenty-one students are expected on campus in Fall 2017 (an Intent to Enroll yield rate of 70 percent), joining more than 300 other Illinois high school graduates ranking in the top four percent of their class.

ACCESS

• 225 Accelerated Admits
• 31 Interview Admits

The Augmented College Criteria and Evaluation for Student Success (ACCESS) program introduces noncognitive factors that are linked to first-term GPA and persistence (e.g., academic self-efficacy or the ability to thrive in the face of adversity). The ACCESS Committee began by reducing the wait time for an admit decision for 225 UIC applicants, putting an offer on the table about eight weeks sooner than comparable applicants in previous years. An on-campus interview and in-depth committee review identified an additional 31 first-year applicants demonstrating leadership and commitment to their goals in their academic and personal lives. Twenty-one of those applicants are expected to attend in Fall 2017 (an ITE yield rate of nearly 70 percent).

Transfer Partnerships

• 18 TAG Admits
• 41 STAR Scholars

New partnerships with area community colleges formalized the path to UIC for new transfer students. The Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) initiative builds a bridge between suburban community colleges and UIC.

UIC strengthened its relationship with students at the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) with the Star Scholars program, which provides tuition coverage for high-achieving Chicago Public School (CPS) students to enroll in the city colleges. Four out of every five admitted Star Scholars accepted UIC's offer of admission in the program's first year.

Slate CRM

• 220,000+ Recruits Managed
• 5,000,000 Emails sent
• 5,000+ Events Managed

The Office of Student Systems Services (OSSS) led the implementation of Slate, a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for higher education to support recruitment and admissions functions such as emails communications and event management.

Office of the Registrar

• 797,000+ Enrolled Credit Hours
• 6,500+ Degrees Conferred

The Office of the Registrar manages processes at all steps of the student lifecycle.

• Transfer students now receive their degree audits at the point of admission. Nearly 3,000 Degree Audit Report System (DARS) audits were delivered by the Transfer Assistance Center.
• The Guaranteed Admission Transfer (GAT) program enrolled 34 students at UIC for the Fall 2016 term. Events and appointments were held at UIC and CCC campuses for GAT recruits.
• The Office of Transfer Articulation and Degree Audit (TADA) oversaw the articulation of more than 10,000 transfer courses, fielded 750 help tickets, and made hundreds of revisions to courses and programs. Automation of test-based credit for International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) and further refinements to the Courseleaf catalog content management system were also made during the 2016-17 academic year.
• Nearly 800,000 enrolled credit hours.
• Classroom Scheduling arranged space 14,487 gradable sections.
• More than 6,500 degrees conferred in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017.
• Around 18,300 grade changes completed in the past year.
• More than 43,500 transcripts ordered, with around 55 percent of the orders being electronically secured PDF files.

Student Success

• 25,000+ LARES Advising and Tutoring Visits
• 87% PAP Persistence Rate

In addition to its outreach efforts, the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services (LARES) program took 1,491 advising appointments and 1,062 tutoring visits during the 2016-17 academic year. Even more students took advantage of the Cesar E. Chavez Study Center located in the LARES office, particularly during workshops on topics like time management and internships.

As a low-income minority student, I had my doubts and reservations about my ability to thrive and succeed at UIC; however, even before setting foot on campus, a LARES advisor was working to ease my fears… I feel a personal connection to LARES and appreciate not only the networking opportunities they have to offer, but also the social and leadership training provided. (Diana, Class of 2019)

My LARES advisors genuinely cared about my well-being as both a student and an individual. Not only did they provide academic assistance when I was struggling, but they supported my academic journey through ongoing mentorship and guidance. (Daisy, Class of 2017)

The President's Award Program (PAP) offers weekly touch points related to the award criteria including maintaining good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, and visiting professor's office hours. The PAP Stem Initiative (PSI) provides additional programming for students in STEM majors. PAP students persist from freshman to sophomore year at a rate of nearly 87 percent.

The PAP scholarship impacted me by providing resources and knowledge about what I can do to get ahead in college and secure what I need beyond my education, particularly career-oriented knowledge. (Michael, PAP STEM Initiative, Class of 2020)

The President's Award Program has allowed me to not only afford an education but also to be a role model to my younger siblings and show that higher education is possible. (Ruby, Class of 2020)

The President's Award Program has helped me become a well-rounded individual and learn the importance of getting involved and serving others. (Taylour, Class of 2019)

Open House 2016

• 10,000 Attendees*

On Sept. 24, 2016, roughly 10,000 visitors–an increase of 2,000 attendees and guests compared to 2015–came to campus for the annual Open House. The event shows prospective applicants the vibrancy of UIC's campus and student life, from campus tours and informational sessions to the excitement of the Student Affair's Revelry carnival held in the quad the same weekend as Open House.

* Includes guests

Targeted Recruitment Efforts

• 33 AARERI High Schools
• 5,000+ LARES Prospective Student Contacts

The African American Recruitment, Enrollment, and Retention Initiative (AARERI) prioritizes contacts and visits to 33 area high schools. AARERI's on-campus events and programs are key touch points in the enrollment process and have contributed to a 14-percent increase in ITEs from African-American admits.

In addition to its support of current UIC students, LARES contributes more than 5,000 contacts to prospective students through school visits, in-person admission appointments, and telecounseling. LARES made more than 140 visits to area high schools, community colleges, and college fairs.

Campus Events & Visits

• 17,000+ Daily Info Session, Preview Day,
  Campus Tour Attendees
• 1,900 College Fairs, School Visits,
  and Special Events Nationwide

The Recruitment and Outreach team interacts with prospective UIC students both on campus through daily information sessions and campus tours and off campus via school visits and college fairs. Outreach efforts concentrate largely in Chicago and the collar counties, with 792 college fairs, school visits, and events attended by UIC. An additional 200 visits sought to stretch UIC's reach to other regions in the U.S. and the world.

Communications & Support

• 100,000 Inbound Calls
• 13,296 Outbound Calls
• 160,000 Items Mailed
• 1.2 Days Avg. Email Response Time

The Office of Admissions fields more than 100,000 inbound phone calls and emails from undergraduate and graduate applicants. Many more interactions took place via physical materials, such as event invitations, postcards, and viewbooks for parents. Recruiters actively engaged with prospective applicants through chat, digital streams, and email. Website chats allow students to connect with a counselor and new processes allow students to request one-on-one counseling over the phone.

Record First-Year Applications

• 19,221 Applications*
• 14,218 Admits*
• 4,841 ITEs (34% ITE Yield*)

First-year application and admit numbers increased three percent in Fall 2017 compared to Fall 2016, finishing the cycle with a record 19,294 first-year applications. The review process evolved in Slate with more than 100,000 file reviews by Admissions counselors and college readers. Admit decisions increased eight percent compared to Fall 2016, with more than half of the first year files moving through multiple reviews and getting an admission decision made within three weeks of application submission.

*As of May 6

Admissions Awards

• 335 PAP Accepts
• 50 PAP STEM Initiative Accepts
• 312 Merit Tuition Rate (Chicago Grant) Accepts

PAP is the university's primary monetary award for high-achieving applicants. Focusing on historically underrepresented minorities, those with no estimated family financial contribution towards college, or applicants from low-sending counties in Illinois, 1,206 awards were offered to the most competitive applicants in the pool. Fall 2017 will see 335 new PAP "accepts" who have completed pre-enrollment requirements to receive the award.

The Merit Tuition Rate, also known as the Chicago Grant, reduces the financial burden for high-achieving, domestic, non-Illinois residents. More than 1,850 Chicago Grants were offered to admitted undergraduates with 312 first-year and transfer recipients expected on campus in the fall.

Overall Applications

• 17,148 Fall 2017 Degree-Seeking Graduates
  & Professional Applications
• 52,000+ Spring, Summer, and Fall 2017 Applications*

Students submitted more than 52,000 applications (including nondegree) for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2017 terms, with 29,523 degree-seeking undergraduate and 19,562 degree-seeking graduate and professional applications. Accompanying transcripts, letters, and other documents numbered in the millions.

* Includes all levels, including nondegree

Ignite

• 1,700 Admitted Students Attended
• 968 ITEs collected

More than 3,000 admitted students and their guests–an increase from 1,700 at the 2016 event–converged on campus on April 8, 2017 to get a firsthand glimpse of the UIC student experience. Chancellor Michael Amiridis and other speakers kicked off the event at the UIC Pavilion before students spread across campus to interact with current students, faculty, and staff at numerous college-specific programs.

Yield Events & Campaigns

• 2,700+ On-Campus Yield Event Attendees*
• 1,300+ Attendees with ITEs*

More events and campaigns aimed at admitted students during the spring of 2017 were led by AES and other campus units:

• Firestarter Attendees (with guests): 607
• AARERI Breakfast Attendees (with guests): 139
• LARES Family Day Attendees (with guests): more than 170
• Admitted Student Tours (with guests): more than 500

Efforts continued after the Intent to Enroll deadlines, with AES working with colleges and success programs to coordinate anti-melt activities to keep committed students engaged and on track to matriculate in the fall semester.

• Four thousand students received a 2021 graduation tassel through the mail.
• AES coordinated a phone campaign to make more than 3,000 calls to First Year students with an Intent to Enroll on file.
• Several email and text message campaigns were also launched by AES with targeted instructions guiding students to their next step in the pre-enrollment process. More than 10,000 of these targeted messages were sent to students to nudge them in the right direction.

* Includes Ignite, Firestarter, Admitted Student Tours, and LARES/AARERI events