Application and enrollment to the University increased this year with a new outlook and modified strategies developed by the Enrollment Management and Administration Office.

Fall 1994 applications to University Park are up to 12,865 from 12,654 last year and the number of paid-accepts were also up to 3,803 from 3,595 last year, according to preliminary figures presented at the University Board of Trustees meeting last Friday from the office.

Application to the commonwealth campuses is down to 12,073 from 12,287 last year but the number of paid-accepts are up to 4,784 this year from 4,696 last year, said John J. Romano, vice provost for enrollment management and administration. The number of applications from the Philadelphia area and the number of accepted transfer applications also increased.

"The entire year was focused on ways we can become far more competitive with other colleges and universities," Romano said. "We've had this attitude that 'we are Penn State and therefore they will come.' That was true, but it isn't anymore."

The change in strategy implemented over the past year has come at a time when more students are choosing cheaper community colleges or state-funded universities because of the increasing cost of tuition among public college and universities, Romano said.

"It's perceived to be in the admissions community, very uncertain times in the admission business," Romano said.

One of the strategies implemented to offset these changes was to decrease the 1994 wait for admission decision from two weeks from four by streamlining the data entry process for greater efficiency. The office is also trying to make the facilitation of transfers easier.

Greater cooperation between minority recruitment offices in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Harrisburg will help facilitate greater minority enrollment in coming years, said James Stewart, vice provost for educational equity.

"The numbers I've seen seem to indicate that minority enrollment will be up from last year's . . . and it's due in part to the coordinated effort of (the recruiting offices)," Stewart said.

The offices have also tried to emphasize student visitation of the campuses for the purpose of makingthem more attractive.

"(Changing strategy) is a new concept for us, as it is for institutes across the United States where there are programs like this," Romano said.

A wider applicant base was achieved by an affiliation with the College Board Search Service, which allowed the office to send out 88,000 mailings to high school juniors -- about 20,000 more than in previous years.

The mail search was also segmented into more specific letters that were aimed at the prospective student's individual interests, and non-responses will get follow-up letters. The office is also experimenting with an easier and more readily available computerized application.

All of these techniques were meant to increase and sustain student interest in the University by increasing its visibility and personalizing the application process.

"In the past few years students have showed much more self-selection. Students have been very tentative in their final college choices . . . and financial aid and cost are important in the choice," Romano said.

"These (recruiting) things are all occurring before students even apply,". Romano said he plans to reorganize the enrollment process which involves the deans appointing an enrollment officer and team for their colleges.

"Much of the work that needs to be done is a fundamental change in a process that we took so long for granted and used to work," Romano said.