The University has fewer enrollment advisers, or freshman recruiters, than any college in the Southeastern Conference, and less than half of the conference’s average number of recruiters.
With only 10 full-time recruiters and one part-time recruiter in New Orleans, the University is lagging behind the SEC average of about 23 to 25 recruiters per university, according to Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management David Kurpius.
The University of Alabama has the most recruiters, Kurpius said.
“We don’t have enough position numbers, and we don’t have enough funding,” he said.
The University has recruiters in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas and one recruiter works in the “emerging markets” of Washington D.C., Chicago and part of Houston, Kurpius said. Some other recruiters travel to other states, but they are all based out of Louisiana.
The low number of recruiters has led to LSU frequently losing students to other universities, such as the University of Alabama.
“They recruit more aggressively,” Kurpius said. “They’re a very good operation, and they are leading the nation in many ways in what they’re doing to recruit.”
He added that some schools are putting multiple recruiters in the same cities.
While having the lowest amount of recruiters, the University brought in a record 5,725 freshmen this fall, bringing the University’s enrollment to 29,549, according to the Office of Budget and Planning.
The University of Alabama also brought in its biggest freshman class this fall with 6,397 students, according to the University of Alabama’s Media Relations website.
Despite only attaining about 700 students more than LSU while having more than four times the recruiters, Kurpius said the effort it takes to get those extra students is “huge.”
Interim System President and Chancellor William “Bill” Jenkins said at a news conference in August that while he would like to see the University’s enrollment swell to 32,000, LSU has lost students to other universities because of lack of recruiters.
If there were no monetary issues, Kurpius said he would have about 25 recruiters and increase coverage in Texas, Tennessee and Missouri.
He said the University could benefit from greater coverage in the areas around Los Angeles, San Diego, New York and New Jersey.
“The cost of education is higher there, so we’re happy that they’re paying full price, and they’re happy because they see it as a discount,” Kurpius said.
Without recruiters in those markets, the University relies on alumni in the area to spread the word. Kurpius said he’s trying to build a better training module for alumni to help them more effectively promote the University after graduation.
While Kurpius said growing the University to meet Jenkins’ goal is “achievable,” it may happen more slowly with a lack of recruiters.
But growing steadily rather than rapidly is good for the University, Kurpius said.
“I want to grow in a way the campus can support,” he said.
