This past Saturday, 350 prospective students and family members (the
largest in recordable history) visited Virginia Wesleyan for our spring
VWC Day Open House. Thank you to Vice President for Enrollment David
Waggoner and Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Beth Clarke for
their leadership, as well as the many faculty, staff and student
ambassadors whose hard work made this day a huge success.
For our
enrollment counselors in particular, Saturday was an exciting
opportunity to meet the students with whom they have been building
relationships over the last several months. Our counselors have been
engaged in an extensive, unprecedented outreach program via email,
direct mail, phone and text messaging. They have been sharing
information about the quality and breadth of our academic programs and
co-curricular opportunities as well as the many successes of our
graduates.
Our enrollment counselors’ commitment was evidenced in
the many productive conversations and positive interactions that took
place throughout the day. Their work will continue to be a critical part
of our recruitment efforts as we build toward welcoming the Class of
2021.
I was also pleased with the level of engagement from
parents who attended a panel discussion following the morning welcome.
It is clear that they care deeply about the high-quality academic and
co-curricular opportunities we offer so abundantly here at VWC.
The
event coincided with the conclusion of our inaugural Batten Honors
College competition, which welcomed its second set of participants
February 23-25. A total of 71 students were invited to compete for 20
selective Batten Fellowships and 20 Shumadine Scholarships for the fall
of 2017. Collectively, these students have a grade point average of 4.07
on a 4.0 scale, an average SAT score of 1320, and an average ACT score
of 29. Special thanks to Steve Pinto, Director of Enrollment for the
Batten Honors College, and Dr. Joyce Easter, Dean of the Batten Honors
College, for their excellent work throughout this process.
Overall,
applications for the incoming class are higher than they were a year
ago. Prospective students and their families are sharing the excitement
of the college-search process, and we are looking forward in the coming
months to welcoming many as new members of the Marlin Family.
It truly is "A Great Day to be a Marlin!"
