Case Study: Averett University achieves record enrollment growth and improved retention with Ruffalo Noel Levitz

Averett University - Customer Case Study

Averett University engaged Ruffalo Noel Levitz for enrollment management consulting to confront persistently low retention and enrollment among a largely first‑generation, less‑affluent student population within a 100‑mile radius of campus. Facing strong competition for higher‑ability students, low retention (as low as 25% in some cohorts), and difficulty enrolling non‑athlete students, new leadership charged the university with a strategic plan to raise enrollment and the academic profile of incoming classes.

Ruffalo Noel Levitz helped Averett restructure recruitment around a shared vision, using feeder‑market analysis, targeted searches, improved admissions processes, and expanded campus visit programming (including a Scholarship Day for students with a minimum 3.0 GPA / 1000 SAT). The initiative delivered measurable gains: three consecutive years of record enrollment, FY enrollment up 63%, first‑to‑second‑year retention up 19%, FY NTR up 70%, FY overall NR up 77%, a rising academic profile, and stable yield.

Averett University