Case Study: Tarleton State University achieves 68% growth in first-time student enrollment with Ruffalo Noel Levitz

Tarleton State University - Customer Case Study

Tarleton State University faced declining enrollment of first-time college students amid forecasted budget cuts, shifting student demographics in Texas, a changing employment market, scarce resources, and increased competition from for-profit colleges and MOOCs. To address this, Tarleton launched a multi-year strategic enrollment planning project across Academic Affairs, Student Life, Recruitment, Admissions, and Marketing with advisement from Ruffalo Noel Levitz to re-energize and reorganize its enrollment management.

Using Ruffalo Noel Levitz’s advisement, Tarleton implemented a broad set of strategies affecting academics, co-curriculars, pricing and financial aid, campus marketing, student success, and recruitment. The results include a 68% increase in new first-time student enrollment (from 1,232 in 2009 to 2,073 in 2014), a 2.4 percentage-point rise in retention since 2009, and substantial growth in transfer enrollment.

Tarleton State University

Javier Garza

Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management