Because Cal Poly might receive 34,000 applications but only have space for 3,800 to 4,000 freshmen, the institution has systems in place to screen and rank applicants based on the number of spaces available in a program. "Obviously you have to have a very strong data management team," Maraviglia says. Cal Poly has Hobsons EMT Connect, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and a homegrown database in place to manage it all.
Whether the goal is to meet student technology expectations, streamline the process, or remove burdens from staff and students, an electronic process certainly has its advantages. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which put Talisma's Strategic Enrollment Management CRM system in place four years ago to help in recruiting, has found it a valuable tool for planning and recruiting. But Deanna Reynolds, coordinator of information management, cautions administrators to know what they are getting into. "Some people think the software will save them, and it can-if you know what you want."
To Fee or Not to Fee
When online applications first came out, many colleges and universities waived the application fee as a way to encourage students to use them. Now that they are more commonplace, the fee is open to debate.
Some administrators feel it's too easy to apply online, and without a fee their institutions will receive many soft applications-those from students who aren't really interested. But Pricilla Klymenko, director of Enrollment Services at Bergen Community College (N.J.), says, "You don't get as many as you think."
At Bergen, University of Dayton (Ohio), and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), fees aren't charged for paper or online applications. Bergen replaced the lost revenue with other student fees. Mount St. Mary's College (Calif.) and Texas Christian University have kept an application fee (although discounted) for electronically submitted applications, in order to filter out applicants who aren't serious. And Columbia College Chicago maintains application fees for either method of submitting. Murphy Monroe, executive director of admissions, notes that the fee "really is tied to the processing effort," regardless of how the application comes in.
