President Caboni

Dear Colleagues,

When students return to WKU each semester, it affirms our dedication to our primary mission: transforming students’ lives. As we begin the third week of the term, helping our current Hilltoppers succeed remains our primary focus. In addition to this important work, throughout the spring semester we must also commit significant effort to yielding our admitted students. While our Office of Admissions continues to recruit and admit new Hilltoppers, we must keep in mind that we admitted the majority of this fall’s freshman class, approximately 80%, before the start of winter break.

As competition for students increases and college-going rates decrease nationwide, yielding admitted students presents significant challenges for colleges and universities. For the fall 2021 semester, 58% of the students we admitted who did not enroll at WKU did not attend any college or university in the fall, underscoring the concern many families have about paying for college.

To continue to meet our institutional goals, we must persist in our efforts to push back against the narrative that a college degree is too expensive and clearly communicate our work during the past two years to make WKU more affordable than ever before. We must continue to share with our admitted student pool, and their families, the value and lifetime benefits of a college degree. We must ensure that they fully understand our generous aid packages. And we must articulate the unique, personalized, student-centered opportunities on our Hill.

I have confidence in the progress made at WKU in recent years to strengthen our focus on yield, but we must not let our foot off the gas throughout the spring and summer. The further along in the recruitment funnel students progress, the more important it becomes to nurture relationships with them, and their families, at the college and departmental levels. As you have internal conversations about how best to engage the students admitted to your college, department or program, remember to also develop strategies to keep those students’ family members informed and involved.

Selecting a college or university home remains one of the most important, formative decisions a young person makes. As we continue our work to bring more Hilltoppers to WKU in the fall, thank you for your daily efforts to meet our institutional goals and shape our university’s future.

Finally, I wish to offer a personal thank you to the many individuals who checked in with me and wished me well during my recent experience with COVID-19. While I experienced some discomfort, my symptoms were mild in comparison to what so many others have endured, and I remain confident that I owe my quick recovery to vaccination. If you have not yet taken this step to protect yourself and others, I encourage you to do so now. Vaccines remain available at the Graves Gilbert Clinic on campus. Call 270-745-2273 to schedule an appointment.  

Go Tops! 

Best,

Timothy C. Caboni