¡BIENVENIDOS A ECU! INCREASING HISPANIC ENROLLMENT AT EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Abstract

There has been growing worry of an impending enrollment "cliff" in higher education. This has led university leaders and others in higher education to brainstorm ways on how to survive this prognostication. In reality, however, the numbers do not show a "cliff" at all but a drop for certain demographics and more of a steady increase or small decrease for other groups. But it is within this fear of an enrollment cliff that this problem of practice began. At East Carolina University, while applications for admission have increased among all demographics, student enrollment has decreased. Generally, the Hispanic population is growing across the United States, including the State of North Carolina. The Hispanic population at ECU also continues to increase however, the yield of Hispanic students from being admitted to enrolling is low, approximately 18 to 20%. This means Hispanic students thought enough of ECU to apply, but eight out of 10 were not enrolling. To address this challenge, Acevedo-Gil's college choice theoretical framework of college-conocimiento was utilized to shape an intervention that would directly address the needs of a first-generation Hispanic college student. The data shows this intervention works to help students with their college process, how to apply to college, how to pay for college, the ability to see themselves in college, and even increase their likelihood of enrolling in ECU. A college education not only benefits the Hispanic individual and their family but also the communities in which they live. Hispanics can have a major impact on the United States economy and according to Elliott and Parks (2018), can become the "cornerstone of tomorrow's workforce" (p. 12). A four-year degree or more can fulfill the specialization that will be needed for a future workforce and improve one's social mobility. Yet, the benefits of degree completion cannot be yielded before enrollment; hence, the purpose of this study is to focus on Hispanic student recruitment in Eastern North Carolina. As this dissertation shows, utilizing a college-conocimiento approach is an effective way to change that narrative - and future studies may show it works for all students, not just Hispanic students.