Annual Report
2018–2019

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Message from Vice Provost Kevin Browne

I am proud of the collaborative effort put forth by every unit of Academic and Enrollment Services (AES) in the contribution to student success in the areas of recruitment, outreach, admissions, retention and graduation. Illustrated throughout this page are some of the ways staff have engaged with prospective students and contributed to the enrollment of an academically strong and diverse student population.

Kevin Browne
Vice Provost for Academic and Enrollment Services

Goals & Initiatives

The UIC Office of Academic and Enrollment Services (AES) strives to enroll and support the best possible incoming class for the UIC campus.

This year, AES helped implement new scholarship initiatives and continued to support innovative enrollment pathways at UIC.

Chancellor’s Fellows Program (Aim High Scholarship)

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    149 Chancellor’s Fellows ITEs

Using new state funds from the Aim High Scholarship, UIC’s new Chancellor’s Fellows Program awards scholarships to high-achieving first-time Illinois college students. UIC offered scholarships covering all tuition and fees to several hundred Illinois high school seniors, with more than one third expected to attend UIC as the first cohort of Chancellor’s Fellows.

Admissions Via Excellence & Access

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    83 AVE Admits
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    80 ACCESS Interview Admits

Admissions Via Excellence (AVE) guarantees first-year applicants from Illinois high schools admission if they rank in the top 4% of their graduating class. In Fall 2019, this avenue gave 83 applicants earlier notice of their admission. In the regular review process, these students could have been denied due to poor ACT or SAT performance. Thirty-six of this year’s Admissions Via Excellence students submitted their Intent to Enroll (ITE) for Fall 2019 (an ITE yield rate of 43%), joining more than 300 other new students who graduated in the top 4% of their class.

The Augmented College Criteria and Evaluation for Student Success (ACCESS) program introduces noncognitive factors that are linked to first-term GPA and persistence, for example, academic self-efficacy or the ability to thrive in the face of adversity. An on-campus interview and committee review identified 80 first-year applicants demonstrating leadership and commitment to their goals in their academic and personal lives. Forty-eight of those applicants are expected to attend in Fall 2019 (an ITE yield rateof 60%).

Transfer Partnerships

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    46 TAG Admits
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    61 STAR Scholars

The Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) initiative builds a bridge between suburban community colleges and UIC. Forty-five of 46 TAG Admits submitted an Intent to Enroll for Fall 2019.

UIC strengthened its relationship with students at the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) with the Star Scholars program, which provides a scholarship for high-achieving Chicago Public School (CPS) students enrolling in the City Colleges. Eighty percent of admitted Star Scholars (49 of 61) accepted UIC's offer of admission for Fall 2019.

Success (Fall 2018–19)

AES units support processes, technology, and guidance for UIC student success.

Office of the Registrar

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    7,200 Degrees Conferred in Fall 2018 & Spring 2019

The Office of the Registrar manages processes at all steps of the student life cycle.

  • The Office of Transfer Articulation and Degree Audit (TADA) processed more than 25,500 transfer course articulations, resolved over 1,700 help tickets, and made hundreds of revisions to undergraduate courses and programs. In addition to implementing a new system for transfer course articulations, 15 SCEP proposals were implemented during the 2018-19 academic year along with updated policies around Test Based Credit.
  • Classroom Scheduling arranged space in over 44,000 gradable sections.
  • 7,200 degrees conferred in Fall 2017 and Spring 2018.
  • Approximately 23,000 grade changes completed in the past year.
  • 44,000+ transcripts ordered, with around 71% of the orders being electronically secured PDF files.
  • Coordinated assessment of more than $280 million in tuition and fees in Fall 2018 and more than $270 million in Spring 2019.

Student Success

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    88% PAP Scholars Persistence Rate

The President's Award Program (PAP) offers weekly touch points related to the award criteria, which include maintaining good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, and visiting professor's office hours. The PAP Stem Initiative (PSI) provides additional programming for students in STEM majors. PAP Scholars persist from freshman to sophomore year at a rate of 88%, eight percentage points higher than the campus average.

Outreach (Fall 2019)

Millions of interactions happen every year between AES staff and both prospective and incoming students.

Open House 2018

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    10,000+ Attendees*

On Sept. 22, 2018, roughly 10,000 visitors came to campus for the annual Open House. The event showcases UIC’s strengths in research, engagement, student life for prospective students and their families. Campus tours, informational sessions, hands-on programs, and more opportunities are offered by specific colleges and departments.

* Includes guests

Targeted Recruitment Efforts

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    33 AARERI High Schools

The African American Recruitment, Enrollment, and Retention Initiative (AARERI) contacts and visits 33 area high schools. AARERI's on-campus events and programs contributed to an increase in ITEs from African-American first-year admits.

Campus Events & Visits

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    24,600+ Daily Info Session, UIC Preview Day, Campus Tour Attendees
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    1,100 College Fairs, School Visits, and Special Events Nationwide

The Recruitment and Outreach team interacts with prospective UIC students both on and off campus through information sessions, campus tours, school visits, and college fairs. Outreach efforts concentrate in Chicago and the collar counties.

Admissions staff attended a total of 781 college fairs, school visits, and events in Illinois. An additional 350 visits this year stretched UIC's reach to other regions in the U.S. and the world.

Communications & Support

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    105,000 Inbound Calls
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    13,000+ Outbound Calls
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    300,000+ Items Mailed
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    1.5 Days Avg. Email Response Time

The Office of Admissions fields more than 185,000 inbound phone calls, emails, and text messages from undergraduate and graduate applicants. Print and promotional materials, such as event invitations, postcards and viewbooks for parents, supplemented or substituted these interactions. Online, recruiters actively engaged with prospective applicants through chat, digital streams, email, and phone counseling, delivering more than 6 million emails and SMS messages to prospective students.

Review (Spring–Fall 2019)

More than 54,000 applications submitted across all student levels for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2019 terms.

Record First-Year Applications

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    23,580 Applications*
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    16,360 Admits*

First-year applications increased 6% from Fall 2018 to Fall 2019, setting a new record of more than 23,500 applications. The review process evolved in Slate with more than 100,000 file reviews by Admissions counselors and college readers. Admit decisions increased 4% compared to Fall 2018, with more than half of first-year files moving through multiple reviews and getting an admission decision within three weeks of application submission.

*As of August 12

Admissions Awards

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    300+ PAP ITEs
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    54 PAP STEM Initiative ITEs
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    261 Merit Award (Chicago Grant) ITEs

PAP focuses on recruiting historically underrepresented minorities, students with no estimated family financial contribution toward college, or applicants from low-sending counties in Illinois. 1,227 awards were offered to the most competitive applicants in the pool. More than 300 PAP Scholars have submitted an Intent to Enroll for Fall 2019.

The Merit Award, also known as the Chicago Grant, reduces the financial burden for high-achieving, domestic, non-illinois residents. Roughly 2,100 awards were offered to admitted undergraduates with 261 first-year and transfer recipients expected on campus in the fall.

International Applications

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    2,000+ Fall 2019 Undergraduate Degree-Seeking International Applications
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    474 Fall 2019 Undergraduate Degree-Seeking International Intents to Enroll

First-Year international applications for Fall 2019 remained steady at 1,844. First-Year and Transfer Intents to Enroll remained strong with close to 500 for Fall 2019. AES partners with Shorelight International, through the UIC Global program, to provide additional pathways for students outside the U.S. to attend UIC.

Overall Applications

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    15,437 Fall 2019 Degree-Seeking Graduate, Law, & Professional Applications
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    54,000+ Spring, Summer, and Fall 2019 Applications*

Students submitted more than 54,000 applications (including nondegree) for the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2019 terms, with 33,005 degree-seeking undergraduate and 17,897 degree-seeking graduate and professional applications. Accompanying transcripts, letters, and other documents numbered in the millions.

* Includes all levels, including nondegree

Yield (Fall 2019)

As of May 20, 2019, 5,051 first-year students accepted their offer of admission to UIC, a 3% increase over the record number received for Fall 2018. AES anti-melt efforts during the spring and summer focus on enrolling every undergraduate that accepted their offer of admission.

Ignite

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    1,202 Admitted Students Attended

More than 3,000 admitted students and their guests converged on campus on April 16, 2019 for a firsthand glimpse of the UIC student experience. Chancellor Michael Amiridis and other speakers kicked off the event at Credit Union 1 Arena before guests interacted with current students, faculty, and staff at numerous college-specific programs across campus.

Yield Events & Campaigns

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    4,400+ On-Campus Yield Event Attendees*

AES and other campus units led more events and campaigns targeting admitted students during the winter and spring of 2019:

  • Firestarter Attendees (with guests): 865
  • AARERI Breakfast Attendees (with guests): 116
  • Flames Fridays (with guests): more than 440

Efforts continued after the Intent to Enroll deadlines with anti-melt activities, coordinated by AES and colleges or programs, to keep committed students engaged and on track to matriculate in the fall.

  • Five thousand students received a 2023 graduation tassel through the mail.
  • More than 10,000 email and text message campaigns by AES guided students through the pre-enrollment process.

* Includes counts of admitted students with guests at Ignite, Firestarter, Flames Fridays, and the AARERI Breakfast.