Institutions honored during ceremony at the 2022 RNL National Conference on enrollment and student success
July 15, 2022—RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz), leading provider of higher education enrollment management, student success, and fundraising solutions, has honored four colleges and universities with awards for their achievements in college student recruitment and marketing, student success and completion, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Berry College of Mount Berry, Georgia, is one of two winners of the 2022 Peter S. Bryant Marketing & Recruitment Excellence Award (MREA), which recognizes programs that have made an impact on campus enrollment. Among its many accomplishments, Berry grew first-year enrollment by 48 percent from 2018-21 while also increasing enrollment of students of color by 90 percent. In addition, the college increased the high school GPA of its incoming classes for three straight years.
Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio received the second MREA honor. The university responded nimbly to the enrollment and educational challenges of the pandemic, expanding support for online and graduate students in particular. They also undertook a strategic enrollment planning process to identify opportunities for growth, increase efficiency, and foster collaboration among more than 60 people in a wide variety of academic and administrative departments.
For achievements in student success, Black Hills State University of South Dakota received the 2022 Lee Noel-Randi Levitz Retention Excellence Award (REA). In 2020, the university had a retention rate of 65 percent and is on track to lift retention to 75 percent in the fall of 2022. The university accomplished this by creating a strategic enrollment plan that established many effective student success initiatives.
Virginia Tech received the inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Excellence Award for its efforts at increasing diversity and serving underrepresented students. The Black student population at Virginia Tech was previously 5 percent even though 20 percent of the Virginia population is Black. The university has since increased its incoming students who identify as Black and two or more races indicating Black to nearly 9 percent. It also has increased its underrepresented and underserved population from 33 to 40 percent while maintaining a strong academic profile.
“More than ever, institutions need innovation, data-informed strategies, and determination to succeed,” said Andrea Gilbert, senior vice president for client engagement at RNL who has consulted with hundreds of colleges and universities. “We honor not only their hard work and creativity, but their dedication to the mission of their institutions and improving the student experience.”
The institutions will be recognized during a ceremony at the 2022 RNL National Conference on July 15 at the Gaylord National Resort in the Washington, D.C., area, which attracted more than 1,000 attendees from colleges and universities. Winners were chosen by a panel of RNL enrollment and student success experts.
About RNL
RNL is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. The firm serves more than 1,900 colleges and universities through data-driven solutions focused on the entire lifecycle of enrollment and fundraising, assuring students find the right program, graduate on time, secure their first job in their chosen field, and give back to support the next generation. With a deep knowledge of the industry, RNL provides institutions the ability to scale their efforts by tapping into a community of support and resources.