Bryan College Triangle

by Billy Findley
Online Editor

Making enrollment predictions for a semester three-and-half months away is tricky business and is something Mike Sapienza, vice-president for enrollment management, said he tries to avoid. At this point, the enrollment numbers look positive for this coming fall semester. The current number of acceptances is two percent higher than it was at this time last year.

A look back at Bryan's freshman class enrollment numbers over the past five years./Statistics courtesy of Matthew Johnson, director of institutional effectiveness.

However, in making projections, the Admissions Department must not only track the number of applications but also the number of acceptances and deposits, according to Sapienza. These three factors must be taken into consideration before the department can accurately project the number of incoming freshmen. In addition to this, there are a variety of factors that can alter a prospective student’s decision about attending the school.

“Over the last few years, what we’ve seen in higher education in general is that application and acceptance numbers have gone up, and it hasn’t necessarily translated into more students,” Sapienza said.

He attributes this mostly to the fact that prospective students are applying to more colleges than they were six to seven years ago. In an economic time when students and parents are extremely conscientious about finding the best financial aid available, the competition to win them over heats up dramatically. Read full story »

by Krissy Proctor
Copy Editor

First thought: invasion. Final moments: relief, coupled with a strange sense of future possibilities.

Presidential scholarship students had the oppurtunity to visit different tables during the activities fair on Saturday morning/Triangle photo by Daniel Jackson

Beginning Feb. 25, Bryan College held its annual Presidential Weekend, that crazy two-day period where faculty are dressed to the nines and over 60 prospective freshman filter into every corner of the campus, competing for a chance at anywhere from $8,000-$12,000 in scholarship money.

During this time, many current students go on with their daily lives – generally answering questions when they can and staying out of the way when they can’t. Read full story »

by Ericka Simpson
Assistant Editor

Distribution of club funding was delayed about three weeks because Bryan College is in the process of standardizing club rules.

The reason this funding is an issue, according to Vice President of Operations Tim Hostetler, is because if Bryan is giving the clubs money, then they are legally responsible if an accident were to occur.

Triangle photo by Lana Douglas

“We have to look at the worst case scenario,” he said. “We don’t have issues until someone gets hurt, and we are sued.”

All of the clubs were funded this year except for Rugby, according to sophomore SGA Vice President of Finance Kelly Findley. SGA is responsible for distributing all club funds.

“We were wondering if the Rugby accident was what sparked it because the example they gave us was a roadway accident, but it’s just speculation,” Findley said. “We think the reason that we couldn’t fund them is because they are a more contact sport.” Read full story »

by Lana Douglas
Photo editor

The majority of freshman on campus come from public schools due to the additional sports teams/Triangle photo by Lana Douglas

Another batch of freshmen are on campus, getting into the groove of classes and homework, but there is something different about the Freshman Class this year: more students came from public schools.

This year out of the 233 incoming freshmen (excluding transfer students), 47 percent came from public schools.  In the past, the percentage of public-schooled freshmen has been closer to 40 percent, said Mike Sapienza, vice president for enrollment management.

The increase in public school students is due primarily to the addition of the women’s softball team and the men and women’s golf teams, according to Sapienza.

“Naturally, it had to happen because we added a whole softball team,” said Sapienza.  “For the most part, the players are going to come from private or public schools.”

Of the 26 women on the softball team, one was homeschooled while a few others came from private schools, according to sophomore Erica Winfrey.

The percentages of public to homeschooled and private students should return to normal by next year, according to Sapienza. Read full story »

by Kaity Kopeski
Online Editor

Covering the walls of the Admissions Office are hundreds of colored papers. Each paper has a cartoon figure and each figure represents a real person. It’s a way for the office to visually see the number of students who are enrolled, plus the number of new enrollments, according to Mike Sapienza, vice president for enrollment management.

The green papers represent new enrollments. The goal for next fall’s enrollment is 300 new students, and currently Bryan is “on target,” Sapienza said Tuesday.

While 300 new students wouldn’t normally disrupt residential life, next fall tells a different story. Not only is Bryan planning on having a large incoming class, but also retention is higher than expected, which accounts for changes in the dorms.

The biggest change is for Huston women’s dorm, which will host three students to a room on all four floors. Originally only fourth floor was to be tripled, along with second and fourth in the men’s Long dorm, but a day before room signups an email was sent out postponing signups and announcing the change.

Read full story »