Albany State University officials have put in place new people and new strategies to reverse the decline in the university’s enrollment, which decreased by 10 percent according to fall 2015 enrollment numbers released Thursday by the University System of Georgia.

The university has hired new administrative leaders for critical positions in enrollment management. Other efforts include restructuring the Office of Admissions.

“The issues to which we must give greater attention are recruitment and retention here at Albany State,” said Vice President and Provost Abiodun Ojemakinde.  “About 418 students are no longer here for various reasons. We realize that what we must do is strengthen our retention plan and pursue an aggressive recruitment effort.”

Ojemakinde added that the issues are “much more complex” than they may appear on the surface. The university has hired a new associate provost for enrollment management, a new financial aid director, and a new academic advisement and retention director; transformed institutional research to institutional effectiveness; and, brought in a new registrar within the last year.

Associate Provost Paul Bryant said efforts have also included a change in the student recruitment cycle, for recruiting to begin in the fall, instead of the spring and summer of the coming academic year. Recruiting teams are spreading out across the region in the coming months. Marketing efforts have intensified to reach out to potential students in the border states of Florida, Alabama and South Carolina, and other programs such as “Go Back. Move Ahead.” and “Complete College Georgia” are now in full swing.

Additionally, collaborations with other institutions are being expanded, like the one that will begin in 2016 at the Darton College – Cordele Campus. In January, ASU and Darton will kick off a bachelor’s degree program in one of ASU’s signature programs, Supply Chain and Logistics Management.

“We are now better positioned to follow the data when it comes to retention,” Bryant said. “With the aggressive efforts of the new enrollment management and recruiting team, we exceeded the recruiting goal for freshmen in fall 2015. We must work on efforts to keep them here, with stronger recruiting, enhanced marketing efforts and a focus on bringing more of the best and brightest to Albany State.”