#summer orientation

[wutbju]

Bob Jones University is now a week late in posting its 2018 Summer Orientation numbers on its Merit Pages. 

For the last several years, the Summer Orientation numbers have been a solid predictor of the Freshman Class enrollment. And the complete totals for both weekends are usually posted the week after the last weekend. 

That would have been last Monday on July 2. It’s been a week.

What’s up, BJU? Is your Merit Pages data entry employee on vacation? Did you drop the subscription to the promotional service? 

Or . . . what? 

[wutbju]

This is history now.

[wutbju]

Not only did BJU not publish its online Vintage 2024, they didn't publish the Summer Orientation attendance from the last summer (2023).

WutBJU took a stab based on the number of orientation "leaders."

What will the upcoming Summer Orientation numbers reveal? Will they publish it?

[wutbju]

So BJU has released its numbers for the number of students who have attended Summer Orientation in 2022. And it's about the same as last year.

It's a drastic drop from pre-pandemic attendance, but about the same as last year. What does this mean for BJU's future?

[wutbju]

We didn't have the Summer Orientation numbers from 2020 because of the pandemic. But we have this summer's.

And the numbers are way, way down. Usually about 72% of the students that are present for the class picture come to Summer Orientation.

Not this year. They are way, way down.

Usually we use the summer orientation numbers as a guide to predict the rest of numbers. This year, however, is unusually low. Very.

[wutbju]

So no Summer Orientation existed in 2020. That year, summer-number-wise, is a wash.

But in 2019, 49% of the First Years whose picture made it into the yearbook actually attended Summer Orientation.

That number is pretty consistent with the first two years BJU offered Summer Orientation. It's about the average percentage over the last 8 years (51%).

If that's consistent, then there should be about 561 first-year students pictured in the Vintage this year.

That's a drop of 20%! That's a lot!

[wutbju]

We've been waiting months now for the CHE numbers. They had a change in staffing and the data is just not coming quickly.

But this summer, BJU had the lowest number ever attend their Summer Orientation -- nearly 100 fewer students than two years ago.

That's when the Delta variant still hadn't began ravaging South Carolina, so where were the students? Enthusiasm was through the roof among college students around the country. Why didn't they come to BJU?

Without the hard first-time freshmen numbers, it's hard to yet see how this plays out. But this doesn't bode well.

[wutbju]

The Greenville News reported that Bob Jones University’s Summer Orientation for the Class of 2024 will be virtual:

Bob Jones University announced Tuesday that summer orientation for the incoming class of 2024 will be done online, according to a statement from the school.

Summer orientation was originally scheduled for the weekends of June 19 and June 26, but new dates will be announced to students. Additional orientation will be provided to students and parents when they arrive on campus in August.

Since the Summer Orientation attendance is a major source of attendance prognosis, what will this summer hold for the future of Bob Jones University?