POCATELLO Idaho
Idaho State University has hired a new administrator to increase enrollment at the eastern Idaho campus.
The school Thursday said it has hired Steven Neiheisel as associate provost for enrollment management. Neiheisel has a doctorate in higher education administration from Ohio State University.
The university reported a 4.2 percent gain in enrollment this year, which followed a 9 percent decline last year. The university said that 13,208 students are enrolled this semester.
“It’s very encouraging to come in and see enrollment up when I got here,” Neiheisel told the Idaho State Journal. “Obviously, there were some difficult times. My challenge is making sure (the growth is) broad-based and sustainable.”
Before coming to Idaho State, Neiheisel worked as assistant dean of enrollment management at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. He worked at Eastern Washington University and the University of Nevada Las Vegas before that.
“We have a number of enrollment challenges, and I think (Neiheisel) is going to help us to meet our enrollment goals in the future,” said Robert Wharton, ISU provost and vice president of academic affairs. “He has a track record of success.”
After the university saw a decline in enrollment last year, it formed a task force that found rising tuition combined with universities in neighboring states offering student incentive packages were the reasons.
It also found that the former Ricks College in Rexburg converting from a two-year to a four-year school, now called Brigham Young University-Idaho, drew away students who might otherwise have chosen Idaho State.
Information from: Idaho State Journal, http://www.journalnet.com
– Associated Press
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