TY - JOUR AB - Persistence to graduation begins with engaging the incoming class even before they have made a deposit. Saint Joseph’s University developed a framework for combatting the admissions summer melt following a summer where 20% of the deposits were withdrawn. By employing tactics to monitor student engagement throughout the summer and connecting with students during the fall semester, the summer melt now averages 8% and retention to the second semester averages 96.5%. Spending time verifying the cohort of first-time full-time students and assisting students facing obstacles has greatly improved the student experience and retention. Tactics including University Connectors, a New Student Portal, pre-enrollment surveys, and a 5th week check-in are described. AU - Kimberly M. Allenā€Stuck and Daniel W. McDevitt CY - Washington, DC DA - EP - IS - 2 J1 - Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly J2 - SEMQ JA - SEM Quarterly JF - Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly JO - Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly L1 - LA - EN SP - T1 - Summer Freeze: Engaging the Incoming Class to Reduce Admissions Melt UR - summer-freeze-engaging-the-incoming-class-to-reduce-admissions-melt VL - 2 Y1 - 2014/7/14 Y2 - 2024/3/28 ER -