The rural strategy: Pittsburgh colleges try harder to enroll, retain small-town students

About 90% of rural students graduate high school, but only a little more than half of rural high schoolers go to college, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports.

By KELLEN STEPLER
TribLive

Logan Johnson did not want a traditional, campus setting in a college.

“I wanted to do some sort of city, as far as college,” said Johnson, 22, of Warren, a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania. “I’ve always been attracted to urban life. Lots going on, things to do, shows to see, restaurants to try.”

Johnson’s family visited Pittsburgh before, and the just under three-hour trek to Point Park University in Downtown Pittsburgh fit the bill. He graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in musical theatre.

As college enrollment struggles nationally because of demographic trends and an increased reluctance of higher education’s value, Pittsburgh universities are stepping up their marketing to students from rural areas — a demographic that they had not focused on before.

“The university had never really targeted students in small high schools in rural Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia,” said Marlin Collingwood, vice president of enrollment management at Point Park. “There may very well be students in those areas who want an urban experience.”

About 90% of rural students graduate high school, a slightly higher rate than those attending suburban or urban high schools, reports the U.S. Department of Education.

But only a little more than half of rural high schoolers go to college, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports.

Johnson was one of 150 students who graduated in 2022 from Warren Area High School. He estimated about half of his class went to college. Others pursued trade schools or immediately entered the workforce.

Johnson believed opportunities at a conservatory, in an urban location, could accelerate his goals as a performer.

Before 2023, Point Park focused recruitment efforts within a standard, two-hour radius.

Since then, marketing shifted to highlight Point Park’s Downtown location, and Collingwood began attending college fairs in northwestern, north central and central Pennsylvania. He concentrated on Warren, Potter and Forest counties — rural areas, surrounding the Allegheny National Forest, that together have a population of 59,400. By contrast, Allegheny County’s is 1.2 million, which includes Pittsburgh’s head count of just over 300,000.

“A lot of folks would think it’s not worth our while,” Collingwood said. “We really believed — and we’re seeing this play out now — that a downtown, urban university like Point Park is attractive to students from rural parts of the state.”

In the last three years, Point Park reported a 45% increase in applications from rural markets, resulting in a 24% increase in rural student enrollment.

At the University of Pittsburgh, a federal Partners for Rural Student Success Impact and Mobility program has financially assisted efforts, like hiring a second recruiter, to increase rural student first-year enrollment across its campuses.

April Belback, associate vice provost for student success and advising, said Pitt is on target for its rural student enrollment and retention goals, although she would not share figures.

Pitt has formed a group where rural students can connect with alumni and ask questions about college and academic life.

“There’s intersectionality of rural students — many of them are also first-generation, and we have lots of support from our team around first-generation students,” Belback said. “Many of them are also low-income, and we help connect them to resources, whether it’s paying for books or understanding how to navigate financial aid, or basic needs resources.”

The median income for a rural household is 12% lower than the national average, even after adjusting for a lower cost of living, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Base annual undergraduate tuition is $53,238 at Duquesne, $40,260 at Point Park and $20,966 at Pitt’s Oakland campus (for in-state students).

“Oftentimes I hear, ‘I could go to Point Park, but I don’t think I can afford it,’ ” Collingwood said. “That’s when you have real conversations about merit aid, financial aid, and how do you put together a plan for a student with the desire and capabilities to come here?”

Point Park offers a scholarship to eligible students who visit campus and subsequently enroll full-time as undergrads. That’s led to an uptick of tours from students outside of a two-hour radius, Collingwood said.

Pitt announced last month that Pennsylvania students whose households make $75,000 or less are eligible for free tuition at one of its branch campuses.

Jack Maxwell, a Duquesne rising sophomore studying psychology and rhetoric, graduated from North Clarion County Junior-Senior High School in a class of 48 students.

“With higher education, and rural students, they very much try to stereotype us as narrow- minded, poorly educated people, and that’s not always the case,” Maxwell said.

Rural students must also adjust to the hustle and bustle of city life, which can be a challenge. National Student Clearinghouse data shows rural students enrolled in college are more likely to drop out than urban and suburban students.

Joel Bauman, Duquesne’s senior vice president for enrollment management, said prospective rural students often raise concerns about safety in the city. Duquesne, like other colleges, addresses those issues head-on during orientation, with guidance on walking around Downtown streets safely at night and knowing the resources available from public safety.

Some students are apprehensive about making friends and fitting in on campus — a new environment with new people, far from their familiar setting. Bauman believes the orientation sessions are helpful with deliberate attention paid to these social concerns. He also advocates for students to join extracurricular programs, a time-tested way to meet new people.

Duquesne is a member of the rural and small town special interest group, a network within the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Bauman said initiatives like test-flexible admission applications, and a summer program that helps new students transition to college, are more inviting to prospective students.

“The rural and small town landscape is core to what we need to do,” Bauman said. “We have made rural and small-town recruitment part and parcel of our regular recruitment.”