As the semester is more than halfway over, the student government meeting was full of updates regarding everything from a department name change to admissions. On Feb. 25, the student government passed the resolution (RES)04-S25, which has been in the works for many semesters. This calls for the addition of American Sign Language (ASL) as an additional language option in the core curriculum. It is also open to service learning opportunities assisting those in need, whether at John Carroll University or in the local community.
An update of the “Dear Colleague” email that was sent out in early February was also mentioned in the senate meeting. President Ryan Moore ’26 said in a statement, “In my statement earlier, it said that it [the email] can affect cultural organizations, which it does in a way. Ours are open to anyone and not just those students of a particular culture.” This means that the cultural organizations that are under JCU are not at risk of losing their status as an organization.
During the March 11 meeting, Senate Resolution SA01-F25 was passed. This calls for a funding of $3,000 for Runway Across Cultures. It is an initiative run under the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Mariam Al-Saffar ’27. The event will be held on April 23 in the LSC Conference Room and Murphy Commons from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The DEIB Committee is looking for volunteers, support staff, models, designers and more. The sign-ups are open via the signup form link. For more information, check out the Inside JCU emails or email Al-Saffar at [email protected] or Veronica Mekhel ’25 at [email protected].
Two departments will be renamed soon. The Classics program is becoming the “Ancient Greek and Roman Studies Program (AGRS).” The Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures Department will be known as the “Ancient and Modern Languages and Cultures Department (AMLC).”
Director of Admissions Mike Andelbrandt ’18 stopped by to give the low down on the national strategy for the admissions process. John Carroll University currently has roughly 2,500 undergraduate students enrolled. Currently, those students are from all over the country and the world. Some of the bigger markets are Northeast Ohio, Buffalo and Western New York and Chicago, Illinois. Andelbrandt said, “We look at a few different areas when reaching out to students: analyzing data, brand awareness, influencing the influencers and meeting students.”
Analyzing the data comes from inquiries that prospective students and families have. It also comes from the college emails. “When you click on a link in one of the many college emails, it lets us know that there is someone interested in JCU,” Andelbrant added. Brand awareness comes from all of the advertisements about the college. Influencing the influencers come from different voices and people through word of mouth at high schools. The last step of the process is to meet students, where admission counselors will travel to the schools and get to know students.
For the class of 2025, there have been 25,093 inquirers, 4,585 applicants, 3,539 admits and 307 deposits. Student Government Vice President, Mike Noonan ’26, said, “What stood out to me was that the numbers tell the story. Compared to the last four years, this enrollment cycle has experienced a 13% increase in inquiries and applicants to JCU. More importantly, the deposit rate [a prospective student’s ‘down payment’ to the university] has increased by 63%.”
“Additionally, JCU strives to provide personal connection. This is shown through the admission’s ‘National Recruitment Team,’ composed of individuals living in distinct recruitment areas [Western New York, Chicago and potentially Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey] that are tasked with providing the personal connection JCU provides to these prospective students from across the country,” added Noonan.