The Faculty Senate will be hearing a report from the Admissions Office to get an update on the number of potential students enrolling in the fall semester at 2 p.m. Tuesday in Room 4440 of Booth Library.

They will also have nominations for executive positions.

Jeffrey Stowell, the vice-chair of the Faculty Senate, said the senate gets an update from admissions once or twice a year.

“We had admissions come to an earlier meeting, but we didn’t feel like we gave them an adequate time,” Stowell said. “We’re particularly interested in the success of our recruiting efforts for fall enrollment given the current climate of higher education in Illinois.”

Kara Hadley-Shakya, the interim director of admissions, said the office has seen some difficulty as a result of the current budget impasse, but they are staying positive and continuing their efforts by looking at where they are at and in what ways they can improve.

Hadley-Shakya said they are a little closer to knowing how Eastern is doing in terms of its enrollment numbers for the fall, but calculations and plans are already in place for the following spring semester.

The Admissions Office is currently increasing their communication plan and focusing on juniors and seniors, giving them additional marketing materials as well as getting more people to come for overnight stays on campus, Hadley-Shakya said.

Hadley-Shakya said there are also plans to have two new college search kickoff events in Naperville and Orland Park.

Jeannie Ludlow, a member of the Faculty Senate, said it is beneficial for the faculty to hear about the recruiting efforts so they can implement the initiatives themselves.

“Ms. Hadley-Shakya and her team work hard to keep our university growing and faculty are interested in their work,” Ludlow said. “The more we know about how they are recruiting students, the better we can help their efforts succeed.”

Hadley-Shakya said it is good to have these connections around campus, which is why she makes visits to different meetings with administration members and department chairs.

She said she works one-on-one with the chairs to see what they can do specifically with their department.

“We’ve really built a strong relationship with faculty,” Hadley-Shakya said.

Nominations for the executive committee, which includes the chair, vice-chair and recorder, will also be taking place at the meeting.

Stowell said nominees need to be members of the Faculty Senate, which can include newly inducted members whose terms begin in the upcoming fall semester.

If more than one candidate is nominated, the senate will vote using paper ballots.

“Every position is open every year, but the nominations are done in the last meeting of April so we don’t know yet who may be interested in serving in these roles,” Stowell said.

Shirmeen Ahmad can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]