An aggressive campaign at Fort Lewis College to increase enrollment and thus revenues is reaping the fruits of its labor.

FLC President Dene Thomas updated the college’s Board of Trustees at its meeting Friday on enrollment statistics as of Wednesday.

“Confirmations should begin to increase as we approach the May 1 deadline,” Thomas said. “Numbers are still preliminary, but they’re looking good.”

Applications are up 56 percent from last year, from 4,385 to 6,841, and admissions are up 62 percent, from 2,234 to 3,636. The number of students who have confirmed they will attend the Fort is the key number, though. Confirmations have increased 31 percent compared with 2015 at this time, with 457 students signing on the dotted line that they plan to attend FLC.

The college signed with Royall & Company’s Enrollment Management program to increase its recruiting reach for the class that will begin in fall 2016. The college will analyze Royall’s effectiveness after confirmations are complete.

Thomas said the college has set a firm Aug. 1 cutoff date to enroll.

“Students who came in at the last minute in August did not do well,” she said.

abutler@durangoherald.com