BURLINGTON — The new president of the University of Vermont wants to reduce the number of undergraduate students on the Burlington campus and make the school harder to get in to for out-of-state applicants, as part of a plan to enhance the quality and affordability of the school.

But the increased selectivity would not come at the expense of Vermont students.

To help accomplish the goal, UVM is allocating up to $500,000 in surplus funds for beefing up efforts to meet the new goals in enrollment management.

The money will pay for enhanced student recruitment efforts via direct mail and by personal visits of admissions officers to high schools and college fairs, said UVM Vice President for Enrollment Management Chris Lucier.

Being more selective will also help attract better faculty, Lucier said.

“Great faculty wants great students in their classroom and working with them on their research as undergraduates,” Lucier said. “If you have great faculty, students want to study at UVM to engage with the faculty in and out of the classroom.”

The school also plans to hire three more admissions counselors who will focus on other areas, including Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, South Florida and southern California.

By the standard measure of selectivity, UVM was slightly less selective in 2012 than it was a decade ago. In the fall of 2002, UVM agreed to admit 71.5 percent of applicants. This year UVM accepted 76.6 percent.

UVM president Thomas Sullivan’s goal is to bring the figure down to about 65 percent, the Burlington Free Press reported.

Currently UVM accepts 70 percent to 75 percent of Vermont applicants.