Administrators of local colleges and universities remain positive

  • By Meena Ghaziasgar
  • March 4, 2010
  • 585
                        
Despite the challenges facing local colleges and universities, administrators are trying to stay positive as they weather the economic storm that has battered many institutions across the nation. State universities, community colleges, and private schools have all faced their share of difficulties, but many are marching on, with some schools experiencing growth and increased enrollment. Cindy Summers, manager of student recruiting and community relations at the University of Akron’s Wayne College in Orrville, said that enrollments are up 10 percent from last spring. “Our enrollment was also up 10 percent in the fall,” added Summers. Also of note is the fact that Wayne College has been successful in their retention efforts between the fall and spring semester of this academic year. “Our enrollment has held--we have almost exactly the same number of students from the fall of 2009 to spring of 2010. In the fall we enrolled 2,254 students and this semester we have 2,250 students enrolled on our campus. “Seventy-five percent of our students plan to go on for a bachelor’s degree,” Summers noted. Wayne College has also been able to make improvements to its campus this year. Students are currently enjoying a new space for studying and relaxing between classes. “Our students are really enjoying our new Student Life Building, which opened in August of 2009. We added 36,000-square-feet, which includes a new dining area and bookstore. These brand new additions add new life to our campus. The new student lounge area provides more places for students to sit and study and to access computer study areas,” said Summers. Many dislocated workers are returning to school to get degrees or certificates. Many are applying to continuing education programs to get short term job training rather than an associate’s degree. Enrollment is at an all time high at Kent State Tuscarawas, which offers a wide range of certificate, associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs. Students at Kent State Tuscarawas can choose from 19 associate’s degree and nine bachelor’s degree programs. Students can also complete coursework that is applicable toward many of the 272 academic programs offered at the main campus of Kent State University. According to Pam Patacca, public relations coordinator at Kent State Tuscarawas in New Philadelphia, “we’ve had the largest enrollments in the fall of 2009 and the spring of 2010 in the history of our campus. This past fall, we had 2,395 students enrolled and this spring we have 2,387--which is a 20 percent increase over our enrollment for spring of 2009.” The difference of eight students between the fall and spring semesters has led to a 99.7 percent retention rate from the fall, representing the largest spring enrollment the school has ever seen. More than 3,000 students are currently participating in continuing education classes and, “we’ve seen an increase in displaced workers coming back for credit coursework in order to complete a degree,” said Patacca. “The continuing studies program has seen a moderate increase in enrollment.” Some of the most popular programs on campus include the bachelor’s and associate’s program in nursing, the associate of applied science in veterinary technology, as well as all of the school’s engineering programs. “We’ve seen an increase in our programs across the board,” added Patacca. “Our justice studies and business studies are popular, as is the early education program.” Kent State Tuscarawas attracts a mix of traditional and non-traditional students. Sixty percent of students are considered traditional, and 40 percent constitute the non-traditional population. When asked about anything new on the horizon, Patacca said that the school is currently building a 50,000-square-foot performing arts center, at a cost of $17.3 million. Funding for the new building, which is slated to open in November of 2010, came from state and federal funds, as well as private donations. “It’s very exciting,” said Patacca. At the College of Wooster, “right now, applications for the class that will enter in the fall of 2010 are running about even with last year (entering fall ‘09) and five percent ahead of two years ago,” said John Hopkins, associate vice president for college relations and marketing. Although the downturn has certainly affected small, private colleges locally and throughout the U.S., Hopkins noted that the College of Wooster is committed to maintaining its core goals and values. “Our goal from the beginning of the downturn has been to keep our resources focused on our core educational mission, and we’ve tightened our belts in other areas in order to do so, like trimming operating budgets in non-academic areas and forgoing raises for faculty and staff this year,” added Hopkins. “We believe it’s critical that we continue to invest in both programs and facilities, even in challenging economic times. For example, this year we launched The Center for Diversity and Global Engagement, and reopened Babcock Hall, a student residence, following a major renovation.” When asked to name some of the biggest challenges that the College of Wooster and other small, liberal-arts schools face in the coming year, Hopkins noted that, “a perennial challenge for schools like Wooster and Kenyon and Oberlin is making the case for the transformative power and lifelong value of a liberal arts education. When you look at where our alumni go and what they do--whether it’s Julia Klein, who’s CEO of a building materials company that’s one of the largest women-owned businesses in America, or a critically acclaimed filmmaker like Duncan Jones--we think we’re well positioned to make that case.”


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