Faculty and staff members participated in separate campus dialogues on Nov. 22 to address challenges facing the University with regards to the budget and enrollment management.
Budget session
In a morning session, some 70 students, faculty, and staff representing a cross-section of departments and offices worked in small groups to share ideas and recommendations to reduce costs or processing improvements, as well as revenue-generating possibilities.
Due primarily to a reduced retention rate, this year Westfield State is projecting 247 less undergraduate students than expected for a total enrollment of 3,976 vs. a budgeted enrollment of 4,223.
Since approximately 75% of the University’s budget comes from tuition and fees, this created a shortfall of approximately $1.6 million. “While this is a significant amount, it is 1.3% of the University’s annual budget of $126 million,” said Vice President for Administration and Finance Stephen Taksar. “We appreciated the excellent participation by our caring and thoughtful campus community to generate many helpful suggestions to address this deficit.”
Enrollment management session
In the afternoon, a similarly diverse representation of employees addressed the challenges facing the enrollment management area.
A declining number of graduating high school students, particularly in the Northeast, is leading to greater competition to attract and retain students. Participants worked in small groups to share ideas to address those challenges.
“Higher education is an increasingly competitive marketplace and we welcome any suggestions to put Westfield State in a more advantageous position to better attract, serve, retain, and graduate our students,” said Vice President for Enrollment Management Daniel Forster.