August 2009 Enrollment Update

On Tuesday, August 18, Bethel University President Jay Barnes celebrated the end of summer and shared a brief update with the employee community at the Annual Ice Cream Social.

“We have much to celebrate as we go into this school year. Thanks to the hard work and prayers of many people here, I am happy to report that fall enrollment for the College of Arts & Sciences may exceed last year’s headcount,” said Barnes. “At one of the most challenging economic times in recent history we have increased financial aid offers to students by $3.5 million to meet changing family needs and offer packages competitive with other schools. Increasing financial aid was a strategic decision and one that has resulted in more students than we anticipated in our spring planning. We’re very grateful for the students who have selected Bethel. Many schools like ours across the country are experiencing significant decreases in enrollment for fall—some as much as 30%.”

“So, it looks like we will meet budget for this year,” continued Barnes. “We are not planning any salary increases at this time and many retrofit projects are still on hold, but we are preserving jobs and the opportunity to serve our students."

Barnes shared the following information regarding enrollment and financial aid:

+ Six months ago, the administration was anticipating that the College of Arts & Sciences would likely enroll 60 fewer students than last year due to the tight economy, diminishing numbers of high school graduates, and increasing competition.

+ It appears likely the College of Arts & Sciences may set a new retention record of 91%.

+ The Office of Financial Aid has responded to a record number of family financial appeals this spring and summer—nearly 300, compared with less than 100 in a normal year.

+ It is too early to forecast enrollment for Bethel Seminary, the College of Adult & Professional Studies, and the Graduate School, but Barnes is optimistic that fall 2009 enrollment will be similar or slightly stronger than last year in those schools as well.

Barnes also addressed how the budget situation is impacting retrofit plans for Bethel’s facilities:

+ Due to increasing enrollment in the nursing program, the former Dining Center has been turned into nursing classroom and nursing lab space.

+ In addition, more biology lab space is needed. This summer we completed design and construction documents were completed permitting foundation work for a 3,000-square-foot space that will house two biology labs to be built adjacent to the existing labs between the AC and CC buildings. A decision to proceed with construction will be made in early fall. If construction proceeds, the labs would be available for spring semester and would be funded with some matured trust money from faithful donors.

+ There have been several changes over the summer that could be done with minimal investment, including changing the setup of the Uppsala Room to allow it to be used as a classroom; giving security and safety additional office space in the old Clarion office; moving some CAS admissions staff into part of the former Market Square; and using Townhouse J as office space beginning later this fall.

+ The College of Arts & Sciences Office of Academic Affairs has moved to the old student life office, while Provost David Clark, Chief Diversity Officer Leon Rodrigues, Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning Joe LaLuzerne, and their administrative assistants will now reside in the old academic affairs space.

+ Other than these minimal changes, the rest of the retrofit is on hold until funding can be secured.

Barnes also looked ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the coming year: “As families feel the financial pressure of the economy and the personal investment of a sending a student to Bethel, I ask that we all look for ways we can provide care for our students that will result in the transformed lives we desire.  I believe that down the road we will look back on this year and its challenges and know that it was done only because God did it.”