I spent some time with a coworker recently on the University of Montana campus. We were there to help the Journalism School prepare for its centennial celebration – it turns 100 years old next year. While most of the conference involved party planning it also included some somber news on the university itself – mainly enrollment. It keeps dropping.
This wasn’t exactly news. UM President Royce Engstrom appeared before the Montana Board of Regents last week and said, “The enrollment picture is the thing that keeps me awake at night.” Now, the more pressing issue is how to stop it. Not all of the school’s falling student numbers can be blamed on highly publicized rape trials and an NCAA investigation, although neither helped.
Statewide, UM had been the largest school, in terms of student populations, for years. In the fall of 2011, a record 15,669 students were registered for classes. That number dipped to 14,943 in 2012. And when official numbers are released for this year, it’s expected to dip again.
Meanwhile, Montana State University’s prestige and student population has grown steadily. It will surpass 15,000 for the first time this year and is planning to build a new 400-bed dormitory to house the influx of freshmen. This growth did not happen by accident. For the last several years, MSU has rebranded itself, forged critical partnerships with Bozeman tech companies and hired a charismatic president to sell its upgraded story. It’s a great school and so is UM, but the former has more effectively sold itself as an innovative institute of higher learning that has appealed to more prospective undergrads in and out of state.
Now, it appears, UM is following suit. You may have seen the billboards in the Flathead and elsewhere promoting the University of Montana. The school redesigned its website. It is more focused on marketing, recruiting and offering more scholarships to potential students. It must.
Incoming freshmen have more options and are more selective than ever. More of them are opting to attend two-year schools and live at home and save money. More of them are simply basing their decisions on the amount of financial aid they are offered. This generation grew up during the worst economic crisis in a generation. Many saw their parents lose their jobs, or move away to find work. Degrees have value, but how much are they worth?
I remain close to my school for reasons other than the diploma in my drawer. Every one of my newsroom employees has a journalism degree from the University of Montana. I depend on the school to provide a pipeline of talent to this company and trust it to train young people to be professionals. Perhaps that is an example of a story UM should begin to tell.
The enrollment drop has a devastating effect on its budget. Along with dollars it loses from tuition, state money allocated to the school is based on the number of full-time students. At its recent meeting, the regents suggested universities better prepare for budgetary challenges. MSU is breaking ground on new projects, but how will they be paid for if enrollment levels off, or drops?
UM is working to refine its brand and, if successful, could syphon students from other institutions, which will then appear before the regents and explain their own “enrollment problem.”
“Somewhere in this conversation, we need to start asking if there are alternative ways to address the growth issues, both in the short and longer term,” Regent Todd Buchanan said, according to the Missoulian.
Because right now, in the short term, the only solution is attracting more students.