EDITORIAL: Why CMU needs to address its enrollment problem
The expected drop in Central Michigan University's on-campus undergraduate enrollment numbers, expected to be down between 5-7 percent in the fall from fall 2012, is concerning to say the least.
Sure, CMU could never expect to maintain numbers as high as its fall 2010 record of 19,368 (and there are good cases to be made that it shouldn't even want to keep its enrollment levels that high), but such a steep drop in on-campus students could spell major trouble for the university and for the students who are still here.
The sharp decline in on-campus students this year, coupled with the decline we have noted over the past few years, means, simply put, that the university just will not have as much money coming in through tuition and other costs as it has in the past. Indeed, in an email sent out to faculty and staff last week, the university said it is expecting a $12 million general fund deficit and a $6 million auxiliary fund deficit next year.
That's not good news, especially if those numbers become typical over the next several years. The university cannot afford to be operating in the red, and it has promised to address the deficit by re-evaluating certain positions and having colleges dip into their carry-over funds.
In the short-term, that can do. But when you take a look at the big picture, some major choices will need to be made if these numbers hold up over time, and none of the options are fun. The university might have to make drastic cutbacks to certain programs, costing faculty their jobs and perhaps resulting in further enrollment decreases. On the other hand, the deficits and enrollment drop could result in a steep tuition increase in the future, which would come at a terrible time for students already battling record high student loan debt levels and could make CMU a less attractive option for prospective students.
Only time will tell if those scenarios become reality. In the meantime, though, CMU needs to re-examine how it markets itself to students in-state, but especially out-of-state.
Michigan high school graduation numbers are falling as the state's population decreases. That means CMU will have to look to expand its reach outside of the state if it hopes to bring in new students.
And in order to effectively reach out-of-state students, it needs to focus on creating a specific brand for itself. Should it brand itself as the university where students can get a relatively cheap, high-quality education in a state where tuition isn't as high as other states? Should it focus on advertising strong programs such as the education program or the new medical school?
Those are the types of questions the university needs to ask itself if it should hope to get itself out of this mess and save its students, faculty and staff a lot of pain.
