Some researchers say the traditional college-aged segment of the U.S. population is expected to decrease by as much as 15% in the next five to 10 years. The COVID crisis also created some new challenges in higher education.
“The population of college-age students ... has shrunk and at the same time, of that population, some students are opting out of college and are going to tech school,” said Rick Krysiak, UD’s vice president of facilities management and planning. “That means that competition for that smaller student base has become fierce.”
UD student enrollment
Last fall, UD’s total enrollment was 11,380 students, which included full-and part-time undergraduate students, plus graduate, doctoral and law students. UD had about 7,920 full-time undergraduate students.
University officials said overall enrollment has fluctuated between 11,000 and 12,000 students in the last five years.
But last month, David Schmidt, UD’s assistant vice president of planning and construction management, said the university expects to reduce its enrollment by 10% to 15% in coming years. President Eric Spina shared similar information in a column in this newspaper in late June.
“That will take us back to 2012 levels,” Schmidt said.
UD officials say the school is transforming its operating model to remain competitive in a new and challenging environment for institutions of higher education.
According to a draft version of UD’s proposed general development plan, full-time undergraduate enrollment at the college could decrease from a peak of 8,650 students in 2020 to about 7,200 students by 2027 (down 17%).
Classes for the fall semester start at UD on Aug. 19, and the school expects to have more than 1,700 first-year students.
UD has had between 1,890 and 2,120 first-year students in each of the last five years, officials said.
Schmidt said UD is closing Founders Hall, the oldest residence hall on campus, for the 2024-2025 school year because it is not needed. The residence hall can house about 400 people.
UD freshman and sophomores are required to live in school housing on campus. Juniors and seniors are allowed to seek private housing.
Credit: JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF
Credit: JEREMY P. KELLEY / STAFF
Job reductions over years
In an editorial that ran in this newspaper in late June, Spina, UD’s president, said the college would try to reduce costs and shrink its employee base through attrition and a retirement incentive plan.
Spina said UD also would stop offering low-demand graduate programs.
UD officials say the college currently has about 3,700 full-time, part-time and temporary employees. This includes about 651 full-time faculty and 2,199 full-time staff.
University officials say that 35 faculty members and 84 staff are participating in a retirement incentive program and attrition is ongoing.
UD’s draft general development plans says the school plans to decrease its employment “parallel with lower undergraduate totals.”
Spina’s editorial says that UD is responding to demographic changes, but the steps the school is taking also will help facilitate strong connections between students and faculty.
He wrote, “More than 21% of our incoming class is now Pell-eligible, an indication that we’re opening our doors more widely, particularly in the Dayton region.” Pell Grants are a form of federal student aid available to lower-income students and families.
The Chronicle of Higher Education says that many colleges face financial challenges because of an upcoming “enrollment cliff.”
Wittenberg University in Springfield is in the process of weighing massive cuts to faculty and moving many classes to online providers. In the past few years in Ohio, Urbana University and Notre Dame College in Cleveland are among those that have closed entirely.
Birth rates decreased at the time of the Great Recession in the late 2000s and researchers say there will be smaller numbers of graduating high school seniors in coming years.
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