West Virginia University officials are unsure of how to approach enrollment in the 2020 strategic plan, a list of goals the University believes it should meet by that year.
WVU exceeded expected enrollment numbers for 2010, and now, University President James P. Clements said there are three options for the future: to shrink, stay the same or grow.
"I don’t know if we’re ready to go through another period of rapid growth," Clements said.
Improvements in technology, building more infrastructures for classrooms and dormitories, and hiring more staff and faculty were a few of Clements’ concerns.
"Until we do those things, I don’t think we want to go through a big period of rapid growth," he said.
There is currently no goal or plan to continue to increase enrollment at WVU, said Clements and Brenda Thompson. Thompson is assistant vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Services.
"It will be reviewed in the 2020 process, but it’s too early to know what enrollment will be," Thompson said.
Enrollment will be key to discussion of the next strategic plan Clements said.
Fewer high school students are willing to come to West Virginia for college, Clements said. Despite that, the University continues to recruit out-of-state students from six primary states – Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, New York and Delaware, Thompson said. The University also must maintain a balance between recruiting elite students and providing education to all as part of its land-grant mission, Clements said.
"Our job is to educate the citizens of the state, and if you have a qualified student, we don’t want to turn those students away," Clements said. "It does become a balancing act between what’s the right mix. I think we have a pretty healthy mix right now."
The increase in enrollment came from the 2010 Strategic Plan launched in 2005, which wanted 28,500 students in Morgantown and 30,000 overall within the regional campuses.
Approximately 29,000 students attend WVU in Morgantown and overall, 32,000 are enrolled.
Maintaining enrollment is the current goal, Thompson said.
The University has seen a 4 percent increase in graduate and professional students, a 7.3 percent increase in international students, a 10 percent increase in online and extended learning classes, and a 17 percent increase in freshman honors students.
"As we roll out the next plan, we have to have that discussion on what are the next strategic areas," Clements said. "Those certainly seem to be some of the ones that make sense."
The graduate student population grew from 6,910 last year to 7,178 this year, Thompson said, and a 39 percent increase in international undergraduate students since 2005.
She said the most important focus of increasing enrollment has been on first-time freshman.
The University typically aims for between 4,700 and 4,900 incoming freshmen each year, with the number split 50 percent in-state and out-of-state students, Thompson said.
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