A recent survey of high school seniors who had previously (prior to March 1) planned to attend a four-year college or university this fall now has left colleges bracing for potential COVID related enrollment declines. The survey, along with the recent news that 23.6% fewer Pell eligible students have applied, or reapplied, for the 2020-21 school year has many budget directors scratching their heads.
To meet enrollment numbers some colleges have waved SAT and ACT requirements for 2020, and others have already begun inviting students who were previously wait listed.
After all, fewer students means less tuition revenue, less student fees, less housing revenue, less bookstore and dinning services revenue, and the need for less faculty and staff.
There is no doubt that these are unprecedented times, not only, for universities, but for America. No one actually knows how this crisis will turn out, but enrollment managers and budget directors can’t afford to wait around and find out. It’s in times like these that FAMU should consider something that is not so out box that it is simple.
Now's the time for a degree completion program
Since COVID has forced FAMU fully online for much of the spring and summer semesters, why not spend the summer inviting former students who dropped out, with 90 credits or more, to return online to complete their degree?
According to the National Student Clearing Research Center (NSCRC) nearly one million adults who had some college, but had not completed their course of study, returned to school and graduated last year.
There are 2.8 million Floridians who have some college and no degree, and NSCRC estimates that there are nearly 36 million Americans that fit this profile.
Higher education has never been more critical to the future health and well-being, and success of our country and state than it is right now. Additionally, Florida is one of the world’s largest economies and ranks 5th nationally for high tech jobs. And, because of its older population, Florida is in desperate need of college graduates in the many health-related programs that FAMU offers.
If these COVID-related enrollment scenarios are true, FAMU will need a new stream of students to sustain itself. In times like these FAMU's data driven decision making must be at its highest, because too much is at stake to sit around and wait for the coming COVID-related enrollment and financial tsunami to hit.