Tag: athletic

A Vanderbilt University study concluded colleges that had recently closed had enrollments of fewer than one thousand students and endowments of under $50 million. Many were religious institutions such as Bethany University in California. First year student enrollment drastically dropped – by 10% or more –  at more than a quarter of U.S. private four-year colleges over the past two years, according to the Wall Street Journal. Higher education experts foresee a death spiral for small private schools due to an overreliance on tuition revenue and a scarcity of large endowments.

Houghton College has been affected by low enrollment over the past several years. Last year, Houghton missed their enrollment target and the administration enacted austerity measures such as staff layoffs, closing of floors in dorms, and cutbacks to underperforming academic and sports programs. Houghton has survived more than a century of wars, depressions, and social changes. The problems faced today are found within rapidly changing local and national demographics. As Western New York loses 1% of its population every two years and families move south, the possibility of a vibrant local enrollment diminishes. In addition, our winters make Houghton a tough sell to out-of-state students.

The national numbers are even more implacable. As high school graduating class size declines, those who graduate are deciding in larger numbers not to attend college. Private liberal arts schools continue to be dominated by white, female students. At open access colleges, which accept at least 80% of applicants, enrollment for African-Americans and Hispanics doubled in the past decade.

Religion in America is also changing, according to Pew Research. In 1955, our country was composed of 70% mainline Protestant faiths. Today, Protestants account for 50%. Catholics and non-denominational Christians are now up to 36%.  Houghton College and Dean Michael Jordan have been very accepting of all Christian faiths, but Houghton should include our Christian diversity more when promoting the school.

The dawn of online education also hurts enrollment. According to a Babson College survey, 32% of students nationally had enrolled in an online course. To add fuel to the fire, many liberal arts schools have simply priced themselves out of the market. Tuition costs have risen beyond the inflation rate and the ability to find a job to pay off debt has severely diminished due to a poor job environment.

Every problem has solutions and Houghton has responded with many positive initiatives to assist in this year’s enrollment, which is up 10%, or about thirty students, from last year’s numbers.  The increase can be attributed to an agreement with Indiana Wesleyan to launch Houghton education online, a newly opened associate’s degree program in Buffalo, the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and an increased effort to attract foreign students in Hong Kong. These endeavors have moved the football down the field a few yards, but more students can be added at a low cost. Houghton would score a touchdown by using its best asset.

Through a generous gift by the Kerr-Pegula family, we have trumped nearly every college in the Northeast with our athletic facilities. Houghton has also spent a lot of money to complete the project. There has been a growing population of students who play sports at Houghton. According to Skip Lord, Houghton’s Athletic Director, 25% of students participate in athletics, with a goal of a 33%. The ratio is excellent, but consider elite academic schools such as Haverford College and Williams College with nearly 40% of their students playing varsity sports. Athletics attract students to come to campus, stay on campus, take up residence, and buy Houghton sports themed apparel. Our teams recruit players at camps and give Houghton visibility. Houghton athletes establish recruiting pipelines from their former high schools. Coaches have a distinct advantage of selling the college over an admissions officer as athletes and their parents are easily swayed by the opportunity to play at the next level.

Recently, the addition of several new sports has helped enrollment. Of those additions, baseball has been the biggest success adding more than 30 students. Coach Brian Reitnour has recruited students from Colorado, Washington, New Jersey, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Canada and British Guyana. We could add more students by relaunching low-cost, official JV teams. Sports like soccer and baseball are ripe for JV programs and could add 50 students. Houghton is well known for its equestrian studies and runs one of best equestrian summer camps. Could not Houghton mirror the program and competition schedule of Centenary College of New Jersey, which packs ninety students on the equestrian team?

However, the enrollment touchdown pass for a small college is to add a football team with a promise of over one hundred new, paying students. Since 2009, over 40 new college football programs have been added. Many programs have helped small private schools such as Hendrix College reverse the enrollment death spiral. Seton Hill also found enrollment in football. The school’s president noted to The New York Times, “I could have started a spiffy new major of study, spent a lot of money on lab equipment and hired a few new high-powered professors; I might have gotten 25 more students for that. Instead, I started a football team, brought in hundreds of paying students, added a vibrant piece to our campus life and broadened our recognition factor.” College football is a game changer for small schools. Besides just boosting enrollment it can eliminate low male ratios and attract new Christian minorities and ethnic, Catholic students that might not consider Houghton. Football can also add a 25 person cheerleader squad and a 60 student marching band to our vibrant music community.

In sum, Houghton doesn’t have to be a small school casualty. We must acknowledge that demographic shifts and technological changes are moving rapidly and are beyond our control. With our athletic facilities, Houghton College has distinct advantage to reverse a national trend. How we react and adapt to those trends will be how our future is determined.