With the start of the Fall 2013 semester came approximately 280 incoming students, a number that falls just below the anticipated enrollment target and consequentially may elicit questions concerning the welfare of Houghton College.
“The goal for the past couple years would aim for around 300 to 400 students,” said Ryan Spear, Assistant Director of Admissions, establishing the fact that the actual number of new students coming to Houghton this fall follows a trend of low enrollment.
The total of first-year students, transfer students, and those returning to Houghton after taking time off for various reasons, comprises this enrollment number.
Spear acknowledged that Houghton, as a Liberal Arts institution and as a college in general, faces challenges in regards to consistently bringing in students. “If you look at the media, a lot of the news stories out there are challenging that college is even worth it,” he said, “…that’s one thing that has been a challenge, not just for Houghton, but for all institutions – proving that it is worth it.”
Eric Currie, the college’s new Vice President for Enrollment Management, added, “In some places and areas, education has turned into an expense, not a value… we have to help people see the tangible aspects and purpose in having an education at Houghton College, and for that matter, in Christian higher education.”
One example of Houghton’s recognition of this problem and approach to eliminate it, Currie later said, is that the college currently demonstrates its value in a new way, by investing in families for longer than what was previously normal.
“We take a proactive approach,” Currie said, “by allowing families to enter into in a longer process or journey that has been normal in the application process… Now with the financial pressures that are out there, we see that we have to have a greater persistence.”
That persistence carries over to other areas of enrollment as well. Spear identifies another obstacle the college faces in bringing in students, and how persistence in that may produce different results as well.
“There are things that are happening locally, regionally, nationally, and globally that all affect enrollment at Houghton College,” said Spear. “One of these trends is that more and more students are studying closer to home, and Western New York has experienced a population decline during the past few years or decades.”
Another one of Houghton’s marketing and enrollment strategies to counteract trends which may hurt the college’s enrollment is to contact specific types of students, such as those currently enrolled in a community college, who may plan on transferring to a four-year institution like Houghton.
“We have moved into some deeper relationships and partnerships with some community colleges in the area,” said Currie while considering one way in which Houghton works to bring in more students in the future.
In the end, both Currie and Spear agreed that Houghton College faces its challenges in appealing to incoming students and in competing with other education or career-oriented options, yet both expect and currently see positive outcomes.
Although enrollment numbers fall on lower ground than Houghton hopes, Spear remained confident. “It’s a challenge for Houghton to recruit – that’s for sure,” he said. “But we think that God is using Houghton in a powerful way in the world.”