President Ross
emphasized Tuesday in his State of the University Address that Michigan is
suffering from crippling population decline, especially a decrease in the number of
graduating high school seniors. According to university projections, this
decline could cause Central Michigan University’s on-campus enrollment to drop
to 17, 500 students by 2020.

The difference
between 17, 500 students and 20,000 students is about $50 million. Considering Michigan’s high school senior classes will fall
from 97,590 students in 2015
to about 90,000 by 2020,
according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a devastating loss
of students and revenue is a very real possibility.

Ross wasted no
time in vocalizing what this news means to every member of the CMU community.

“That’s tough
stuff,” he said. “It’s an economic reality … that we can view as frightful or
threatening. We also have the option to view it as a call to action. Media
reporters, I hope you heard that last part.“

We did. And we
encourage our university to rally around that call to action.

“A challenge is
an opportunity to do your very best,” Ross said, citing Duke Ellington. Not
only does he intend to preserve enrollment for the coming years, he said he
hopes to boost it to 30,000 total students in 2020.

The goal is attainable with increased efforts in recruitment, retention and marketing. We
want to emphasize that stable enrollment, much less a boost in enrollment, will
not be achieved by standing still and allowing the future to take offensive.

The university
must continue to invest in campus and ensure we have a valuable product that is
worth the sticker price for students. Projects like the new Biosciences
Building will make our campus more attractive to prospective students by
showing them that CMU is a cutting edge institution that will prepare them for
the future.

More must be
done. Old residence halls and outdated academic buildings should be bulldozed
or renovated so our campus fits that image. Anspach Hall recently received a
facelift that buildings like Pearce Hall are still awaiting.

Another major
component of saving enrollment is CMU’s Global Campus. The university is
currently one of the leaders in the nation when it comes to online education.

“I’d be
foolish to talk about enrollment without also discussing Global Campus,” Ross
said during his address. “Because Global Campus sets us apart from our peers.”

CMU is the third
largest university in Michigan partly because of its strong online program.
Ross said he wants to expand the Global Campus from 7,500 students to at least
10,000.

We believe this
number is absolutely obtainable and necessary for our institution to keep its
edge over competitors like Grand Valley State University and Western Michigan
University.

CMU must continue
to expand marketing in order to spread the university’s name not only across
the state, but throughout the Midwest and throughout the world. In addition our
increased efforts in recruiting out of state students and international
students must continue only to strengthen.

Finally, for CMU
to avoid the potential enrollment crisis it faces in the next five years, it
must continue to make current students, faculty and staff its number one
priority. A happy, healthy community is a community others want to join.

If CMU wishes to
develop an identity that puts it on a bigger map – alongside institutions like
University of Michigan and Michigan State University – it must not set out
half-heartedly.

Only through a
long-term, united effort by faculty, staff and students will CMU be able to
circumvent a projected bleak future. And with the hard work and resilient
spirit of our community, we believe it is possible.