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USF President Stephen A. Privett, S.J., in San Rafael last month discussing the university’s future enrollment goals with alumni.
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President Looks to Alumni for Input on Enrollment Plan
University of San Francisco President Stephen A. Privett, S.J. is again hosting a series of town hall meetings with alumni groups across the country. Last year, he asked alumni for feedback on the university’s proposed Vision, Mission, and Values. This year’s topic: What should the USF student body of the future look like?
During the meetings—11 in all—alumni are treated to a presentation on today’s USF undergraduate student body, and then asked how they would alter it. A number of characteristics are under scrutiny, from ethnicity, gender, and religious makeup to the number of students who do not speak English at home (today almost 20 percent).
“Most of our students are from California,” Fr. Privett said at a town hall meeting in San Rafael last month for North Bay alumni. “This is one question we are asking ourselves: Should we have more diversity in terms of where our students are from?”
In response, several alumni said they would like to see a larger number of international students at USF. Currently, 9.4 percent of USF undergraduates are international students.
“The international voice at the university is an important piece, and it should be up around 15 percent,” Fr. Privett said. “I hear from alumni that they would like to see a stronger international voice because the world is so much smaller. Our hope is that you have a global experience at USF just by coming to campus.”
The student body’s comparatively large number of women to men raised questions among alumni at the San Rafael meeting. Of all undergraduates, 64.4 percent are women and 35.6 percent are men. The national average is about 57 to 43, women to men.
“The gender mix is a concern to us,” said B.J. Johnson, dean of academic services. “There are several factors that help explain it. We have a School of Nursing, which is majority female. We have a high number of ethnic minorities, and that population is often majority female. More women from traditionally underrepresented communities are going to college than men from these communities.”
The town hall meeting discussions are part of a larger process of creating an enrollment plan for the university. The plan will address only traditional undergraduates and not graduates or College of Professional Studies undergraduates. Although the plan is not expected to be finalized until the end of the semester, several priorities have emerged.
“Raising the academic profile of the students is an important piece,” Fr. Privett said in an interview. “Then the diversity of our student body is very important. The most significant growth is going to be among students of color. The more diverse the perspectives in the classroom, the richer the learning experience. I am talking about diversity in a broad sense, not just ethnicity, but also gender and life experiences. The gender balance is also a piece we want to address.
“Part of our planning also is trying to figure our maximum level of efficiency—at what point would it be too expensive to add more students? We know that currently we need more housing on campus. Then we need to make sure that the commons area, social space is sufficient. So we would like to grow the undergraduate population to plus or minus 4,000 students.” Currently, there are approximately 3,700 traditional undergraduates.
While the details of the plan will not be final for several months, the overall goal of the plan has been well-received by alumni at the town hall meetings.
“What’s implicit in all of this with regard to enrollment is how do we recruit the kinds of students who will benefit from the education we offer?” Fr. Privett said. “We’re interested in students who want to make a difference in the world, but how do we find those students? They are the ones who are most likely to have a great experience here and they in turn become the best presence, the best foot of the university. It’s not about getting more students, its about getting the right students.”
The remaining town hall meetings will be: in Palo Alto on Mar. 7; Washington, DC, Mar. 13; Hawaii, Apr. 9; San Francisco, Apr. 17; Sacramento, May 2; and the East Bay, May 7.
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