Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State University administrators said they expect to see growth in student enrollment next school year and are projecting a budget surplus this fiscal year.
Wright State president Sue Edwards said all the indicators for student enrollment are trending in the right direction.
“Our applications are up,” she said. “Our retention is up from fall to spring. Things are going incredibly well.”
Between fall 2012 and fall 2022, WSU enrollment fell from 16,762 students to 9,661, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s preliminary headcount. In February 2021, trustees announced faculty cuts, citing student enrollment drops.
The school has been working to push enrollment back. Recent initiatives included hiring a new vice president for enrollment management and chief recruitment officer, Susan Schaurer, and implementing changes to the university meant to retain students and attract new ones, including midterm grades and a letter-writing campaign.
Doug Fecher, one of the trustees and the chair of the university trustees’ finance committee, said the university began the year expecting to see a budget deficit of about $15 million, but now expects to see a budget surplus of about $4 million.
