By Beth Wade

Friday, 09 December 2011

Academic, sporting options expanded at Southwestern

GEORGETOWN — A new strategic plan approved in 2010–11 has culminated in Southwestern University’s exploration of adding academic and athletic programs to its list of offerings.

“A lot of what we are doing right now and the time frame for doing it comes out of the strategic plan that [the trustees] voted on last year,” Southwestern University President Jake Schrum said. “Basically, the strategic plan urged us to provide a more vibrant and meaningful experience for our students, both from an academic point of view and a student life point of view.”

The strategic plan, known as Shaping Our Future, will guide the university until 2020 and is focused on academics with three supporting strategies, including improved or enhanced campus life and student experience, increased recognition and visibility, and financial viability and sustainability, said Ron Swain, senior adviser to the president for strategic planning and assessment at Southwestern.

“It’s an integrated approach. All of these elements work together in some fashion, so the idea that the institution must be financially viable and sustainable is contingent upon enhancing our campus life—not only recruiting students but retaining them until they graduate,” Swain said.

Schrum announced several new initiatives aimed at increasing the school’s revenue and supporting the school’s academic mission.

Expanded academics

Two new potential master’s degree programs in teaching and translational medicine are both under review and could be implemented within the next two years, university Provost Jim Hunt said.

“[The programs] are still very much in the exploratory stages to see if they are something that would benefit our students,” Hunt said.

The university is working with The Methodist Research Institute in Houston to develop the curriculum for the translational medicine program, which integrates biomedical research and patient treatment. The Masters of Arts degree in education is under assessment by faculty.

Another initiative to expand the university’s Paideia Program is under review.

The current program is offered to 100 students per year and is designed to promote connections among academic courses, intercultural and diversity experiences, civic engagement, collaborative or guided research and creative works.

The proposed program, which includes a junior or senior seminar course focused on an interdisciplinary topic clustered with three general education classes in a variety of subjects, was presented to the university’s staff and will continue to work its way through the school’s governance.

If approved, the Paideia Program could be available to all students.

“That, in my judgment, is a key element that is different about a Southwestern University education,” Swain said. “So having an opportunity for all students to participate in those kinds of experiences will set Southwestern students apart from other undergraduate students.”

Faculty could begin developing curriculum for the program in fall 2013 with courses to follow in subsequent semesters, Hunt said.

Faculty are also studying the feasibility of a two- to three-week long January term.

Budget woes

The new programs are expected to help the university achieve the goal of recruiting more students as outlined in the Shaping Our Future strategic plan, which calls for the university to increase its student body from 1,250 to 1,500 students in five years.

“Last year, [in] 2010–11, we had the largest enrollment in terms of new students based on our new plan,” Swain said. “For this fall, the projection was to again realize an increase in our new student population, and we fell short of that by about 60 students. That contributed to what has been publicized as the $2.8 million budget shortfall.”

Swain said as the school’s operating budget has transitioned over the past several years to a tuition-based model from an endowment-revenue model, the importance of recruiting more students has increased.

“As we become more dependent on tuition, that means we need more students, and not having those students to come in this fall contributed to that shortfall,” Swain said.

Another contributing factor is the increased need for financial aid, Schrum said.

“We have already cut some areas of our budget by 20 percent in the past four years to free up additional funds for financial assistance,” Schrum said in a Sept. 15 address to faculty and staff. “Reality requires us to take bold new steps in order to be financially sustainable.”

Swain said the university is focused on growing its student body in three areas, including traditional undergraduate students out of high school, transfer students from two-year community colleges and international students.

Athletic advancement

In October, school officials announced the reinstatement of a men’s football program at Southwestern in fall 2013. The school will also add a women’s lacrosse team, which is slated to begin play in spring 2014.

The additional programs are expected to aid in recruiting new students, including a larger number of both athlete and non-athlete male students, said Glada Munt, director of intercollegiate athletics at Southwestern.

“I think the football program will help us enroll more first-year students and likely some transfer students, but a major factor there—and this comes under enhanced campus life [in the strategic plan]—the football program, the athletic programs, would add a level of excitement and enthusiasm on the campus,” Swain said.

---