The enrollment plan for the future must be responsive, first and foremost, to Seattle Pacific’s mission. The plan must also address the goals for student quality and mission fit. It must be implemented with a commitment to addressing the factors which will ensure the optimum campus culture and learning environment envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan. This includes actively planning to accommodate enrollment growth and addressing the capacity challenges which will be faced. Economic realities must also be considered to ensure that SPU remains financially viable for the future.

During the decade ahead, SPU will graduate more students who are prepared by our distinctive educational experience to engage the culture and change the world they enter. This will involve a two-tiered approach to increasing enrollment through 2007-08. For the first five years, the emphasis will be on increasing the quality of the educational experience, expanding our reach off campus through new mission-driven and market sensitive programs, and building adequate supporting infrastructure to effectively accommodate both on and off campus programs. For the second five years, the focus will be on campus enrollment growth, with attention given to effectively preserving the optimum campus culture, ethos and learning environment envisioned by the Comprehensive Plan.

For the First Five Years:

1. Increase the traditional undergraduate enrollment to no more than 2700, adjusting capacity as needed (meeting space, faculty and staff loads, classrooms, performance facilities, labs, majors, service courses, housing and the Common Curriculum). Growth occurs primarily through increased persistence of SPU students and is limited by incrementally increasing the selectivity for admission of new students. Competition is our chief challenge for new students, while as a community we face the need to better understand how to implement strategies to increase persistence.
2. Increase traditional graduate enrollment to 1000 students (200 additional students over five years).
3. Focus resources and energy on growth off campus, such as through a Degree Completion Program and Distance Learning (UG, Graduate, non-degree), to extend the reach of the SPU mission to serve student populations who do not choose to come to the Queen Anne campus and to achieve enrollment and revenue growth through 2002-03. The challenge for mission-driven new sources of revenue means significant culture change and new operational costs: leasing facilities, hiring/developing faculty and staff, technology.

 

For the Second Five Years and Beyond:

4. Increase the traditional undergraduate enrollment to 3000 by 2007-08 and to 3500 by 2013-14. Increase the graduate enrollment to 1500 by 2007-08. Enrollment growth should occur while maintaining levels achieved for enrollment mix and student profile during the first five years.

	Undergraduate	Graduate
1998-99 Actual	2507	685
2002-03	2700	1000
2007-08	3000	1500
2012-13	3500	1500

By 2002-03, the profile of SPU students will reflect the University’s commitment to student characteristics at admission and to learning outcomes, which are the best predictors of graduates who will be capable of impacting the world in the 21^st Century.

1. Implement a moderately selective undergraduate admission policy in keeping with Board action in 1991 by phasing in an academic standard for admission of first-time freshmen over the five years.

Entering Class 1999-2000 2.5 predicted GPA

Entering Class 2002-03 2.75 predicted GPA

Entering Class 2007-08 3.0 predicted GPA*

* The University will move to these goal standards for admission as the applicant pool increases in size and quality over the decade. The 2007-08 Enrollment Projection Model assumes 2.75 predicted GPA for admission, although the improvement in the applicant pool is expected to support the goal of 3.0 predicted GPA, beginning 2007-08. Transfer student standards are yet to be determined.

2. Implement a new admission process with a ranking system** which targets the desired SPU student profile characteristics—academic performance, faith/church match, leadership potential, service involvement and special considerations—to inform the admission decision on each applicant. Employ an admission application deadline not later than mid March; move from a rolling admission process throughout the year to selection from a pool of applicants at the admissions application deadline for Autumn quarter. Winter and Spring quarter deadlines to be determined. This process will begin formally, but incrementally, for the Autumn 1999 class.

   ** The Admissions Office has ranked applicants for three years to support the scholarship selection process. This ranking process is a strong foundation for creating the admission process for the future.

ENROLLMENT OUTCOMES

The desired enrollment outcomes for SPU undergraduates reflect the University’s commitment to graduating more students who will change the world for good.

1. Improve persistence from Freshman to Sophomore year in keeping with curricular changes and implementation of other student success strategies as follows:

By 2000-01:	83%
By 2001-02:	84%
By 2002-03:	85%

2. Improve four-, five- and six-year graduation rates by 2002-03 as follows:

	1998-99	2002-03	2007-08
Four-Year Rate:	30%	40%
Five-Year Rate:	48%	55%	65%
Six-Year Rate:	52%	60%

The five and six-year rates are national norms for comparison purposes. SPU will also track the four-year rate to guide our persistence strategies, in keeping with our commitment to affordability for students.

3. Maintain a reasonable average debt load (total student loan indebtedness) for graduating seniors, in keeping with our commitment to affordability for students. This will be measured by national norms for private four-year institutions and by national data regarding the consumer and social behavior of graduates who carry debt load. In 1997-98:

ENROLLMENT MIX

The goals for enrollment mix by 2002-03 will reflect the priorities of the Comprehensive Plan for the 21^st Century as outlined in the Education Plan.

1. Increase traditional undergraduates to 2700 and traditional graduate students to 1000.
2. Focus on place-bound undergraduate adult learners/transfers and graduate students through off-campus degree completion programs and distance learning.
3. Focus on first-time freshmen in the traditional new student enrollment. NOTE: A critical mass of transfer students may be needed to enhance their learning experience and our recruiting efforts (currently at an acceptable 29%; projected low of 26% in 2001-02).
4. Increase out-of-state undergraduate students to 45% from targeted national metropolitan centers (currently 39% Undergraduates and 4% Graduate students).
5. Continue commitment to a residential campus by providing housing for all new and continuing students under 21 years of age and other continuing residential students who desire to live in campus housing. Be responsive to the planned changes in enrollment mix which will impact campus housing, including the increase in first-time freshmen, reduction in transfer students and increase in both undergraduate and graduate students from out-of-state and out-of-country.
6. Maintain a critical mass of Christian undergraduate students (Of full-time first-time freshmen, currently 77% of admit pool and 81% of enrolled FT freshmen).
7. Identify a goal for reasonable growth of Free Methodist undergraduate enrollment (currently 131 or 5%) as part of the national enrollment strategy. The specific goal to be determined when better information is available regarding the national and international pool of potential Free Methodist college students. Efforts are underway to secure this information from the Free Methodist Church.
8. Raise enrollment of undergraduate men to 40% (currently 35%).
9. Identify a reasonable undergraduate enrollment goal for children of alumni (currently estimated at 6.5%). Efforts are underway to determine the national and international pool of alumni with high school age children.
10. Increase the undergraduate and graduate enrollments of ethnic minority students from 2% to 4% African American and from 2% to 4% Hispanic, areas of mix which are below national averages in the Coalition (CCCU), state and King County general populations. The overall total moves from 11% to 15% undergraduate ethnic minorities. The goals reflect a University commitment to seek ethnic students who fit the desired student profile and who will persist at near the average rate of all SPU students. Meeting the goals depends on the University’s commitment to provide the curriculum, support services and environment to serve a critical mass of ethnic students. (NOTE: African-American men persist at about 35% nationwide, significantly below their 65% current rate at SPU.)

	Undergraduate (2700)	Graduate (1000)
African American	108 (4%)	40 (4%)
Hispanic	108 (4%)	40 (4%)
Asian American	162 (6%)	40 (4%)
Native American	27 (1%)	3 (.3%)
Total:	405 (15%)	123 (12%)

11. Increase the enrollment of undergraduate international students from 4% to 6% and graduate international students from 6% to 10% by establishing new bases for student recruiting in South and Central America and India, while continuing to recruit in Asia and Eastern Europe where alumni and friends are established contacts for SPU. The Free Methodist Church and others throughout the world may be an important contact strategy. The goals reflect a University commitment to seek international students who fit the desired student profile and who persist at near the average rate of all SPU students. Meeting the goals depends on the University’s commitment to provide the curriculum, support services and environment to serve a critical mass of international students.

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