Students are understandably concerned about President Witt’s plan to increase enrollment by 5,000 students by 2020. The last time President Witt set an enrollment goal — 28,000 students by 2013 — he met it four years ahead of schedule. That goal was exceeded this year when enrollment topped 30,000. The result has been overcrowding in parking lots, dining halls and on the CrimsonRide.
We would have preferred President Witt to focus on the goal of better accommodating the students we do have rather than setting yet another new enrollment goal. Still, growing by 5,000 students over the next 10 years is a much less ambitious than the 10,000-student increase in enrollment since President Witt came to the University in 2003. If the University sticks to that number, we are hopeful that campus infrastructure will be able to catch up with student growth.
However, the University must be more specific about its plan for facilities, housing and parking. So far, Witt has said only that, “We will continue to invest substantially in our physical facilities,” and that, “Our attention will shift in emphasis toward the renovation of existing facilities more than the construction of new facilities.”
As an example, Witt cited the North Bluff residential community, which will add 984 beds but will be followed by the demolition of Rose Towers.
Simply constructing new buildings to replace buildings scheduled to be torn down is not enough to accommodate our current student population, much less 5,000 new students. The University desperately needs new dining halls near the core of campus that accept meal plans, more parking spaces for commuters and more buses.
The Bryce property will obviously allow for construction to alleviate a lot of the congestion on campus. However, plans for the property have not been detailed in the University growth plans.
Without more specific plans to grow infrastructure, the University may again find itself with too many students to accommodate comfortably.
President Witt has said he does not expect the additional students to impact the culture of campus, which is good. Administrators must continue to observe the effects a growing student body has on the campus community. Becoming too large could diminish several of the greatest strengths of the Capstone.
President Witt has also said he expects the quality of incoming freshman to continue to rise. That is a good thing; now that we have met our enrollment goals, the University can be more selective in admitting students. The result will be a more accomplished and ambitious student body that can better utilize the resources offered on campus.
While we have reservations about plans to continue expanding enrollment, if President Witt and other administrators work to expand infrastructure and preserve our culture, the result may be a better college experience for more students. Let’s just hope they don’t exceed the goal this time.
