PUBLIC COMMENT • Chris Mattinson, Chair, Department of Geology, commented as a Geology faculty member and chair on CWU’s challenges related to COVID-19 and the recent budget recalculations. FALL 2021 OPENING PLAN Provost DenBeste presented on the plans for opening in the fall. She explained that planning is well underway for a near-normal fall quarter, 2021. CWU is making several assumptions, which have been discussed with our county health partners and which are beginning to be discussed with university constituencies.
Assumptions:
1. Traditional academic schedule with fall quarter running September 22 to December 10, 2. Most students and employees will be back on campus, 3. Residential halls will be near capacity, with Munson Hall retained as quarantine space, 4. Vaccinations will be widely available to all who wish to be vaccinated, 5. Physical distancing requirements will be relaxed, 6. Mask wearing will continue to be mandatory, at least for the beginning of the fall quarter. Many questions remain about fall planning and our planning team continues to prepare for a variety of scenarios. BUDGET STATUS AND FORECAST Enrollment Forecast Vice President Hibbard began with a short enrollment forecast. He reported that it has been another unprecedented cycle in college enrollment, nationwide. The fall 2020 first-year, term-to-term persistence rate dropped from 93 percent to 87 percent compared to last year’s first-year cohort. Despite these challenges, enrollment figures were in line with the 5.1-percent overall decline in fall 2020. Enrollment for winter quarter 2021 is 10,526 graduate and undergraduate students, a drop of 606 students over last year (-5.4 percent). These figures include students with admit types of first-year, transfer, post-baccalaureate, re-admit, and graduate. Winter enrollment in high school dual credit programs (Running Start and College in the High School) experienced a year-over-year increase of 21.9 percent: from 823 in winter 2020 to 1003 in winter 2021. Currently, 8,111 first-year students have applied for fall 2021, a 2 percent increase over last year. The next application-completion campaign will conclude March 1, 2021 and will have generated most of our first-year applications. To date, CWU has admitted 6,556 first year students, a 4-percent decrease over last year. Additionally, 1,086 students have committed, vs 1,125 prior year (a 3-percent decrease). Overall, these figures are encouraging, given significant changes in our recruitment strategies due to the pandemic. Financial Position and Forecast Vice President Klucking reported that seven months into the current fiscal year, CWU’s operating budget shows the widespread impacts of the pandemic on operating revenues. The budget enacted by the Board in July assumed a $25-million reduction in operating revenues. Now, the reduction has increased to nearly $50 million. This is due largely to the impact of having fewer students living, eating, shopping,
2 Board of Trustees Minutes February 25, 2021
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