If the key enrollment number of 745 students is not reached for the 2010-2011 school year, cuts will have to be made in the salaries and benefits of employees in the “worst of cases,” according to President Richard O’Hara.
Currently, the incoming freshman class is at 160 students, 10 below what was budgeted for, leaving approximately $133,000 to be accounted for in tuition.
“We would just have to do the math, dollar wise, to see how short of the budget we are and then we would have to consider cuts that would have the most minimal impact on individuals as possible. The only way to do it would be to do [cuts] across the board [because that is the] only fair way to do it. [However, we are] not anticipating it,” O’Hara said.
266 students were accepted this year, according to Director of Admissions Kim Bruggemann. “Most years, we offer acceptances to approximately 100 more students then we need in the class, giving room for these types of decisions.”
However, she added, “If every one of those accepted students had come to John Carroll, chances are we wouldn’t be pushing that hard because our class would have been over capacity. In the past eight to 10 years, we have had the luxury of having the people invited to come say they wanted to come.”
To combat any further budget reductions, on the heels of cutting four teachers and restructuring the contracts of staff members, the admissions team is “working vigorously,” according to O’Hara, to recruit students.
“We have the people that were the original pool of applicants that were accepted to the school. We’re making phone calls to people that we have not yet heard from to identify the reason we haven’t heard from them. They could have already enrolled at another school but just didn’t feel the need tell us,” Bruggemann said.
She added that approximately 30 students are being actively contacted as people are “gradually” letting the school know if they are attending.
Bruggemann said, “Sometimes our phone calls and letters and interest can make a difference and sometimes they can’t because it’s the simple fact that they can’t afford it.”
The admissions department takes a “sales team approach” to recruit students, which “consists of people that are involved in different aspects of administration and faculty in ways that we feel would connected,” Bruggmann said.
“If a student showed a lot of interest and it is a known fact that they are involved in theatre production, dance, and music, then [Music teacher Dan] Briggs, [Guidance Counselor Larry] Hensley, [Director of Development Laura] Lang, or I have tried our best to get in touch with them, explain more about our program, and see if there are more ways to get them to come here. The same situation is applying to athletics [and] to children of alums. The academic faculty get a little more touchy, some get involved in the interview process or shadow day and write [potential students] notes. All of these different approaches are [part of] the extra effort the school is making this year.”
“We are making phone calls to folks we haven’t heard from, trying to determine the status of their interest,” O’Hara said. “We are continuing to invite students to shadow and encourage the completion of their applications.”
In addition, the individual teachers and coaches are corresponding with interested students.
Potential students and their families are being “invited in if they are still undecided,” said O’Hara. “[Principal Paul] Barker and I will meet with them to see if we can address their questions.”
To maintain JC’s average 97.5 percent return rate, the administration is reacting quickly to current students considering leaving the school. O’Hara said, “If we hear rumors that a current student isn’t returning, that generates an immediate contact with a family to see what we can do to help retain them.”
According to school registrar Jennifer Rezai, “[It’s] probably fair to say 20 [are leaving], but it remains to be seen [because] I haven’t gotten anything definite yet.” Last year, 35 students left the school, but Rezai “suspect[s] that is probably high.”
There are eight students confirmed to be transferring in, Bruggemann said.
O’Hara said in an earlier interview that increasing financial aid is an “option [because the] times demand that we at least look at that as one possibility, but our resources are limited.” Now, he believes that “most likely that by the time it [enrollment] settles, we’ll have given out more aid than we did a year ago.”
Despite these obstacles, O’Hara is “very confident that we’ll meet our budget target, with at least 170 freshmen and 745 students all together. We always pick up some students in the summer and we always lose some students in summer.”
The final total of students is not known because “it’s kind of like rolling admissions. I just administered the entrance exam to two students yesterday,” Brueggemann said. “I’ve gotten phone calls asking for an extension for various reasons. One reason that is most common is that boarding schools and the Math and Science Academy are not letting applicants know if they were accepted or not until the end of March.”
She added, “You have to believe in the product in order to sell it. I believe in the future of all the students if they apply themselves.”
Kate Froehlich can be reached for comment at [email protected].