Increasing enrollment, key to UI’s success
From enrollment shortfalls to a lack of state funding, University of Idaho President Chuck Staben said he knew coming into the position he would face some barriers. Nonetheless, he said he couldn’t be happier to serve the university and tackle those important issues.
“You have to be able to look people in the eye and say ‘This is a great university,'” Staben said. “That is something important to be able to say, so thank you very much for enabling me to say that kind of thing.”
Staben gave his State of the University Address Monday in the Student Union Building Ballroom.
Staben addressed the audience and said he thinks it’s important for the president to report to the university community what he or she sees as the state of the university, as well as make a roadmap for initiatives moving forward.
“We are a community,” Staben said. “A community of scholars, and we need to face our challenges together.”
Staben focused on the university’s mission to increase enrollment . He said he plans to increase enrollment by 50 percent during his term as president, as he does not see the steady 12,000 students of the past five years as a formula for success.
“Educating more students is the key to our financial future,” Staben said. “We need to serve the public and we need to serve ourselves.”
There was concern that an increase in enrollment would decrease the quality of education, because the student-to-faculty ratio would increase. Staben said he does not believe the ratio directly affects the quality of education and UI would continue to offer quality education even if the ratio increases.
He said he wants there to be at least a 5 percent enrollment increase by 2015, but hopes to see further growth.
Staben said the university’s plan is to recruit more students from the 48 percent of high school graduates who are not moving on to post-secondary education, as well as focus on retaining students between their freshman and sophomore years.
“We educate students in the practical and liberal arts so that they become educated citizens of the world,” Staben said. “I think that is really a sacred mission, and one that we must embrace as a university.”
Staben also discussed the financial state of the university. He said while 30 percent of revenue is from the state general fund, there is still 70 percent the institution can control in the shape of tuition and fees, as well as sales and services on campus.
UI’s largest expenditure is its personnel, Staben said, with 70 percent spent on salaries and benefits for faculty and staff.
However, Staben said he wants to provide a four percent increase in salary. Idaho’s staff receives only 82 percent of its peer institutions, which Staben said plays a role in the staff turnover rates.
Staben said people can’t be bought, but they can be pushed away by not having a sustainable salary.
He said although UI has many positives, there is room for improvement.
“I don’t want to be in an institution that is pretty good,” Staben said. “I want to be in an institution that outperforms our expectations. In 10 years, I see a university that is better than it ever it imagined it could be.”
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected]