Faced with declining enrollment and student applications, some private schools have come out swinging.
The Archdiocese of New York, which covers all of the lower Hudson Valley and part of New York City, has announced its intent to overhaul its educational system, which serves some 83,000 pre-kindergartners through 12th-graders in 276 schools.
Details of “Pathways to Excellence” won”™t be unveiled until October. But Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, writing in the Sept. 9 issue of the Catholic New York newspaper, revealed that the plan will require some ailing schools to close and some to merge while others become part of “new models of governance” ”“ regional centers that will eliminate the idea that a parish”™s school and property belong to that parish alone.
“Too often we”™ve taken a hospice approach: Keep the Catholic schools comfortable till the patient passes away,” said Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese, echoing the archbishop”™s metaphor. “Archbishop Dolan is resisting that outlook.”
The archdiocese is not the only institution that”™s going proactive. Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers ”“ whose roughly $57,000-a-year total price tag makes it among the most expensive colleges in the U.S. ”“ has seen applications drop almost 30 percent in the past two years, even though more than 50 percent of the students receive a discount on tuition. The college has completely revamped its marketing materials and hired additional staff, said Tom Blum, the college”™s vice president for administration.
“There”™s nothing more effective than to get recruiters back into the field to talk with high-school guidance counselors about the value of a Sarah Lawrence education,” he said, referring to the college”™s tutorial approach and emphasis on a liberal-arts curriculum.
Getting the word out
Communication is integral to private schools”™ plans to maintain their viability.
“The archbishop”™s columns and statements are all designed to keep parents ”˜in the loop”™ so that there are no surprises, no panic and everyone will be well-informed of developments as they occur,” said Zwilling, who added that there is no list of 30 targeted grade schools, as reported Sept. 20 in The New York Times.
Getting a message out has worked wonderfully for Iona College in New Rochelle, where applications have increased from 6,000 to some 8,000 in the past two years.
“It”™s a combination of Iona being perceived as a destination place and outreach to high-achieving students in the tristate area and beyond,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, assistant vice president for college admissions.
As a result, Iona has been able to take advantage of an economy in which students send out eight to 12 college applications, instead of three or four. This despite rather steep costs ($40,000 a year for tuition, fees, room and board, though well over 90 percent of the students receive some form of financial aid).
Iona has also been able to tap into the idea of providing students with an intimate suburban campus and metro-area experience. One student who interned at Morgan Stanley in Manhattan wound up with a job there.
Career-minded goals
Career development is the name of the game these days. Iona offers a fast-track 15-month MBA program at its Hagan School of Business. Even Sarah Lawrence ”“ famous for not having any majors ”“ enables students to cluster courses that will set them on a career path.
But what effect will this have on the future of a general liberal-arts education ”“ whose seeds were traditionally planted in grade school and flowered in college? One of the effects of the continuing recession ”“ or jobless recovery, take your pick ”“ is that it has created a parallel universe in many fields, including education. Public schools and community colleges, often looked down on in the past, have seen enrollment and applications burgeon, in part because they offer business and technical courses that are viewed as tools for employment.
Does this mean the end of an education that teaches you how to think ”“ rather than what to think ”“ and offers you a life of the mind rather than a mere path to a job?
Sarah Lawrence”™s Blum is not discouraged. In fact, he”™s optimistic. While the college had to increase its admissions from 45 percent of applicants to 60 percent to maintain its student body, he said, “The quality of the applicant pool has held up.”
And the school has held on to that student body, with this year”™s sophomores representing the highest retaining class the college has ever had.
Adds Blum: “The ability to think and to write well, to read well ”“ the underpinnings of a liberal arts education ”“ are as important as ever.”
