Stockton’s institutional mission is to serve the students of New Jersey, and to do so affordably.

Although the University has made deliberate choices to keep tuition rates low, all other costs associated with running the University have continued to increase year by year. 

To offset these increases, Stockton sought 2% enrollment growth per year over the last several years, a modest goal that would have allowed the institution to accommodate more students gradually, and ensure that the resources needed to support their academic and personal development were already in place.

Unfortunately, prior to academic year 2017-18, Stockton did not meet the overall 2% enrollment growth target for nine consecutive years. For example, Stockton has not been able to enroll enough new transfer students in recent spring semesters to offset our increasing number of fall graduates. While Stockton has experienced 2% growth in some fall semesters, a percentage of these students did not return in subsequent terms, which means the University did not grow the student body at the anticipated rate.

Stockton did, however, continue to invest – both in capital improvements and faculty hires – which, when added to annual cost-of-living increases, created an imbalance between the number of students we could accommodate and the number that came and stayed. This was corrected two years ago, when the campus launched a campaign to increase enrollment, resulting in the larger-than-usual freshman class of 2017.  

For Fall 2018, the University achieved a 2% enrollment increase in new undergraduate and graduate students and will pursue a similar growth goal for each term thereafter.  By way of example, in Fall 2018, Stockton welcomed 3,016 new freshman, transfer, and graduate students to campus; in Fall 2019, our goal for the same population is 3,090, an overall increase of 74 new students (+2.4%).

Through coordinated work with the Strategic Enrollment Management Planning Council, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Planning and Research, Stockton is developing a measured approach to enrollment growth, based on the University’s mission, market demand, capacity, and cost. The new strategic plan will help codify this approach.  A thoughtful and balanced strategy moving forward must include both reducing institutional costs while moderately increasing enrollments and tuition rates. Unless there are significant changes to Stockton’s internal or external environments, we expect modest annual enrollment growth of about 2-3% to serve as Stockton’s general strategy for the next several years.

We have also sought other means of supporting the University’s development. In 2012, for example, the state awarded Stockton nearly $35 million through the “Building Our Future” Bond Act to help construct the University’s Science Building addition and the additional Classroom Building.  Stockton received more funding than any other state college for the express purpose of increasing its enrollment capacity to help stem the out-migration of high school graduates. The results are readily apparent in the three buildings that now form—alongside the Campus Center—the Academic Quad. Stockton continues to seek both state and local funding to support campus development, and ensure that we can maintain our commitment to affordability for New Jersey residents.

The eventual enrollment in Atlantic City depends upon a number of factors including mission, market, capacity, and cost.  Stockton began planning initial enrollment projections for the Atlantic City campus more than one year ago to prepare for the inaugural Fall 2018 semester. Our projections were based on the number of classrooms available, the number of class periods to be scheduled, and a conservative estimate of how many courses might be offered. This kind of planning—based on potential space capacity—was an essential precursor to planning for staffing, safety, housing, transportation, etc. Such scenarios will continue to evolve throughout our upcoming strategic planning cycles.

As indicated in the current draft strategic plan, Stockton will test potential enrollment goals to determine financially-optimal levels that will allow the University to deliver its mission to a changing student demographic while providing enough capacity to help stem the out-migration of New Jersey students. We plan to establish specific enrollment goals in a measured fashion based on the University’s overall mission, the cost structure of individual programs, the market for these programs, and the capacity to deliver them.

After almost 50 years in operation, Stockton has attained an enrollment level of nearly 10,000 students at our Galloway campus. Through a series of institution-level planning exercises, stakeholders will evaluate the University’s enrollment goal for the Atlantic City campus as a portion of Stockton’s overall enrollment, with a potential long-term capacity for 5,000 students.  As part of this exercise, the University will forecast appropriate Atlantic City campus enrollments in five- and ten-year intervals and also determine the optimal number of on-campus residential students in Atlantic City.

This means the 5,000 student figure for Atlantic City is neither a firm requirement nor a definitive expectation. However, it is helpful to have a specific, articulated capacity for Atlantic City growth to justify Stockton’s request for increased funding from the state.  Not all state colleges receive the same level of support from New Jersey, and Stockton’s allocation is currently among the lowest of all public colleges and universities.  We’re working hard to change that.  To do so, the state will want to be assured, through a careful analysis of our capacity, that we support its goals of expanding educational opportunities for more New Jersey residents and encouraging more students to remain in-state to pursue their academic degrees.

Stockton will continue to evaluate proposed enrollment targets for Atlantic City, including the resources required and the potential impact on the University.  Such goals will always be contingent on several factors, including: the cost structure of academic programs, the market for these programs as well as Stockton’s capacity to deliver them; additional state support for more land and buildings, etc.

Stockton has not changed its academic standards for incoming freshmen. The University’s Office of Enrollment Management uses a comprehensive and integrated approach to application review, evaluating each student’s transcript, letters of recommendation, essay, and extracurricular participation. Stockton has never required a minimum grade point average for freshman admission, instead recruiting students who exhibit a consistent and rigorous academic performance throughout their high school career. 

However, as we remain committed to providing access to a Stockton education, what is new this year is the University’s decision to make standardized testing optional for high school seniors seeking admission in the Fall 2019 class. This policy change was implemented after carefully considering the final report of the Faculty Senate’s test optional task force as well as reviewing research by the offices of the Provost, Enrollment Management, and Planning & Research. The goal of this change is to reduce barriers to access, especially for low-income, first-generation, and under-represented minority students.

Under this new policy, freshman applicants can choose to include or exclude their standardized test scores (SAT or ACT). If a student is accepted, he or she will then be required to either submit standardized scores or take subject-specific Accuplacer exam(s) to determine placement into math and/or writing courses. Over the next academic year, Stockton will carefully monitor the Accuplacer exam process and evaluate the viability of developing additional alternatives to SAT and ACT scores for course-placement purposes in writing and math. Such changes would go into effect for the Fall 2020 class.  Plans are underway for developing testing procedures.

Please note that the test optional policy does not eliminate the need for standardized test scores for academic programs that currently require them (such as many health science, natural science and mathematics, and computer science degrees). For these programs, Stockton will continue to require standardized test scores.

Although Stockton’s admission standards haven’t changed, it is expected the University’s overall new freshman student profile will continue to evolve. The strategic plan calls for Stockton to examine and evaluate pedagogy and enrollment and to optimize inclusive student success under these dynamic conditions.

Stockton is not planning to increase class sizes across the board; instead, we are seeking to optimize class sizes, given both pedagogical considerations and resource availability.

On page 6 of the draft strategic plan prepared by our consulting partner DumontJanks, bullet point #5 asks:

• “How might class sizes be optimized by program (Stockton’s small class size and its fostering of student-faculty interaction are, and must continue to be, key differentiators, but over the last eight years an average of only 1.6% of Stockton’s class enrollments have accommodated more than 50 students)?”

The issue raised by this question is not about how many students might fit into a classroom and the associated costs; it’s about ensuring Stockton is continuously evaluating our curriculum, keeping up with pedagogical developments and techniques, and offering a variety of teaching experiences and formats to our students.

It is also a recognition that one size does not fit all and that program faculty could, and should, think creatively about how to use the University's resources (including their teaching time and the campus' larger classrooms) as effectively as possible.  In other words, this bullet point was never meant to intimate that all classes should be more than 35 students, it is intended to recognize that not all classes must be 35 students or less in order to support inclusive student success. Faculty who are interested in teaching larger classes can certainly submit requests to their deans, along with supportive pedagogical reasons. 

 

The University’s new (draft) strategic plan places inclusive student success at the forefront and recognizes the Stockton Idea as key to this success in Stockton’s history. The plan connects the strengths of our past with the opportunities of our future. Recognizing that resources will always be limited, the tools needed to support inclusive student success are provided in the elements laid out in the plan:

• Enrollment and Pedagogy (as separate themes). Pedagogies must be examined and evaluated in order to optimize inclusive student success as enrollments and student demographics change. This part of the plan recognizes the challenge of achieving inclusive student success in an environment of limited resources.

• Financial Stability. Resource allocations must be examined and evaluated in order to optimize the support of inclusive student success. This part of the plan recognizes the ongoing challenge of resource availability and that continued scrutiny of resource allocation is necessary. This may include a carefully-planned, small-pilot, zero-based budgeting exercise to be empirically managed and monitored by the Division of Administration & Finance to determine its potential usefulness on a larger scale in the future.

• Organizational Structure. Structures can have the effect of either limiting or supporting inclusive student success. This part of the plan recognizes that the structures of the past need to be examined and evaluated as enrollments, student demographics, and resource availability continue to change.

Stockton evaluates the numerous opportunities that come to our attention. The new strategic plan will assist in this evaluation as it will articulate our goals for the near future. It is important to understand that matters relating to potential real estate opportunities and transactions are handled through the authority of the University’s Real Estate Transaction Committee and the Board of Trustees and often must be held in confidence. Stockton is committed to providing updates on such matters when information can be made available.

One rumor to dispel: Stockton is not purchasing Bader Field.  In September 2018, the State of New Jersey awarded a $100,000 grant to the City of Atlantic City for a feasibility study regarding a potential Marine and Environmental Science Center to be built on Bader Field. Stockton is a partner on this project and our involvement may help with: (a) pursuing additional state or federal funding or other grant opportunities; (b) aligning this potential project with the goals of our strategic plan.