FPU photo

Following declines in enrollment and revenue, Fresno Pacific University (FPU) will undergo significant changes in recruitment and student care as well as business structures entering the fall semester later this year.

Enrollment struggles

In the fall of 2022, FPU saw a 14% decrease in undergraduate, bachelor’s degree, graduate programs and Biblical Seminary enrollment, putting a severe strain on the school’s finances due to lack of tuition-driven funding.

Across the board, FPU projected a deficit of $7.4 million for the 2022-23 school year.

“Our challenges are the same ones faced by many other colleges and universities,” said Wayne Steffen, associate director of publications and media relations at FPU.

FPU announced a total of eight staff positions were forced to be eliminated in response to the lack of funding through student tuition, as well as five faculty positions that were also eliminated.

A sixth faculty position recently made national headlines following a student-led protest resulting in the reinstatement of the university’s only full-time philosophy professor, Nathan Carson.

The decision to eliminate positions at the college were driven primarily by enrollment, something that Steffen says is already on the uptick for the fall 2023 semester.

Along with the reinstatement of Carson, the college is still hoping for a bounceback in both spring and fall 2023 semesters.

“While many decisions have been difficult, there is already some cause for optimism,” Steffen added.

Faculty and staff

Staff layoffs were determined based on a number of factors including enrollment, student credit hours, cost-to-revenue relations and several other determining factors relevant to the core of the university’s religious mission.

There were several areas of study exempted from faculty layoffs, including Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary, undergraduate biblical studies, the School of Natural Sciences and visual and performing arts.

The university also implemented a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program for long-time teaching faculty. Eight faculty members chose to participate and will end their employment on June 30.

Despite the layoffs, no majors were ultimately eliminated.

Recruitment for open faculty positions including biology, business-accounting, computer science, nursing, media studies and several others will continue.

“I came to FPU because I believe in the power of education, specifically Christian higher education, to form and transform the lives of individuals who attend our institution,” said FPU President Andre Stephens, Ph.D. “Amidst all that is happening around us or to us, we serve God who is bigger, better and stronger than our circumstances.”

Optimism on the horizon

Despite seeing a drop of nearly 15% in fall 2022 enrollment, Steffen says enrollment for both spring and fall semesters are a promising sign that things are returning to normal.

With concerns spurred by economic insecurity, smaller numbers of “traditional-aged” students and the continued effects of the pandemic beginning to somewhat stabilize, the college is predicting higher enrollment not only this spring, but for fall 2023 as well.

“While it is typical for colleges to see lower enrollment in the spring due to fall graduation, preliminary headcount for traditional bachelor’s degree, bachelor’s degree completion and graduate programs show only a 3% decline between the fall and spring semesters,” Steffen said, adding that the 3% drop predicted this spring is well below that of the previous two years, highlighting the strength of the graduate programs offered at FPU.

The university also named Kerry Sue Brown as chief retention officer, a new position created by FPU with the goal of maintaining student success services.

A $1.5 million grant announced this week will help fund the creation of a Master of Social Work program, which will be offered first on the main FPU campus and later at the North Fresno and Visalia campuses in an accelerated format so candidates with a B.A. in social work can earn a master’s in one year. 

In addition to these positive projections, the university has also seen an increase of 32% in end-of-year giving and is also working with outside enrollment professionals, financial aid and advancements and hopes to see continued growth in these areas.

“We have seen significant efforts from program directors, faculty and graduate recruiters that have truly paid off,” Stephens said. “We will continue to work strategically with internal and external partners to develop and implement a financially viable roadmap for our future.”