1 The 21 st Century Women’s College: Redefining Our Future Discussion with the Board of Trustees of the College of New Rochelle December 12, 2008 Susan Lennon, Women’s College Coalition Pat McGuire, Trinity Washington University

2 Women and Higher Education Women as the majority enrollment everywhere Do women truly have access to educational opportunity? Who are the women who continue to lack equality of access? Access = woman-centered pedagogy, scheduling, family support services, campus climate, leadership opportunities Social class, race/ethnicity, immigration status, language National discussion of college access and affordability is a women’s education issue! (Also national discussion of the economic recovery and Obama jobs program…) Strategic challenges and opportunities in the mission to underserved women

3 Mission and Strategy Is the historic mission relevant to the educational needs of women in the 21 st Century? How does an institution redefine mission to align more completely with the forecast of educational needs What kind of strategic alignment of programs and services will be necessary to ensure the vitality of the mission?

4 Megatrends Influence Mission The World Is Flat … the Women are Everywhere, break free from traditional market thinking 24/7/365 Learning and Communication, need to get beyond campus/classroom based pedagogies Paradigm Shifts in perceptions of race, but where is social class in the mix? Affordability and Access National Dialogue… how can small private colleges afford to be the primary gateways for low income students? Inflection Points: where does the paradigm shift truly occur in the dialogue of mission and market, strategy and institutional future?

5 Key Data Projections From NCES Collegiate Enrollments to 2017 Projections of Education Statistics to 2017 CONTINUED ENROLLMENT GROWTH PROJECTED TO 2017…WITH LARGEST GROWTH PROJECTED IN YEAR OLD AGE GROUP… AND AT GRADUATE AND FIRST PROFESSIONAL LEVELS…

6 Largest enrollment increases projected for Hispanic, Black and Asian students; slightly faster growth in public than private institutions

7 Women will earn more associate and bachelor’s degrees….

8 Graduate Degree fields are fastest growth areas…

9 Data Snapshot of Catholic Women’s Colleges Note: All Data From IPEDS, the Federal Data System Data sets provided on the following slides are neither determinative of strategy nor intended to be the definitive statement of reality. They are simply provided to inform the discussion about mission and strategy at this moment in time.

10 IPEDS does not distinguish between traditional full-time undergraduates and adult students who may qualify as full-time according to their credit loads. So, these results include both populations. Increases or declines in the results could be affected by adult enrollments, not just the traditional women’s college. Of the 15 institutions presented, 3 show at least 2 years worth of modest increases, 3 show at least two years of downward trends, and 9 show relatively flat trends.

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12 2 show modest upward trends, 1 shows downward trends, 12 are relatively flat

13 FORMER CWCS 2 show modest upward trends, 1 shows downward trends, 12 are relatively flat 2 show downward trends, 4 modestly upward, 6 relatively flat

14 8 of 12 are more than 70% female, and this holds true in a larger study of former women’s colleges now coed --- women remain the significant majority in most of these institutions.

15 Majority Minority: Trinity, Mt. St. Mary’s (LA), New Rochelle)……Barry, Marygrove

16 6-year completion rates are lowest for Majority Minority institutions – many factors contribute to the longer period of time that students need to complete degrees, including changing from full-time to part-time status

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18 Undergraduate Degrees Awarded, Women’s Colleges, Source: IPEDS 12, 101 degrees in 30 disciplines 76% ARE IN 9 areas: Social Sciences Health Psychology Business Visual/Performing Arts Liberal Arts General Studies English Education Biology

19 ENROLLMENT DYNAMIC : MARKETING RECRUITING ADMISSION RETENTION ENROLLMENT DYNAMIC : MARKETING RECRUITING ADMISSION RETENTION PRODUCTS PROGRAMS/SERVICES MARKETS/AUDIENCES INTERNAL/EXTERNAL SALES TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES ADMISSIONS Ultimately, the success of mission depends upon astute strategic and operational planning for all components of the enrollment pyramid: understanding market characteristics and motivations, aligning markets with programs, and employing the most innovative/effective sales techniques possible; It’s not about “if we have a great mission they will come,” but rather - WHO will thrive with this great mission - WHAT do they need to learn through our programs, and - HOW do we promote our mission and programs to the world…”

20 What’s Next? In 2025, what is the profile of the women who will inhabit CNR’s campus? How will they be different from 2008? What programs will they need, what will they aspire to achieve with their CNR degrees? What changes to the mission will be important for CNR to consider in the next five years? How does CNR align strategic thinking about mission/program/markets to capture greater market share among women?