As a result of changes in graduate school markets and university philosophy toward graduate programs, Pepperdine has recently cut back on the target enrollment for the Graziadio School of Business and Management.
“These changes are the result of multiple factors including the fact that the markets for graduate students in education and business are changing, even volatile,” Provost Darryl Tippens wrote in an email. “These changes are taking place also because our philosophy about graduate and professional education is also changing. We are seeking to be less market-driven by becoming somewhat smaller and, in time, more selective.”
Cuts to enrollment targets have been implemented successfully before. Over a year ago, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) lowered its enrollment targets. GSEP is currently meeting its targets and doing well, according to Tippens. The School of Law is also currently thriving, according to a memo sent out to faculty earlier by President Andrew K. Benton.
“We think that is a prudent path. We are achieving these new models through very careful planning, both at the school and University levels,” Tippens wrote. “We are finding efficiencies at the schools, lowering the cost of operation, in other words.”
Although cuts are being made to the enrollment targets, eliminating programs is not the only focus. An effort is being made to use existing money in the most efficient way possible. Some new programs are going to be implemented by the graduate schools, as well, according to Tippens.
Funds that will help in the implementation of new programs as well as simply help with the functioning of the University are supported by a special fund set up by the University in anticipation of the 2008 financial crisis. This foresight is now becoming very useful.
“The University, after the 2008 financial crisis, went through a University-wide reallocation which allowed us to set resources aside, to develop a kind of ‘rainy day’ fund to help us through market changes, much like what we are experiencing today,” Tippens wrote. “That fund is now helping us with the transitions currently going on.”
How Seaver fits into the equation is a different topic, and not something to necessarily be used to offset the lower enrollment in the graduate schools, according to Tippens. Decisions about what will happen with the undergraduate school are less defined.
“We carefully limit the size of Seaver in an effort to ensure the very best possible experience for our students. Will Seaver grow in the years to come? All I can say is perhaps.”
Seaver, according to Benton’s memo, is currently thriving and not suffering from the market-induced enrollment difficulties that Graziadio has. However, there is a growing consensus to review what the future for Seaver will look like, according to Tippens.
“If we can grow the school slowly, intentionally, without harming selectivity and quality, then it’s something we think should be considered,” Tippens wrote. “It might even be possible to grow a bit and increase the quality of the student experience. It’s something we fully intend to study over a period of months, perhaps years.”
