Central Michigan University President Neil MacKinnon spoke on numerous university challenges and successes, including low enrollment and on-campus changes, during the annual State of the University Address on Wednesday.
This was MacKinnon's first State of the University since he took the mantle as president one year ago.
Finalized strategic enrollment plan
MacKinnon shed light on the highly anticipated Strategic Enrollment and Management Plan that he introduced during his 100 days presentation earlier in the year.
"We now have a roadmap to enrollment growth, to 15,000, to 16,000 and if we can, stretch to 17,000," MacKinnon said.
From 2013-2023, CMU lost around 13,000 students. The drop in enrollment is an issue MacKinnon says is one of his primary focuses as president.
In his speech, MacKinnon said he could not reveal full details of the SEM plan.
"This really is our competitive advantage," MacKinnon said. "There's things I cannot share today. But I did want to give you a flavor anyway of what's in the plan."
He presented the four core strategies the plan will be guided by:
- Increasing the university's market share
- Improving student success
- Promoting the unique position of CMU
- Increasing online programs
"Those are kind of the four big buckets in our new SEM plan," MacKinnon said. "There's actually 33 different strategies, 19 of which actually have no cost to them. They're just things that we can do a bit differently or a bit better. And then there's 14 strategies that do represent a new cost, [and] will require a new investment for our university."
University finances
MacKinnon acknowledged the financial impact of low enrollment, specifically in terms of losing international students because of obstacles in obtaining visas.
"We are facing some significant financial challenges with enrollment, particularly with the draw in international enrollment," Mackinnon said. "Just the drop we've experienced this semester, just to be very transparent with you, represents about a $4.3, $4.4 million difference from what we had budgeted."
Despite this, MacKinnon asserted the financial stability of the university.
"If you look at our credit ratings, both with Moody and S&P, they're excellent," MacKinnon said. "If you look at our net position as a university, so that's all assets and all liabilities. We've actually improved this past year from $913 million to over a billion."
He also heralded the success of fundraising efforts over the past year. The university raised a record-shattering $79 million in donations, with $40 million coming from Covenant Healthcare. Even without the large donation, the remaining $39 million would have easily surpassed the prior record as well.
"Our endowment's at an all-time high," MacKinnon said. "So we have many solid foundations."
A future founded in change
As he spoke, MacKinnon called on faculty and staff to embrace a less risk-adverse mindset when it comes to campus wide changes.
"When you're in a period of budget cuts and declining enrollment, it's natural to kind of like just huddle in, just be in survival mode," MacKinnon said. "But the challenge is if you are too risk averse, it causes paralysis. You're unable to be adaptable, to try new things. This is something we need to change."
He went on to highlight new initiatives that would drastically impact CMU, including the Change Champion Network, expanding CMU Online and fostering collaboration between different CMU entities on campus.
"The state of our university is strong," MacKinnon said. "But there's a but. And the but is we can be even stronger. I am convinced by that.
"Now to become stronger necessitates change. With our faculty and staff and our student body and our alumni and our community partners, our future is incredibly bright."
We note WCMU's broadcast license is held by Central Michigan University. WCMU's newsroom is editorially independent, and the university is not involved in writing, editing or reviewing our reports.
