COMMENTS ON RYERSON'S RATIONALE
Thoughts on President Ryerson's Update

President Ryerson sent a “planning update” on September 22 (see below) to the Alumnae Association President which was subsequently forwarded to many alumnae.

A group of alumnae have looked past the alarmist tone of the document, and want to share the following observations.

1. According to Wells College: A History (1995), the endowment had dwindled to “almost nothing” in 1975, but by 1980 it was $7M, and in 1987 it stood at $21M. According to IRS filings, the endowment had grown to $48M in 1998 and stood at $54M in 2003. The endowment is not evaporating, despite years of “deficit” spending.

2A. Wells College is not in debt. It does not owe interest on outstanding loans. It has no deficit carrying over from year to year which must be paid down. The college’s “deficit” arises because it spends more of its endowment income than its current administration would like, but, nevertheless, the endowment continues to grow significantly over time.

2B. One reason for this growth is the great ongoing genrosity of alumnae. The endowment is not a fixed amount, but one which is constantly augmented. For instance, the college was identified by out of state press as a benficiary of Ann Wilder Stratton '46 when she passed away this summer, and was named as a recipient of one third of her $28 million estate. The college has not announced this latest windfall.

3. While this book-keeping deficit might discourage corporate donors, more than 90% of Wells’ donations come from individuals. How many of these donations, and what percent of the endowment, is dedicated specifically to the education of women? How will a co-ed Wells be accountable to these donors?

4. Clearly, enrollment is a problem. Why hasn’t it been addressed at the source: the admissions staff? Academic search firms now specialize in matching professional, experienced admissions directors with the needs of particular schools. Yet nothing has been done to provide the Wells admissions office with a nationally qualified director.

5. Without restructuring and re-staffing the admissions office, Wells very likely will face most of the same enrollment problems it has now after adopting coeducation.

6. The Board of Trustees hired Easton Consultants of Stamford to advise on the transition to coeducation. The client list on its web-site shows the firm has no experience whatsoever with educational institutions. It serves banks, insurance companies, credit card firms, and utilities. Not one non-profit organization is included on its client list.

7. Wells College is a non-profit organization. It does not exist to make money. Its chartered mission is to educate women. Yet the update speaks of “entrepreneurial spirit” and “revenue stream” as though coeducation should be adopted as a profit-making strategy.

8. Why hasn’t the Board consulted fully with the Wells Faculty on the issue of coeducation? And, given the wealth of educational expertise among alumnae, wouldn’t it make sense to bring professionally qualified Wells women into the discussion?

9. The update does not address the projected loss of currently enrolled students when the Board opens Wells to coeducation. Collegiate expects the figure to exceed 50%. Can Wells bridge a year or two of huge attrition before any men enroll? How will the school avoid closing?

10. If they put Wells into competition with thousands of co-ed schools, instead of dozens of women’s schools, the Trustees risk complete failure in the marketplace.

11. The strategic planning committee has just been appointed. No plan is in place to guide Wells College through this transition. This lack of preparation might be seen as negligent, and it consitutes serious threat to the college's future.


Just three years before the coed decision, everything was well with Wells! What happened?

From the Fall, 2001 Express
President’s Report: An Atmosphere of Trust and Cooperation

...As this review of college activities during the last academic year indicates, Wells is undergoing a transformation. Elements include:

· Increased and sustainable enrollment
· Robust academic planning
· Growth in financial resources necessary to secure Wells’ future
· A bold and dynamic campus plan
· An exciting revitalization project in the village

While we are in a better position than we have been in many years, we must constantly recognize the highly competitive nature of the college marketplace. We also must keep Wells College moving forward in an atmosphere of openness, collaboration, and trust. Change is inevitable, necessary, and often desirable. With change, of course, comes uncertainty. Understanding that those elements of change we can control are being approached with thoughtfulness and in the spirit of the common good can allay much needless anxiety. People and places change. The essence of Wells – a unique community committed to educating women in the liberal arts – remains constant.

~ ~ ~

In addition to Easton Consultants (the firm with no educational or non-profit organizations on its client list), the college employed the firm of Scannell & Kurz to advise on the transition to coeducation.

Turns out that this is the firm which advised the college on its infamous tuition cut. About a year before the coed decision, this initiative was being touted as a great success by Wells Administrators. What happened?

University Business: The Leading Magazine for Higher Education Administrators
August 2003

On The Money: Overcoming Price Sensitivity, by Kathy Kurz and Jim Scannell

...2--Slash your Sticker Price

Five years ago, Susan Sloan, director of Admissions, and Lisa Ryerson, president of Wells College (a small liberal arts women's college in upstate New York) faced a very real dilemma: Financial aid costs were rising faster than tuition, and new student enrollments were chronically anemic. Average net tuition revenue was dropping with each entering freshman class. The women analyzed the tuition situation and struck out on a bold course, chopping $5,000 off the sticker.

"In the fall of 1999," says Sloan, "we enrolled our first class under the new pricing model--a class that was 50 percent larger than the previous year's class--with a 41 percent increase in net tuition revenue. Five years later, we continue to benefit from this decision. In addition to increased enrollment and net tuition revenue, we are seeing an increase in the academic quality and geographic diversity of our entering classes. Reducing tuition was definitely the right decision for Wells College."

SEE: [http://www.universitybusiness.com/page.cfm?p=337]


From Lisa Ryerson to the Alumnae Association President

Wells College
Planning Update – Major Points
September 22, 2004

 
Wells College

Wells College confronts a stark choice: continue to shrink and decline which jeopardizes our very survival, or choose to transform to fit new realities which means an opportunity to survive and prosper.
 
The prospect of allowing Wells to wither and die is not an acceptable option.  The thought of Wells closing is the least desirable outcome for many alumnae.
 
The challenges

For more than four decades, through six presidential administrations, and despite numerous innovations, including curricular revisions, the addition of a leadership institute, a 30% tuition reduction, and vast amounts of the budget spent on financial aid, Wells has struggled to maintain an enrollment of approximately 400 students.
 
Low enrollments have led to annual budget deficits that threaten the college’s viability and ability to support and invest in quality programs.
 
We have been operating at a deficit for much of our history. Our annual operating deficit exceeds $3,000,000. We cannot continue to operate in a deficit any longer, as every additional dollar spent to cover a deficit cannot be spent on program development.
 
Wells must generate more annual revenue through a substantial and sustainable enrollment increase to at least 450 residential students annually, along with more commuters and other part-time students enrolled in the college’s programs.  (Our Fall 2004 residential count is just 302 students.)
 
Investing in academic quality

Students are attracted to Wells for a number of factors including close faculty-student interaction, small class sizes, affordability, and, importantly, the quality of our programs.
 
In addition, donors fund successful, quality programs.  We do not expect our donors will not continue to fund our deficit, nor can we expect them to fund programs if our deficit puts our future at risk. This is true for all colleges, not just Wells.
 
Wells has identified four initiatives that build on existing programmatic strengths and have the potential to generate additional student interest, name recognition and revenue: 
***Off Campus Study
***Book Arts Center
***Partnerships with Cornell University
***A Master’s Degree in Education
 
Wells will strengthen our already strong programs in Experiential Learning; including opportunities for service learning, site-based internships, and hands-on academic research.
 
In order to add value and enhance the experience for all students, we will continue to raise funds for a new science facility, examine our curriculum, invest in athletics, and infuse our curriculum with an entrepreneurial spirit.
 
Expanding our audience

Increasing enrollment is necessary to ensure the future for Wells College. Thus, in addition to programmatic initiatives, we are engaged in a discussion of a possible transition to coeducation.
 
Wells needs more students in order to be vibrant and viable, and decades of innovative and professional marketing have not generated increased interest from the small portion of college-bound women willing to consider a single-sex college.
 
In looking at a broad range of data from liberal arts colleges, all-women’s colleges, and colleges that changed from all-women to coeducation, including research completed by Easton Consultants of Stamford, Connecticut, the evidence suggests that a transition to coeducation would likely:
 
***Increase enrollment from both women (over 95% of women are willing to consider a co-ed institution) and men; and
*** Produce increased net tuition revenue.
***Both of which would provide a greater stream of revenue with which to invest in quality programs across the college.
 
Observations about colleges that have made the change:

Typically, they do not reach equal numbers of men on campus (liberal arts colleges as a whole are about 60% female; colleges that have changed often remain up to 70% female).
 
They tend to retain the characteristics and traditions of women’s colleges as they do not have cultures of male domination, and have strong representation of women on their faculty, administration, and boards of trustees. They tend to have special places for women, like women’s resource centers and women’s studies programs.
 
They have sustained enrollment increases, though most significant gains are realized in the first 3 – 5 years; and they have increased tuition revenue and increased numbers of applicants.
 
Making a decision regarding a change to coeducation

The Wells College Board of Trustees has sole responsibility for making the decision regarding a transition to coeducation.  A decision has not yet been made, nor has a vote been announced.
 
Faculty, staff, students and alumnae have engaged in forums, meetings, and discussions to learn more about coeducation at Wells and to provide suggestions, feedback and insights.  Programmatic initiatives and coeducation have been reported in several issues of the Express, news@wells, the President’s Alumnae Address, and has been the topic of discussion at focus groups held during Reunion, individual meetings, alumnae gatherings and campus meetings.
 
The President will continue to encourage healthy debate and diverse points of view as a component of a healthy learning community. Among all audiences, there is a range of opinion about coeducation, and we do not expect that everyone will agree with all decisions that are made.
 
Operational plans for actually making a transition are the responsibility of campus staff.
 
Moving forward -- if a decision to admit men is made:

There is a range of opinion within the Wells campus community and the current student body.  Because we support student engagement in activism, we expect a strong student reaction to a decision.
 
A timeline for implementing change will be developed after a decision, but if we decide to take advantage of this opportunity, we will want to realize the benefits as soon as possible. 
 
We expect a change will require investments in marketing, athletic facilities and team development, with modest changes to the residence halls and recreational spaces on campus. 
 
We will continue to offer opportunities for women, as Wells will consciously and thoughtfully offer gender-equal education, providing an environment where women and men will learn to appreciate their unique perspectives, their differences and their similarities.
 
We believe we will succeed. Now may be the time to open Wells to a wider audience. We will remain a high-quality institution and a desirable destination for students seeking our unique environment.  Wells will prove to be an attractive destination for many more students, and we will notice this first by an exciting new vitality in campus life.
 
The President has appointed a strategic planning committee to design a comprehensive 3- to 5-year plan for the college that includes developing operational plans and assessment criteria for all areas of the college.
 
The President and Senior Staff will continue to host campus forums throughout the year to maintain lines of communication with campus community. In addition, we will continue to provide written and electronic communications, individual visits, and regional gatherings to keep alumnae and friends of the college apprised of the progress being made at Wells.
 

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