As we enter the last semester of this auspicious year 2000, I am consumed with thoughts about the legacy of Dominguez Hills' past and the promise of its future. On one hand, the past bears wonderful accomplishments, and on the other hand, the future hovers, ready to test our commitment to make the promise possible.
No one can be less than impressed by our successes in this 40th anniversary of our founding. I have read the words of praise from alumni and the remembrances from our founders; I have seen faculty earnestly going about the business of teaching; and I have been enriched thinking of the thousands of our graduates who are now productive, creative members of our society - many of them teachers. Also as we know, many are first-in-the-family college graduates, and if it were not for this university, might be living an all too different life. That is all good and should be a source of pride for us all.
But I am also consumed with other thoughts. "To every thing there is a season and a time for every purpose under the heaven."
These words and message are relevant to the course of the university and to us all, drawn from Ecclesiastics 3 in the Bible and adapted by a music group in the sixties, The Byrds: "To everything - turn, turn, turn, There is a season, . ÉA time to build up, a time to break down, a time to dance, a time to mourn, a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones togetherÉ."
There is a season for CSU Dominguez Hills in the year 2000, a time to measure its history and a time to cast it away. I mean that in the sense that history is only valuable when it informs the present and is a catalyst for a new course of action. We have had "a time to build up," "a time to dance." Now, it is time for the future Ñ it is time to face the winds of change.
Last year, in the first year of my presidency, we set the stage for this season, beginning with the "Culture of Evidence Retreat." There were subsequent deliberations and recommendations. We have made energetic efforts to address issues identified by the WASC visiting team, and held other meetings, shared ideas and made proposals. All of this and more provide the foundation for making choices, for making decisions.
It can be an exciting time that places value on imagination over history, a time when we turn our faces into the wind and make changes that will allow us to survive any oncoming storms, knowing full well that after every winter is a spring. "It is not necessary to change," said W. Edwards Deming, the renowned teacher of quality management. "Survival is not mandatory."
I am not suggesting CSUDH will not survive - it will. But what I want to see for CSUDH is more than survival - I want to see this university flourish and grow and be all that it can be. To reach that level of success will require change. There are no two ways about that. As president, it is incumbent upon me to build consensus, to lead the way through problems and the changes that must be made. Such a responsibility consumes my thoughts, for I fervently want to live with decisions that will be best for this fine university.
If we, as an institution, do not make choices and decisions, time and events will make them for us. I cannot imagine that would be the choice for any of us. An African proverb offers, "Indecision is like a stepchild: if he does not wash his hands, he is called dirty, if he does he is wasting water".
We need to reaffirm our commitment to students with academic and service initiatives that better prepare them for careers in the 21st century. That's at the core of why we are here - to serve students. When we accomplish these tasks - more innovative programs, more relevant classes, better service - enrollment will increase, and funding will increase. Adequate funding makes a distinctive learning and teaching environment possible.
Recently, enrollment growth has become stagnant or has fallen below expectations.
Let me just outline what that means in terms of budget. For every 100 full-time equivalent students (FTES), we stand to add $700,000 to our budget. We receive about 82 percent of that from state appropriations and the rest from the state university fee revenue. That's the good news behind increased enrollment growth, which feeds the budget - the life bread of the university, running the engines of learning, tending to our campus buildings and grounds, funding new buildings and classrooms and paying our salaries.
If we continue the slide downward below the 2 percent margin from our targeted enrollment goal, which for fall 2000 stands at 8,125 FTES, - our baseline budget could be reduced more than $2 million.
The strained budget puts efforts on hold that would in turn enhance the campus and expanded enrollment, such as the addition of classrooms.
The majority of our students attend classes after 4 p.m., and we have difficulty making space for them. During the daytime, space is less of a problem. We could, then, make the assumption that we need to recruit students who will attend classes during that time - and could further assume that those students are probably ages 18 to 24.
But are they? Is there a way we can focus on strengthening the current majority student profile - average age 29, commuter, working adult returning or continuing from a community college - and see our enrollment grow?
It is risky business to muse too long about the enrollment management problem. An enrollment strategy will define who we are - we cannot be all things to all people with limited resources.
There is an old saying, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there." By focusing on a particular path, we are better able to adapt our academic programs and services to that targeted student population.
Recruiting and retaining students is the job of every employee. It is not just the job of Outreach and Information Services. There are questions we all must ask when we have trouble attracting and retaining students. Are there roadblocks we set up? Are there factors in my office or program that need to improve to be student friendly?
During the year, I have heard debates on many issues. Now those discussions, debates and data collection need to and will result in informed decisions.
Even if we avert the major cuts this year to our budget because of a declining enrollment, we cannot - we must not - ignore the enrollment problem. In our mission statement, we state that we are "committed to educating a student population of unprecedented diversity for leadership roles in the global community of the 21st century." Our own commitment poses the critical question, then, are we keeping pace with meeting those needs?
It is the responsibility of the campus community to create a relevant and challenging educational experience for the students who entrust us to do so. "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow," Abraham Lincoln said, "by evading it today." Today is the season for Dominguez Hills to celebrate its history and shed its history, and it is the time to rethink, revive and renew our promise.
