Everybody in any position of authority wants to make a great impression out of the gate. New Southwestern Michigan College President Dr. Joe Odenwald kicked off his first ever report to the institution’s Board of Trustees last night with news of positive enrollment trends at the school.
Dr. Odenwald says, “I’m happy to report that enrollment contact hours, because of the hard work of a lot of people on the academic and support sides, is up eight-tenths of one percentage point for spring over last year.”
The new President, launching his inaugural year adds, “We were up pretty much all the way from when spring registration opened in late October,” and notes, “We got our schedule out this year a month ahead of time. That was hard work, but it gave four weeks to advise, which really made a difference. Eight-tenths of a percentage point is not a barn-burner, but some other facts put this into context.”
Going into a deeper dive into the numbers, Odenwald told the board, “Looking ahead, fall applications are up 20-percent. If we maintain this trend, we’re looking at about a 5-percent increase in students.” He adds, “We were up 11-percent in the fall of 2019 in first-time students over the year before, so the fall of 2020 looks better already. We’re going to have more returners than we did a year ago because we had a tough 2018. We were down 10-percent overall in the fall of 2018. We’ve weathered that.”
During his interview in October, Odenwald told trustees he thought SMC needed to grow enrollment at least 3-percent “to survive. These numbers we’ve got look good. I think we’re set up for a really good fall. I cannot overstate how good it is to have had three terms in a row. We were up modestly in summer, up modestly in fall and up modestly in spring.”
Sixteen orientations will begin in April at SMC.
In other news, the Board of Trustees acknowledged the December 23rd death of early trustee Dorothy Brown who died at the age of 95.
Mrs. Brown served almost four years, from October 1965 until August 1969. She was appointed to succeed her late husband, Carroll, Treasurer on the founding board and General Manager of Cupples Door and Frame in Dowagiac.
Board Chair Thomas Jerdon shared a letter he had written to Brown’s family, saying, “As the current stewards of SMC, we understand that we carry on a legacy shaped by our predecessors,” and adding, “We are thankful for Dorothy’s service to our community and hope that during this difficult time you are able to take some solace in remembering all of the families whose lives she improved with her dedication to helping students attain their educational goals.”
Southwestern Michigan College was founded in 1964, and is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges.
