VOLUME I, NUMBER I
NORTH CAROLINA WESLEYAN COLLEGE, ROCKY MOUNT, N. C.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1985
Enrollment Causes Financial Woes At NCWC
A decline in enrollment at the main, Rocky Mount, campus of
North Carolina Wesleyan College has created a potential finan
cial problem for the school.
According to Carl Pagles, Director of Admissions, thre are
between 35 and 40 fewer students at Wesleyan this year.
Registrar C. Cliff Sullivan said that final figures will not be
known until the close of fall registration, which occured after
The Decree went to press. The following stories all address this
important issue.
The Editorial Board
Petteway Outlines Measures
To Strengthen Wesleyan
By JOHN PRIDGEN
North Carolina Wesleyan
President Dr. S. Bruce Pet
teway does not consider the cur
rent financial problem a crisis.
However, he is implementing
measures for the 1986-87 school
year to make sure that a crisis
does not occur.
“I do not believe we are in a
crisis,” Petteway said. Pet
teway added that he “feels con
fident that the on-campus enroll
ment will improve next year.”
The measures to be im
plemented for the 1986-87
school year, described by Pet
teway, as “precautionary steps
to prevent problems from occur-
ing in future years,” are as
follows;
a. Increase the on-campus
student/faculty ratio to 16:1 for
the 1986-87 academic year.
b. Increase the full-time facul
ty load to 15 semester hours for
the 1986-87 academic year.
c. Require on-campus full
time faculty to teach one or
more courses at extension sites
as a part of the regular work
load for 1986-87.
d. Discontinue under-enrolled
and unproductive major courses
of study.
The measures were handed
down by the Board of Trustees
of the college. Judge J. Phil
Carlton, Chairman of the Board,
said during a telephone inter
view that while these measures
can be termed considerations,
“Mr. Petteway was advised to
follow these considerations.”
While serving as precau
tionary measures. President
Petteway believes that the
measures will provide benefits
for both the off-campus and on-
campus programs. For instance,
the on-campus faculty would be
required to teach courses at the
off-campus extensions. Pet
teway believes this measure
will enhance the quality and
academic strength of the exten
sions.
Petteway also believes that
the on-campus prog^ram will
benefit by the resulting ver
satility of the on-campus facul
ty. In short, both the resident
and extension programs will be
strengthened by a greater in
volvement of the on-campus
faculty in the other branches of
the institution.
The president also stated that
these measures are designed to
mm.
s. BRUCE PETTEWAY
make the on-campus program
more cost effective, thus pro
viding a better balance in the
financial state of the institution
as a whole. The program is con
structed so that areas which are
less productive will be
strengthened, thus keeping the
college from running a deficit.
Retrenchment is not in the of
fing according to Petteway.
“We will maintain our full facul
ty compliment for next year and
the succeeding years,” he said.
Pagles Admissions Staff
Optimistic For Future
Fritz (Dean Sees No Crisis)
By TIM TAYLOR
Dean of the College, Dr.
Stephen Fritz feels that the col
lege’s financial problem is
precisely that, a problem, and
not a crisis at this time.
“We have a significant pro
blem. I don’t believe we have a
crisis at this point,” Fritz said.
Enrollment on the main cam
pus has been declining over the
last few years. In the past, the
success of the off-campus exten
sion progfram has enabled the
college to remain within its
yearly projected budget. This
does not appear to be the case
this year.
According to Wesleyan Presi
dent S. Bruce Petteway, the col
lege is approximately sixty-five
percent tuition-driven.
As of The Decree deadline
there were between thirty-five
and forty fewer students on
campus this year than last. This
shortage of students creates the
possibility of a quarter of a
million dollar deficit in the pro
jected 1985-86 budget.
The deficit is a problem that
can be overcome. “We can’t
cave in to allowing morale to col
lapse. We must redouble our
own efforts to make the institu
tion a success,” stressed Fritz.
Dean Fritz offered several
preliminary possibilities for
ways to increase enrollment. He
stated that the college is con
sidering adding a communica
tions major and strengthening
both the Computer Science and
Business majors.
Fritz reiterated that if the
college community works
together the problem will be
handled and a potential crisis
will be averted.
By SCOTT BOOKER
Director of Admissions Carl
Pagles feels that the decline in
on-campus enrollment at
DR. STEPHEN FRITZ
Wesleyan, official figures to be
released following the end of
Fall registration, is primarily
due to financial aid snags and
the distances many students
travel to attend North Carolina
Wesleyan.
According to Pagles, many
students get into financial aid
trouble because they fail to file
their applications early enough.
“Many of the students may not
be aware of the fact that the
sooner their financial aid ap
plications are filled out and pro
cessed, the better their chances
are for loans and grants,”
Pagles said.
Those students who do not
apply early “fall into financial
trouble and don’t return by the
second semester,” Pagles said.
Pagles added that, “it is also a
known fact that students who
come to Wesleyan from great
distances, such as Connecticutt,
New Jersey, New York, etc. are
less likely to graduate here.
This adheres to colleges or
universities all over.” He of
fered no facts to support his
claim.
Also, “for some students
Wesleyan does not meet their
expectations in their first year,”
Pagles said. This increases the
possibility of those students
transferring from Wesleyan.
The Admissions Office plans
to step up their efforts to
recruit students by increasing
personnel and expanding into
heretofore untapped areas.
“My overall outlook is very
optimistic. I feel in a 2-3 year
period Wesleyan will be a
dramatically different place. I’m
looking forward to much higher
numbers and I’m certain of that
because of the team we have.
I’m more optimistic than I’ve
ever been," Pagles said.
“We intend to put more peo
ple on the road, and to recruit
more people from areas we have
not gotten much response from
in the past.” In addition to
recruiting high school seniors,
Pagles plans to target high
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