The Evergreen State College's Board of Trustees had plenty to celebrate Friday when board members learned that new fall undergraduate enrollment rose 17 percent over last fall, finally reversing several years of declines.
The numbers were met with praise, but it also raised awareness of the importance of retaining those students going forward and the need for more on-campus housing to provide options to an increasingly expensive off-campus rental market.
The 17 percent increase at the four-year public college in Olympia amounts to more than 100 new undergraduate students this fall compared to last year.
"One good year doesn't erase years of smaller entering classes, unless it was a very good year, and this is a very good year for Evergreen in terms of enrollment," said President John Carmichael.
Joining Carmichael at the board meeting was Executive Vice President Dexter Gordon. A year ago, the two men were handed the reins at the college with campuses in Olympia and Tacoma after three previous candidates to replace former President George Bridges withdrew their names from consideration at the last minute.
Both Carmichael and Gordon said then that growing enrollment was job No. 1.
Gordon said the growth was the result of collaborative efforts across the entire college. And he made clear that there is plenty still to do.
"I am keenly aware that our success with one entering class will not solve all of our problems," he said. "We are going to double down on our efforts, we are going to continue to improve our processes, continue to initiate new ventures and we're looking to pivot and focus on the second piece of enrollment: retention."
Gordon noted the college recently received a $2.1 million federal education grant to aid in that effort. Total college enrollment at Evergreen used to be closer to 4,500 students, but it tumbled in recent years due to demographic trends, national enrollment trends, the COVID-19 pandemic and the college's Day of Absence controversy.
Although new undergraduate fall enrollment rose sharply, the overall picture was a little more muted, according to data shared by Chief Enrollment Officer John Reed.
Some numbers:
— Total new fall students, including graduate students, rose 10 percent to 822 from 743 a year ago.
— Total fall continuing students fell 4 percent to 1,304 from 1,374 a year ago.
— All fall student enrollment rose to 2,126 from 2,117 a year ago.
"No question Evergreen has a challenge in retention," said Reed, but he also took aim at the continuing students data, pointing out the drop was lower than it has been historically. The decline also reflects previous lower enrollment at the college and those who have graduated.
Reed said the college would be getting more reliable retention data in the coming weeks. He also touted one significant category for the college: Evergreen was the only four-year state school to show fall growth in resident transfer students.
As for campus housing, President Carmichael said it needs to be addressed before it constrains enrollment growth. About 40 students are on a waiting list for campus housing now, the board learned.
Carmichael said he is determined to add housing capacity next year, possibly in the form of mobile homes or tiny houses or use existing structures on campus, but added "we haven't landed on the right answer."
Longer term, the college has some dormant residence hall buildings that need significant financial investments to bring them back, he said. Beyond that, he encouraged the board to revisit the college's housing master plan from 2016, saying it clearly needs to be refreshed.
"Resolving the status of the dormant buildings is a critical step in order to get the financing models right so that we can begin to dream big for what the next phase of campus housing might look like," Carmichael said.
One housing matter has been addressed: Leavelle House, a single-family home off Cooper Point Road that was previously used by school presidents, has been sold for $915,000.
Net proceeds from the sale will be placed in a board reserve account, per the board's request, Carmichael said.
Trustee Fred Goldberg, who has served on the board for seven years, said there has been quite a sea change at the college over that time.
"There's a positive feeling throughout the community about Evergreen," he said, adding that before there were questions about whether the college was even going to survive.
"Not only are we surviving, we are moving forward and our trajectory is up," he said.
