Enrollment Shortfall Pressures Budget - Chris Hankin, Whitman Wire

Whitman has a budget problem. Caught between the pincer of underenrollment and unplanned growth in the faculty, Whitman is digging into its contingency fund to prevent sudden cuts. Though over the short-term there will be no drastic changes, if the school cannot regain financial stability in the next few years there will be a problem. In her September 14 opening of the year remarks, President Kathy Murray placed budgetary constraints stemming from underenrollment front and center. The class of 2021 has 409 students. The target was 435, and on a campus as small as Whitman’s, the 26 students deficit puts a dent in the budget. This is also not the first year that the College has failed to meet its admissions goals. The class of 2019 fell 36 students short of the goal of 425, with only 389 enrolled students. https://whitmanwire.com/news/2017/09/28/enrollment-shortfall-pressures-budget/