Emerson College is facing staff and possible faculty cuts in the coming year following a decline in enrollment the college president linked to “negative” messaging from pro-Palestine protestors and hiccups in the FAFSA process this year, an internal email stated.
“Now that the College’s enrollment deposit deadline for this year has passed, we want to share with our community that the size of our projected incoming first-year class for Fall 2024 is significantly below what we had hoped,” wrote President Jay Bernhardt in an internal email to faculty and staff.
Due to the decline, the letter stated, the college will limit staff and faculty searches next year, review existing programs and offerings, and eliminate both filled and vacant staff positions. The administration could also “potentially reduce some faculty positions.”
Bernhardt attributed the reduction to factors “including national enrollment trends away from smaller private institutions, an enrollment deposit delay in response to the new FAFSA rollout, student protests targeting our yield events and campus tours, and negative press and social media generated from the demonstrations and arrests.”
Emerson students set up a pro-Palestine encampment across from the Boston Common in late April. On April 25, 118 protesters were arrested when Boston and state police moved in to dismantle the camp in Boylston Place Alley, citing city ordinances banning camping on public property.
Encampment protests and arrests occurred at several nearby colleges including Northeastern, Harvard and MIT.
Emerson College releases the last round of admissions decision around mid-March and has a decision deposit deadline of June 1 for non-early decision applicants.
The enrollment decline is expected to be a “a one-year phenomenon,” Bernhardt said, but to have a ripple effect on the school’s budget due to the losses in tuition and housing.
According to the latest data available, Emerson enrolled a total of 4,149 undergraduate students in fall 2022, 4,117 in fall 2021 and 3,708 in fall 2020. Emerson did not comment on how many students are expected to be enrolled in the coming year.
The average net cost is around $50,000 for undergraduate students.
The rollout of a new updated FAFSA form, cited by Bernhardt, also fostered chaos in college enrollments around the country this spring, with many states and colleges extending their financial aid deadlines to account for processing errors and delays.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling predicted the botched rollout and enrollment declines could put small colleges out of business or lead to large staffing cuts in May.
