On Monday, Sept. 23, Drexel University announced that enrollment was down 15 percent for the incoming freshman class. Drexel enrolled 500 fewer students than the previous year’s incoming class. In a letter from Interim President Denis P. O’Brien, he attributed a part of the loss in enrollment to the ongoing FAFSA rollout problems due to the larger number of students who attend Drexel on a Pell Grant. The drop in enrollment was expected by students early on to be around 15 percent, in part due to the drop in student club funding, which is tied to the enrollment-dependent “activity fee.”Another early warning sign that enrollment was declining was the last-minute closure of the freshman residence hall, North Hall for renovations, only two months before the start of the fall quarter. Residence Assistants had already been assigned, according to the Drexel RA Union, causing students to lose jobs and previously expected 2024-2025 academic year housing.
According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Drexel also has several satellite campuses such as the medical campus at Queen Lane, and Center City, that might see sell-offs or nonrenewals of leases. Drexel was already in the process of moving programs from its Center City and Queen Lane campuses to the new University City Health Sciences Building before the current announcement.
Drexel previously announced plans to merge several colleges and two schools and has requested former deans step down. This merger was one of a series of suggestions made by the University Advisory Committee on Academic Structure. The merger of the colleges would include the College of Computing and Informatics being merged with the College of Engineering (including the School of Biomedical Engineering), the School of Education being merged with The College of Arts and Sciences and “Drexel Health” to now include Medicine, Nursing & Health Professions, Public Health and Salus & Autism Institute.
The UACAS in the same report also suggested the switch to semesters which The Triangle previously reported on here to support student recruitment, retention and partnership. The report also recommended establishing a set of core competencies and proficiencies to develop in conjunction with student learning. These competencies will fall within four categories: research and innovation, partnerships with organizations and businesses, civic and urban engagement and global engagement. Details are expected to be announced by the University in the future.