August 9, 2021
Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff,
Congratulations on a successful first week back on campus. I hope being on campus for four days made your Friday off seem a little sweeter. Please remember to be patient with yourselves, your families, and each other. This return to a more traditional routine is another change we are all going through, after a difficult extended period of time.
Thank you to all who came out to meet and greet your colleagues at the Ice Cream Social. It was so good to see many of you “in person.” The energy in the Plaza was markedly improved with our William Paterson staff present. Many remarked how great it was to be back on campus again. When asked what was the most difficult thing about returning, many commented, “Wearing shoes!”
I got to tour 1800 Valley Road recently and am pleased that construction is coming along nicely. The Child Development Center is moving along, the playground is in, and flooring is being installed. The new classrooms are really wonderful, and I am sure many you will enjoy the new general classrooms that will prevent many College of Business and College of Education students from having to make the mad dash from Valley Road to Main Campus for their UCC and other courses.
Enrollment continues to be a challenge, particularly with continuing students. As of Friday, we are 4.4% away from our headcount goal. Re-enrolling full time undergraduates remains our largest enrollment challenge, which currently is 12.9% under where we were last year. New enrollment is 1% under goal from where we were last year. We are lagging in new first year students, but graduate enrollment remains strong due to WP Online. Retention is currently at 67.4%, which is 9.7%% lower than last year at this time.
Lagging enrollment of continuing students, new first year students, and retention of first-time, full-time freshmen puts significant pressure on the University budget. If you will recall, in June, we projected a significant deficit even if we made our enrollment goals, which projected a modest enrollment growth. As we stand now, with a 4.4% projected decline in enrollment, our deficit is growing closer to the $13 million mark. This will create more challenges going forward. We still have time to work to reduce this number and I am encouraging all of us to do what we can to get students registered, both new and continuing.
I am happy to report that, as of Sunday, 85.5% of our faculty and staff are partially or fully vaccinated and, of students registered for the Fall semester, 4% have received approved exemptions and 73.75% of students are partially or fully vaccinated. Students, faculty, and staff who have been granted exemptions will be required to wear face masks inside buildings, including in classrooms. I have heard that some of you are getting emails from students who have obtained wholly online schedules but are NOT in a WP Online program; they believe they are exempt from getting the vaccine. They are not. Please advise them of such as you encounter this misunderstanding.
I am sure many of you have been following the changing guidance regarding masks including for fully-vaccinated individuals. We have concluded at William Paterson that we will require masks for everyone in common spaces where we are unable to determine those who are vaccinated vs. unvaccinated. The Cheng Library, Shea Auditorium, the Recreation Center, and the University Commons will require masks for all who enter. Because we will know who is vaccinated or not in classrooms and office spaces, we will not require masks at this time for those who are fully vaccinated. However, as COVID spikes occur due to the unvaccinated population, we will have to follow and comply with any changes in State or Federal policy.
This week's WP: We’re Proud — We should all be proud of our colleagues in the College of Education! During its recent Board of Directors Meeting for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), the Board reviewed the interim report and supporting documentation submitted by the Department of Special Education, Professional Counseling, and Disability Studies, and based on its review accepted the report. Congratulations to the following faculty and staff for their outstanding work: Dean Amy Ginsberg; Dr. Kelly McNeal, Chair of the Department of Special Education, Professional Counseling and Disability Studies; Associate Professor Meredith Drew, CACREP Liaison; Professor Paula Danzinger; Associate Professor Karen Decker; Professor Michelle Hinkle; Professor Tim Vandergast; and Associate Professor LaShauna Dean.
I hope that you all have a great week as we prepare for our students’ return after too many months away. Take good care of yourselves.
