Dear Saint Mary’s Community,
In light of the recent restructuring of programs by the University, we the 2022-2023 Student Senate Executive Board are writing an open letter to you on behalf of the Saint Mary’s student body. The Executive Board consists of students from a variety of majors, class standing, and post-graduate plans, and each of us was individually elected to our respective roles to represent the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota student body.
This letter pertains to the wide variety of responses to the recent news of the 11 programs that will be phased out from the Saint Mary’s undergraduate course offerings. We have heard, and as current students at the heart of the Saint Mary’s experience, we deeply understand your frustration. We understand the tremendous level of concern and the anxiety around the unknown future of the University, and we are doing everything we can as student leaders to advocate for the best possible solution to the multiple issues that many private colleges are facing, particularly the looming enrollment crisis and resulting monetary issues.
We at Saint Mary’s are not alone in being forced to make major changes to the operations of our university in order to remain viable now and in the future. This past spring, students were informed that although we are experiencing a financial deficit, we are the only university in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) that does not possess a significant amount of debt. However, this is becoming a common trend across the nation as private colleges are closing their doors due to financial and enrollment issues. (1) Data from Inside Higher Ed shows that from the 2018 academic year to the conclusion of the 2021 academic year found that there were 579 fewer colleges/universities in the United States. Of those, 35 were four-year private institutions. These figures signal the crisis higher education faces. (2) Saint Mary’s continues to aim to be regionally dominant and nationally prominent, which can be seen by the launch of our new nursing and health humanities program last year. The university is continually looking to improve our offerings and to provide students with the best opportunities possible.
The majors that are slated to be phased out affect a broad swath of programs mostly in the arts and theology. As disappointing as that may be, there is still a broad array of Lasallian Catholic liberal arts education opportunities being offered at Saint Mary’s. As previously mentioned, we have been assured that the majors will be phased out gradually, allowing current students opportunities to finish the one they are currently declared as. Additionally, students outside of these majors will continue to receive a top-of-the-line liberal arts experience through our general education program and we are confident in the upper administration’s continued commitment to a Lasallian Catholic education.
We urge alumni and the Saint Mary’s community to stay committed in their support of the university. This is not an issue that we are facing alone, and things may take time to improve. It is forecasted that college enrollment in the United States will drop nearly 15% after 2025. (3) These changes to programs, however painful, will allow for the preservation of the Saint Mary’s experience for the future. It is important to follow the Lasallian call, “together and by association”, as students and the university now more than ever need alumni’s support, involvement, and commitment, so that there can continue to be graduates of Saint Mary’s for generations to come. We know that there is much work happening to plan and refine aspirations regarding these changes and we look forward to updates from the university.
Thank you for your continued care and support of our university,
Sophia O’Neil, Student Senate President
Jose Trejo, Student Senate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Joseph Schauf, Student Senate Vice President for Financial Affairs
Riley Hall, Student Senate Vice President for Public Affairs
Maggie Newhouse, Student Senate Vice President for Campus Affairs
Catherine Pierpont, Student Senate Vice President for Student Affairs
Anne Carmean, Student Senate Vice President of Media and Communications
Sophie Cave, Student Senate Vice President for Multicultural Affairs
Morgan Brown, Student Senate Executive Assistant
- Author: Brent Solomon, “An Illinois College Closing Its Doors for Good Friday,” ksdk.com, May 13, 2022,
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/illinois/lincoln-college-closing/63-e0055e6b-8bdf-42e1-8377-2568ef45db27#:~:text=LINCOLN%2C%20Ill.,ransomware%20attack%20prompted%20the%20decision. - “Number of Colleges Shrinks Again, Including Publics and Private Nonprofits,” Number of colleges shrinks again, including publics and private nonprofits, accessed June 14, 2022, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/08/02/number-colleges-shrinks-again-including-publics-and-private-nonprofits.
- Jill Barshay, “College Students Predicted to Fall by More than 15% after the Year 2025,” The Hechinger Report, April 8, 2021, https://hechingerreport.org/college-students-predicted-to-fall-by-more-than-15-after-the-year-2025/.
