Approvals:
11/28/05
USF-SM Campus Board

2/20/06 ACE Work Group

3/2/06
USF Board of Trustees

SERVING THE REGION: ENROLLMENT TARGETS

To set the stage for the detailed analysis of operational strategies for action and to forecast long-range budgets, enrollment management goals must provide the base. The enrollment plan sent to the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) in June 2005 provided the base numbers for undergraduate, graduate, and total enrollment as measured by full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment (See Table 1 below).

Table 1: USF-SM Enrollment Plan Sent to Board of Governors: June 2005

*FTE = Full-Time Equivalent Student (40 credit hours/year undergraduate or 32 credit hours/year graduate).

The increase in students projected in 2006-07 and beyond is a direct reflection of our increased capacity for offering courses during the day in larger classrooms when we move into the new USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Center. 

The numbers in Table 2 below convert the FTE to student credit hours (SCH) and then to student headcount. SCH is directly calculated from FTE.  Forty (40) student credit hours (SCH) are required to equal one undergraduate full-time equivalent student enrollment (FTE). Thirty-two (32) student credit hours (SCH) are required to equal one graduate full time equivalent student enrollment (FTE).

Although student headcount figures are more difficult to project, they are the logical units required to make decisions on enrollment marketing and outreach and the starting point in all enrollment processes, e.g., applications, registrations, payments, etc. In 2004-05 USF-SM had to enroll over four (4) students to comprise one full-time equivalent student (FTE). The expansion of the USF-SM course schedule to offer day classes and on-line courses is likely to permit students more flexibility in taking more hours. Therefore, the headcounts may not rise as quickly as the FTE and SCH figures. Table 2 is presented as a planning tool for faculty members and staff to develop specific strategies for reaching enrollment targets. The last column of Table 2 offers two scenarios: (1) the number of students required to equal the FTE enrollment targets if students continue taking the same number of courses as they did in 2004-05 and (2) the number of students required to equal the FTE enrollment targets if students enroll in more courses than they did in 2004-05. The rich expertise across campus can then address, in advance, any projected enrollment gaps by identifying special student/course opportunities, hiring new faculty in key areas, filling other resource needs, and revising strategic enrollment marketing plans at least annually.

Table 2: Projected Student Enrollment by Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), Student Credit Hours (SCH), and Headcount 

 * The enrollment of 4.03 students comprised 1 FTE during the 2004-05 base year.
** If students begin enrolling in more courses each semester with daytime and on-line offerings, the goal will be to lower the number of students that comprise an FTE to 3.16.
*** This scenario provides, by 2010-11, the 4500 student headcount, as stipulated in the ICAR to pursue SACS accreditation.