Thoughts on the Enrollment Crisis Townhall: Guest Essay #3

In this series, Turner Business is providing space for a series of Guest Essayists to provide their thoughts on the After Action Report townhall that was held on Friday, October 30, 2026, in the University Hall Auditorium. This townhall focused on the enrollment troubles that CSU has been experiencing over multiple consecutive semesters.

     It was encouraging to see that the administration is carefully reviewing our retention and progression processes at CSU. We do have a number of systems that are outdated, overly complicated, or difficult for students to navigate. At times, faculty members find themselves personally guiding students through multiple, and sometimes conflicting, directions as they work to complete the steps necessary to begin classes. It was reassuring to see these concerns being acknowledged and addressed thoughtfully and thoroughly. It remains to be seen whether the proposed interventions will produce the desired results, but as a faculty member, I was encouraged by the attention being given to these longstanding issues. My greatest concern, however, is that the University appears hesitant to make difficult decisions regarding students who are not making satisfactory academic progress or demonstrating a reasonable likelihood of successful completion. If we are to remain viable over the long term, I believe we must be willing to address this issue, even when doing so may be difficult in the short term. This concern was not a significant focus of the presentation, although it was briefly addressed during the Q&A. While I may not agree with every strategy being proposed, I believe it is important that I, as a faculty member, make a good-faith effort to support and implement the university’s direction. Doing so will allow us to evaluate these initiatives fairly and ensure that, if they do not achieve the intended outcomes, lack of faculty engagement is not a contributing factor.