On October 23, 2015, President Schutt sent out College Council minutes which noted a discussion on the impact of the first-year class size this fall on the College’s budget. “The number of students living on campus has grown over the past five years. This fall semester there are 34 more residential students than in 2011. Compared to last year, though, the College has experienced a slight dip,” President Schutt said.
In recent years, the College experienced a steady rise in the size of the freshman class-that is, until the fall 2015 semester. While the College was expecting around 400 students to enter into the Class of 2019, a shortage of around 40 students presented an unexpected budget deficit that amounted to $700,000. Thankfully, as the College Council minutes stated, this budget deficit was ultimately balanced through a previous budget surplus, money from smaller accounts, and a reserve for Aramark.
The shortage in freshmen is caused by several factors, however President Schutt points to competitive recruitment across the nation as the culprit for the shortage at not only Lake Forest College but other colleges as well. “In our case, more than anything else, we fell short in recruiting first-year students from suburban communities near Chicago,” he said.
When asked how the budget deficit may affect current students, President Schutt said that because the budget is now balanced, current students should have nothing to worry about. Interestingly enough, prospective students-especially those considering transferring to the College may find this news promising. “We could house approximately 100 more students if we filled all beds on campus. This would strengthen our campus community and also yield additional room revenue that would support the College’s operating budget,” President Schutt said.
Although there was a shortage in expected freshmen this year, this does not mean that those who did come to the College are simply numbers to fill quotas. When a college or university accepts incoming freshmen, they take a gamble on those students.
President Schutt pointed out that this year’s freshman class is “terrific” and that he has “high hopes for all of them.” In addition, applications for the Class of 2020 are accumulating quickly and should result in a promising future for enrollment at the College.
This article appears in print on November 24, 2015, on page 4 of the Stentor with the headline: $700,000 Unexpected Budget Deficit
