A decline in graduate enrollment has been an issue for universities across the country. In the last four years, Samford has been among many schools that are experiencing pitfalls in its graduate programs, while continuing its growth in its undergraduate programs.
Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Black discussed several reasons why Samford has experienced this drop in graduate enrollment. He talked about how it has to do with the “nationally driven declines” and the impacts that it has made on the market.
The schools that have been impacted the most are the schools of health and education, because they have seen the most change in the market in the post-COVID-19 world.
“Now we are seeing, coming out of COVID, there is a different way of doing pharmacy,” Black stated. “You’ve got less demand and fewer spots, so nationally their applications have been declining significantly, not just at Samford, but at some of the top pharmaceutical schools in the country.”
Black has identified one issue that could be impacting the decline of Samford’s own graduate programs. With Samford’s growing undergraduate population, a majority of those students are unaware of the various graduate programs like the the Beeson Divinity School or the Cumberland School of Law.
“Historically we have not done a really good job at recruiting Samford students,” Black stated.
Black and his team have been collaborating with graduate schools across campus in order to develop a more effective strategy for recruiting more Samford students and promoting health and sciences programs.
The percentage of graduate students on campus this school year is estimated to be around 35%. Black is optimistic that within a few years, the curve will flatten.
