Smith College to reduce Ada Comstock enrollment

[ Originally published on: Thursday, March 05, 2009 ]

NORTHAMPTON -- Faced with a budget shortfall, Smith College will reduce the number of Ada Comstock Scholars -- nontraditional-age students who rely heavily on financial aid -- it accepts in the coming academic year.

Smith College will accept 12 fewer Ada scholars, a decline of about 25 percent in the program's first-year Ada enrollment, for the coming fall. The college is aiming to accept about 35 Ada scholars for the 2009-2010 year.

The move is expected to save Smith College financial aid dollars. While the Ada Comstock Scholars make up about 6 percent of the college's overall student population, they receive 10 percent of the college's financial aid funds, said Kristen A. Cole, media relations director at Smith College. Smith doled out $41.9 million in institutional financial aid this academic year.

''Because the Ada applicant pool has become significantly more needy than the pool overall, constraints on financial aid will have a more dramatic effect on that group's enrollment,'' Cole said.

The 34-year-old Ada Comstock Program was founded to provide women of nontraditional college age (24 and older) an opportunity to complete a bachelor of arts degree. The program provides Adas with the same undergraduate classes available to traditional students, but, noting that many of the Adas have families and jobs, scholars can work toward their degree on a more flexible schedule.

There are now about 180 Ada Comstock Scholars enrolled at Smith College. In addition to citing the scholars' reliance on financial aid, Cole also noted that over the years, there has been less demand for the Ada program. As similar programs for nontraditional age students have sprung up around the country, Ada applications to Smith have dwindled. This year Smith received 16 percent fewer applications, a total of 187, from potential Ada Comstock Scholars.

''The college plans to convene a group next year to study the program and policies,'' Cole said.

Hit hard

Smith College, like many institutions of higher education, has been hit hard by the tumbling stock market and international recession.

In a January letter to the campus, President Carol T. Christ said she expects that the college's endowment --which began fiscal 2009 with $1.4 billion -- will show a decline of 25 to 30 percent, or $350 million to $420 million, from late August 2008 through the end of January.

Over the next three years, Smith College is looking at lopping $20 million to $30 million out of its operating budget.

Smith College administrators met with Ada scholars last week to discuss potential and real changes to the program.

Maureen Mollahan, a junior and Ada scholar, said she left the meeting feeling the program would survive the recession intact, but was concerned that too many funding cuts could make it less attractive.

''The administration was very clear that the program is here to stay and that they feel it is important,'' Mollahan said.

''But I have concerns about this program suffering from becoming too marginalized in the community. When you walk around on campus, you don't feel like you're the only Ada Comstock Scholar -- there's evidence of other people,'' said Mollahan, who added that it was the prominence of the Ada program that encouraged her to choose Smith.

''Some of the other schools, when I looked at their programs, I felt more marginalized.''

The reduction in Adas is being combined with a number of other cost-cutting measures. This year, Smith instituted a 2 percent cut, or ''hold back,'' in nonsalary, general expense budgets.

The college is also considering other options, including becoming more need-conscious when making application decisions; renting, closing or selling building space; cutting academic programs; reshaping fundraising; and relying more on Five College collaborations.

Smaller programs

Other women's colleges, including Mount Holyoke College, have programs for nontraditional age students.

Often these programs are smaller than Smith's: at Wellesley and Bryn Mawr colleges, the older student population makes up about 2 percent of the entire student body.

At Mount Holyoke College, the Frances Perkins Program for nontraditional-age women enrolled 134 students this year, about 6 percent of the total student population.

Jane B. Brown, vice president for enrollment and college relations at Mount Holyoke College, said the college is not considering making any changes to its program, although it is grappling with its own financial woes. Mount Holyoke is projecting a $2 million to $5 million budget gap for the coming academic year.

''We are still very much committed to enrolling academically talented nontraditional-age women,'' Brown said.

 

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