At a time when some local universities are seeing record numbers of applicants, the University of Baltimore is undergoing the opposite trend.
Enrollment has been slipping for a few years now, according to the Sun, with declines ranging between three and six percent each year since 2013. At least some of that can be attributed to a national decline in law school applications, as students are increasingly realizing that a pricey law degree without a guaranteed job might not be a good bet. But overall enrollment in America’s colleges and universities has also been declining–particularly at smaller, less competitive schools.
UB recently announced that one consequence of the shrinking student body will be a reduction in staff–14 people were laid off this week, despite student protest. Even Johns Hopkins, Baltimore’s powerhouse university (and the home of those record-setting admissions numbers) has seen fit to lay off dozens of employees last year. In other words: despite the high sticker price of college and students’ mounting debt, it’s still tough out there for colleges themselves, apparently.
1990 was the peak year for the Millenial Baby Boom. It had to happen. Laying off people is not the first answer. Cutting admin salaries by even 1% probably would have enabled those people to keep their jobs.
Sorry to hear that UB is shrinking. Having received a degree from there, I can say that UB has some incredible professors, and that my classmates were among the brightest and most motivated students I’ve encountered. Maybe UB is overshadowed in the public because of so many other universities in the area.