Martin University President Dr. Eugene White said Wednesday he has “every confidence” the university will successfully address the issues raised by its accrediting agency, which placed Martin on probation late last month.
“Nothing in their concerns is uncorrectable. We think we will have them all addressed by August,” White told the Recorder.
Citing concerns over Martin’s financial and operational stability, the North Central Association’s Higher Learning Commission placed Martin U. “on notice” in June 2012 and, when those concerns were not fully resolved, placed it on probation on Feb. 27, 2014. An evaluation team will visit the university in September to determine if its concerns have been addressed. After further study, the commission’s board will vote next February whether to end the probation, continue the probation or drop Martin’s accreditation.
The university retains its accreditation while on probation.
“We want the accreditation because it verifies and certifies (that our students) have gone to an institution with high standards,” White said.
In placing the university on probation, the Higher Learning Commission cited concerns over the university’s management stability, sources of ongoing funding, its budget deficit, and poor retention and graduation rates.
White, the former Indianapolis Public Schools superintendent, was named Martin’s interim president last September, making him the fourth person to head the university in three years. After developing a five-year plan for last fall, White agreed in November to remain as Martin’s president for five years to “correct the leadership concerns and appropriately address the other concerns handed down” by the commission, White said.
“I’m the answer to their leadership concerns,” he said. “And I really believe we will be able to eliminate the probation.”
But White admitted addressing the other concerns will be more of a challenge.
Martin University is a four-year, private, nonprofit school with students whose average age is over 30 and where 90 percent of its students use financial aid. And unlike other long-established institutions, Martin doesn’t have an endowment to help fund ongoing operations. It relies heavily on student tuitions for funding.
Therefore, if enrollment is below estimates, the financial and budgetary impact is immediate.
The previous administration estimated last fall’s enrollment would be around 700 students, White said, but the university only enrolled 500 students, resulting in a budget deficit of more than $400,000. That meant 16 people, including seven faculty members, were laid off and some classes were consolidated.
Cutting staff and lower enrollment present a “Catch 22,” he said. “That compromises your ability to secure funds.”
But Martin U. has kicked off a $2 million “All in for Martin” fundraising campaign and has reached half its goal. It is also seeking grants to create a school of education, specializing in education through Grade 5, and in creating a business entrepreneur program. Both should entice more students to enroll, as would a two-year associate’s degree program, White said.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is in retention and graduation rates.
“We have non-traditional older students who have jobs and families and other issues” which makes traditional matriculation challenging for those students, White said, noting that Martin’s freshman retention rate is 28 percent. Even if a student leaves and comes back after a year or two, it still negatively impacts the retention rate.
Many small and minority schools have similar problems, White said.
Martin has a graduation rate of 12 percent, which is low compared with many other four-year schools but is significantly higher than at Ivy Tech. “We are going to push for higher graduation rates, but you can’t increase graduation without increasing retention,” he said. “Students have to understand they have to up their game.”
White projects Martin will have 500 students in the fall and his five-year plan calls for a 5 percent yearly increase in the retention rate, and a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in the graduation rate. “Five percent improvement would be significant,” he said.
Martin senior Jermaine Woolery, 38, sees reason to be optimistic about the university’s future.
“Martin has a way of bringing out of you things you didn’t know were in you,” said Woolery, who is majoring in theater and religious studies. Next January, he plans to enter a master’s program at Christian Theological Seminary.
“My four years here is a testament that it can be done,” he said.
