2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

GARRETT COLLEGE
MISSION
Garrett College provides accessible, quality education in a supportive environment to a diverse
student population. We offer associate degrees and certificate programs as well as continuing
education to meet the transfer, career, workforce development, and lifelong learning needs of our
students and the community. We are committed to the ongoing development of engaging,
innovative, and sustainable curricula, programs, and initiatives that are responsive to a changing
world.
INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT
Garrett College offers a comprehensive and diversified range of career and transfer programs
despite its small size. This fact and the nature of some of its programs explain the College’s
consistently low student to faculty ratio, which for FY2008 was12:1. Always a major concern,
enrollment growth is now even more crucial as the College looks to tuition revenue to offset
declining state allocations and to fund much needed increases in employee compensation as well
as additional faculty and staff positions where there is also a great need. Garrett County is rural,
sparsely populated, and lies outside the orbit of the State’s commercial centers, although the
College itself is situated in the resort community that surrounds Deep Creek Lake, an area very
different in character than the rest of the County. Garrett County has suffered chronic high
unemployment; however, through much of the past decade it has experienced historically high
employment rates albeit below the statewide average. Even though this change augurs well, outmigration
of all population cohorts other than senior citizens has continued and forecasts of high
school class-size show a downward trend for at least the next decade. Until recently, this
combination of out-migration, higher employment rates, and smaller classes of graduating high
school seniors, who have typically accounted for the majority of the College’s incoming
students, contributed to a trend of declining enrollments. However, in FY2007 and continuing
through FY2009, this trend dramatically reversed, with the College experiencing record high
enrollment. This reversal is at least partially attributable to the initiation of the Garrett County
Scholarship Program (GCSP), which covers tuition and fees at Garrett College for all graduating
Garrett County high school students. However, the number of out-of-county and out-of-state
students has also grown, due, at least in part, to more aggressive marketing and recruiting efforts.
While there are still some uncertainties, the College expects this upward enrollment trend to
continue. For example, the GCSP could continue to have a significant impact on future
enrollment growth if it is extended to include non-traditional students, as is currently being
considered.
These and other issues are addressed in Garrett College’s FY2010-2013 Strategic Plan, which is
currently being updated to encompass all institutional operations and resources, unlike previous
plans which were much more narrowly focused. The framework for the FY2010-2013 Strategic
Plan is provided by the College’s newly adopted Institutional Goals:
Accessibility: Make higher education accessible to a diverse student population through
appropriate admissions practices, active recruitment of a diverse student body, affordable tuition
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