EOU admissions declining sharply

Tuesday, July 3, 2007 11:16 AM PDT

LA GRANDE (AP) — The number of students applying for admission to Eastern Oregon University has plummeted over the past two years, and the newest member of the state Board of Higher Education says the problem must be corrected.

The number of students applying for admission as on-campus students declined from 1,308 applications in 2005, to 1,015 in 2006 and 771 for fall 2007 — a 41 percent decline over two years. Admissions saw a similar drop.

Jim Francesconi, the newest member of the higher ed board, said Eastern Oregon’s enrollment trend is ‘‘one of the most serious issues before the higher ed board.’’ He said the board expects the university to present a plan to the board this month, explaining how it plans to reverse course.

EOU President Khosrow Fatemi said the university is hiring a consultant to help with the enrollment issue. He believes a number of factors are at work, with most related to the school’s geographic location.

He cites a stagnant regional population, decreasing numbers of Eastern Oregon high school students planning to attend college and increasing competition from other schools.

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‘‘Washington State University gives in-state rates to students from nine Oregon counties, including ours,’’ he said. ‘‘They’re also giving students $3,000 scholarships and free laptops.’’

Fatemi said an increased state higher education budget for next year will help ease the school’s financial woes, and he expects an outreach program targeting high school freshmen and middle school eighth-graders to bear fruit in three to four years.

In the meantime, the university is closing the Hunt Hall dormitory this fall because there are fewer students living on campus.

The enrollment decline worries community members and university staff. They cite a host of reasons for the drop, including a sexual harassment scandal that erupted after two women alleged they were raped by a university administrator.

‘‘A series of major negative activities have occurred,’’ said Dale Mammen, a La Grande attorney and longtime EOU donor. ‘‘Concerns about the administration that led to a no-confidence vote in the president; the sexual harassment scandal and the fact that the person is still on the payroll a year later drawing a substantial salary; cutting the baseball program; reserves at an all-time low. There’s a real sense of uncertainty.’’

Mammen said that Fatemi has not done the university any favors by consistently telling groups that students from Eastern Oregon don’t see the need for a college degree.

‘‘The president is invisible in the community,’’ Mammen said. ‘‘But when he does appear his theme is that Eastern Oregon high school students are uneducated, unsophisticated and unmotivated.

‘‘People are hearing this message. Why would I want to go to a university that believes I am uneducated and unmotivated?’’