The Michigan Daly
Vol. XCI, No. 47-S
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, July 24, 1981
Ten Cents
Sixteen Pages
ma
reduce '82
enrollment
Daily rnOTo Dy KIM HILL
Ann Arbor blaze
A fire that broke out in'a home at 549 S. Division, yesterday, caused severe
smoke and water damage. The fire began in the attic of the 100-year-old
home and was caused by ; propane torch that was being used to loosen paint.
See story, Page 3.
By MARK GINDIN
Daily staff writer
As another step toward creating a
"smaller but better" University,
University officials may cut back
future enrollments, President Harold
Shapiro said yesterday. Shapiro said
that while no plans have been finalized,
the enrollment cutbacks could begin by
the 1982-83 school year.
The proposal to reduce enrollment
"will receive careful consideration this
fall," Shapiro said yesterday.
Hopefully, action will be taken in time
to affect incoming students in 1982, he
said.
VICE-PRESIDENT for Academic Af-
fairs Bill Frye said that he and Shapiro
have talked privately about the
possibility of limiting enrollment in the
future. However, no details have been
worked out yet.
"As retrenchment occurs, we must
consider an enrollment reduction in or-
der to preserve the quality of the in-
stitution," Frye said. "It is a possibility
that must be examined," he added.
Eric Rabkin, associate dean for long-
range planning in LSA, who said he has
not been contacted about any cutbacks,
said "my guess is the enrollment level
will hold steady in the College." He
noted that the faculty has voted
previously not to decrease enrollment if
it meant a lower quality institution.
THE QUESTION of University
retrenchment, making it smaller while
preserving quality, was addressed by
Shapiro. "We can't cut staff without
cutting students as well," he said.
Rabkin, however, said that in some
cases, it is possible to reduce staff while
keeping the same level of education.
"The University could improve ef-
ficiency" using ways that haven't been
tested yet, he said. The nature of
teaching, including the ratio of students
to teachers, is "different for different
classes," he added.
If a decision was made to decrease
enrollment, said Shapiro, it would come
later in the school year after receiving
"careful consideration this fall."
IN AN INTERVIEW earlier this
week, Shapiro said enrollment would be
reduced by the fall of next year. "The
premise is to cut enrollment," he said,
retrenchment would have begun as a
controlled reduction in various
programs as the effects of the past
year's budget-slashing moves wear off.
Dean Dude rstadt
' confronts Engineering
College's problems
Shapiro
... discussing enrollment cutbacks
Shapiro has also said the University
would be in a state of controlled reduc-
tion and redistribution of programs as
part of his much-heralded "smaller but
better" long-term strategy for the
University.
To date, enrollment cutbacks have
not been proposed as an integral part of
his program of development.
THE SCHOOL of Engineering is
already trimming its enrollments for
the coming years, according to Dean
James Duderstadt. Between 750 and 850
students are being admitted this year,
which is less than one-fourth of the 5300
students presently enrolled in the
college.
An increase of 35 percent enrollment
over the past five years has puta strain
on resources at the college, and some
sort of decrease in that figure seems
necessary, he said.
Other peer institutions have limited
transfers rather than entering fresh-
men, Duderstadt said, "and it is easier
to concentrate on them at this point."
Over 50 percent of the students in
engineering are transfers, he said.
Neither Duderstadt nor the LSA Dean
Peter Steiner had heard of any plans by
the University to reduce overall
enrollment. "There has been no word
from the administration" about any
reduction, Steiner said. Any such
decision would require consultations
between the deans and the ad-
ministration before action could be
taken, he explained.
By DAN OBERROTMAN
Daily staff writer
After two months in office, Dean
James Duderstadt feels he has the
problems confronting the College of
Engineering pinned down, and is
"brainstorming" solutions, whether it's
on ways to keep faculty members from
leaving for higher paying outside jobs,
or improving the isolated feelings many
engineering students experience.
Through soliciting the advice of both
faculty members and students, Duder.
stadt hopes to "establish an environ-
ment you need for excellence."
THE ENGINEERING College is
currently facing an 18 percent decline
in real financial resources, according to
Duderstadt. Enrollment is up by 35 per-
cent, but the number of faculty mem-
bers has fallen by 12 to 20 percent.,
Duderstadt blames the college's
financial problems on University
policy. He said that the college adds
$121/ million to the University's
General Fund-$7 million from student
tuition and $51/2 million from money
generated by the faculty. However,
Duderstadt said the Engineering
College only received $11 million from
the University this year, not including
building use and similar benefits.
"What we're after essentially is more
control, and to show to our faculty that
they'll get more control-more say in
what happens to the dollars they
generate-that will in turn give them
the incentive to greatly expand it,"
Duderstadt said.
See ENGIN, Page5