According to Eastern’s data files, the College of Health and Human Services' (CHHS) undergraduate head count has seen a 41.09% decrease in students from 2019 to 2023. This is the largest decrease in that span from all of the colleges, the closest being the College of Business with a loss of 27.33%.
Currently, the CHHS counted 2,040 students in the fall semester of 2023, the lowest it's been in over a decade. The last time the college's numbers were that low was in the fall of 2007 when the University had 2,365 undergraduate students in the CHHS.
Before the beginning of the fall 2023 semester, the University named Jennifer Kellman-Fritz as the new dean of the CHHS. Previously serving as the interim dean for former Dean Murali Nair who retired in January of 2023, Kellman-Fritz said she was already aware of the situation when she took her role as dean.
“Upon accepting the position, I was well aware of the challenges confronting the college. Having dedicated over two decades to EMU and CHHS, my commitment is unwavering. It is my intention to foster engagement among students, faculty, and the community as we collectively focus on making our college as strong as it ever was,” Kellman-Fritz said in a statement.
Though aware of the problem, Kellman-Fritz viewed the decline in enrollment as an issue the University is facing as a whole, not just the CHHS.
“The issue of declining enrollment is not exclusive to CHHS; it has been a widespread concern exacerbated by the pandemic-induced departure of essential workers, many who are now returning to school. In response, we are actively pursuing various initiatives focused on recruitment and retention, with amazing support from the Provost's Office for our efforts,” Kellman-Fritz said in a statement.
While enrollment has been an issue, interim school director and social work professor Janet Okagbue-Reaves believes there are still many who want to pursue careers in health and human services, like social work.
“Social work is growing at a rate that's 7% higher than other occupations. So the jobs are out there. The jobs have always been out there because we live in a society where people are vulnerable. From whether you're working with an individual or a family or a community. What really attracts students to go to the field is that opportunity to practice systems theory,” Okagbue-Reaves said. “A lot of our students, not all, but some have used the systems that they'll be working in or they've had contact with these systems. Some of them have suffered greatly and that can also drive them because they know how the system can work better.”
The college has also had problems outside of student enrollment as the college has the second-highest decrease in faculty at 23.02% from 2019 to 2023.
Okagbue-Reaves points out that though the University expected this drop, it was higher than anticipated, partly due to the number of faculty who retired or left positions that have yet to be replaced.
“I mean we have wonderful part time lecturers who are seasoned veterans from the field who teach a lot of our classes. But there's something to be said about having tenured-faculty teaching. And we have quite a few faculty on grants and research projects, so we see more part time lecturers teaching but we really need tenured and tenured-track-faculty again, not that there's anything wrong with our lecturers,” Okagbue-Reaves said. “They're wonderful, but they're just not at the meetings, they're not designing curriculum. You know, the leadership for the courses should come from faculty.”
Having worked in the department for nearly two decades, Okagbue-Reaves said that enrollment tends to have its ups and downs and is hopeful this low will pass. Okagbue-Reaves, Kellman-Fritz, and other faculty members have met, created subcommittees, and devised plans dedicated to fixing the enrollment and faculty count.
“We are forging new partnerships with health systems, agencies, and community colleges, experiencing positive responses to these connections. My primary focus is to ensure that both undergraduate and graduate students graduate from EMU well-prepared for their respective fields. The ongoing recruitment of new faculty members has been a continuous effort over the past several years, a trend that will persist,” Kellman-Fritz said in a statement.
