’s Desk Lycoming trustees, administration, and faculty are intently focused on the disruptions in the higher education environment and crafting thoughtful strategic responses. I can confidently report that Lycoming College is in a stable financial condition, and we have eliminated more than $4 million in operating costs during the past two years. While the pandemic and the FAFSA debacle have reduced enrollment, we have outperformed our national liberal arts peers in the northeast. Very importantly, we continue to implement strategic initiatives and strengthen the market position of the College. Given the regular announcements of closures of other colleges and universities, it is important to clarify some of the critical differences between Lycoming’s financial condition and the typical situation of an institution that closes. Closure usually occurs when an institution has a large operating deficit and current revenues and financial reserves/the value of unrestricted endowments are insufficient to meet payroll and debt service obligations and to pay other bills. Often, the funds available are so limited that the college can remain open only a few weeks or months. In contrast, Lycoming has reduced its post-COVID operating deficit, modestly increased revenues, and has an unrestricted endowment greater than $150 million against a $43 million operating budget. Our financial reserve ratio is one of the strongest among our peer group. During this past year, the federal government implemented a revised federal financial aid form and rewrote the software program operating its FAFSA portal. The implementation has been disastrous for families and institutes of higher education (IHEs). During a typical year, families use the FAFSA portal to submit the financial information that colleges use to award financial aid early in the fall, and many IHEs award financial aid to prospective students before the winter holidays. During the past year, the portal was not functioning well until March, and IHEs were not able to award aid until April. Overall, yearover-year submissions of FAFSA dropped by more than 20 percent, or almost 500,000 students. Not surprisingly, this debacle has discouraged students and families from attending college, and many institutions anticipate enrolling 10 to 20 percent fewer new students in Fall 2024. Led by Associate Vice President Chip Hinton and Director of Financial Aid Jim Lakis, the enrollment management and financial aid teams have done an outstanding job delivering an entering class and transfers. We anticipate 310 to 315 new students will matriculate in late August — less than three percent fewer than in 2023. Thanks to our team and the strategic investments that have strengthened our competitiveness, Lycoming has also weathered this headwind. Finally, I would like to share that the faculty, in cooperation with the Academic Affairs Committee of the Trustees, have undertaken a critical strategic project — the development of new academic offerings. They have been charged with identifying programs that have the greatest possibility of sustaining enrollments while also strengthening our mission and academic excellence. You will hear more about this initiative during the fall. I will close by saying that in my 12th year as your president, I remain inspired by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Lycoming is truly a special learning community. I look forward to seeing many of you on campus during the coming year. Kent C. Trachte, Ph.D. President 3 www.lycoming.edu
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