Alumni Tower | Photo by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
In a Sept. 16 meeting, the Wright State University Board of Trustees discussed enrollment, finances and expansion of student opportunities.
Enrollment and retention
President Sue Edwards stressed the importance of enrollment and retention. Edwards noted that first-time enrollment is up for the Fall 2022 semester, with 1,541 students this year compared to 1,394 the previous fall.
“We have the highest first-time enrollment at the Wright State campus since 2019,” Edwards said. “We are trending in all of the right directions.”
Aligning with increasing enrollment numbers, Edwards has a goal of 75% student retention by fall 2025, with continuous improvement to that date. The current retention number is 64%.
Edwards is focused on retention initiatives, including participation rosters, student access to mid-term grades, full year registration and the President’s council mentorship program, through which the council will mentor ten students per member each year, with hopes to expand that number. For more information about multi-term registration and midterm grades, read here.
Finances
The Board also approved three new lease agreements.
The first lease agreement will make the University an educational partner with the YMCA of Greater Dayton’s new Northwest Dayton Health and Wellness Campus. This lease will provide Wright State with a space at the Northwest Dayton site.
The second agreement leases University space to the Ohio State Auditor. Upon moving the Western headquarters into this space, the State Auditor will be offering internships to students. The Auditor currently has similar agreements with other universities, including Kent State and Ohio University, according to a representative from the State Auditor’s office.
The final agreement will negotiate the lease of undeveloped property that the university owns along Colonel Glenn Highway.
Aviation Opportunities
WSU also approved a new affiliation agreement with First Flight Aviation, a flight school in Dayton.
WSU and First Flight will collaborate to provide aviation education opportunities to students. These opportunities will include a move toward aviation classes taken for credit at the University, beginning with special topics courses to gauge student interest, according to Interim Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science Dr. Michael Raymer.
Completion of the aviation program would allow students to graduate with a private pilot’s license along with a graduate or undergraduate degree.
The Board stressed that this is only the first step toward offering an aviation program.
“I am challenging this University as John Kennedy challenged the nation in 1962 to land a man on the moon and bring him home safely by the end of the decade, that Wright State University become a national leader in aerospace by the end of this decade,” Chair Tom Gunlock said.
