Despite "Enrollment Cap," BYU Growing. Can or Should it Grow by Much More Though?
- More good, smart LDS kids can have the “BYU experience” (AKA “Mormon Immersion”) while they obtain an elite and career-enhancing education/degree.
- Increasing enrollment enlarges the alumni base with the associated benefits of raises the school’s profile and fundraising capabilities. This would also continue to enhance the visibility of the LDS church via its flagship university.
- More BYU graduates is an investment by the LDS church in it’s own future by producing high-earning & active church-goers who are very likely to pay a full tithe of their income.
- Increased fan-base with consequent improved TV viewership and attendance at Cougar sporting events (national trends in college football attendance have been steadily declining for nearly a decade). It is largely expected that a major realignment is coming with “Super Conferences” (Other ideas here, here, here, and here) that will continue to widen the gap by drawing the vast majority of the attention and money to the affiliated schools. An increased enrollment and fan-footprint will help make BYU “un-ignorable” when such changes take place. “Making the cut” into a Power/Super conference would bring in a massive amount of money to support the institution beyond athletics as well. These programs also raise the visibility of the Y and its sponsor.
- More students could pursue the training they desire at BYU. Some popular undergraduate programs at BYU (Business and Nursing for example) reject over half of their applicants. This represents many hundreds of current BYU students who, despite being accepted to BYU, have to “re-invent” themselves after this rejection (which can occur after being a student for a few semesters.) As the student body gets more and more academically qualified, there should be a major enlargement of these programs to meet the demand. More BYU students should be able to train in these very employable and fairly lucrative fields.
- As Salt Lake City (and Utah in general) continue to be attractive relocation destinations for families and businesses (Silicon Slopes), the state may continue to trend toward a lower percentage of Latter-Day Saints. Having huge and dense population centers of LDS at BYU and BYU-Idaho can preserve the “Mormon Immersion” experience as they simultaneously serve as bulwarks of strength for the LDS church.
- Graduating from a church-sponsored University (BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii, LDSBC)
- Graduating from a CES Institute Program
- Getting sealed in the Temple
- Serving a full-time mission.
- Graduating from seminary.
- Diluting the quality of the “BYU experience” for the student body and/or diluting “the product” of a highly qualified BYU graduate.
- The various and sundry drawbacks of overcrowding that accompany increased enrollment. Traffic (foot and road), increased demand/costs on housing, higher environmental impact, infrastructure build-out, etc ...
- Costs. See quote from President Hinckley mentioned above about the schools being “so terribly expensive.” The LDS church highly subsidizes the actual costs of each student. Tuition is currently only $5300/year which is shockingly inexpensive compared to most in-state public university tuition levels. When compared to similar highly-ranked private school’s tuition (ranging between $44,000-$58,000/year) it’s clear that BYU students are greatly benefited by this subsidy. Increased enrollment would require an increased financial commitment from Church leadership in SLC (or some creativity and/or compromise at least.)
- More “cons” … feel free to comment
- Largely addressed above with data showing increasing ACT/GPAs despite increased acceptances.
- This will be addressed in detail with many ideas to increase the functionality of campus and utilize creative ways to boost enrollment
- One way to address the cost issue is to increase the tuition quite a bit. There are several arguments for and against this. Other ways to limit costs