SWOT Analysis (March 2009)

STRENGTHS

Clear mission: Undergraduate education
High retention/graduation rate
Commitment to student learning and integration of curricular and cocurricular programs
Central Curriculum/cross-cultural initiative
Curricular mix of liberal arts and professional programs
AACSB-accredited Sigmund Weis School of Business
Active & Collaborative Learning (NSSE)
Emphasis on assessment
Joint student/faculty attendance at professional conferences
Outcomes are strong:
- High placement rate for employment
- High placement rate for graduate school
Well-funded professional development
Membership in academically centered athletic conferences (Landmark and Centennial)
Welcoming community
Beautiful campus and outstanding residence halls
Campus goodwill and commitment to new strategic initiatives
Board leadership
High level of cash on hand
Conservative debt structure

WEAKNESSES

Perceived geographical isolation
Academic profile and size of applicant pool
High student-faculty ratio
Lack of diversity of student body and staff
Student engagement in enriching educational experiences (NSSE)
Lack of student outcomes data
Underfunded career services function
Small numbers of alumni
Percentage of alumni who give to SU
Total annual giving
Size of endowment/high tuition dependence
Ability to fund capital needs
Pressure on operating margin:
- Strategic initiatives add operating costs
- $75M+ capital investments increase debt service and depreciation
- Modest enrollment growth replaces past decade of significant growth
Leveraged financial statement
- Relatively significant amount of debt
- Little capacity for additional debt at our credit rating

OPPORTUNITIES

College degree increasingly necessary in job markets
Ability to hire outstanding faculty in a down market
Focus on sustainability and environmental consciousness
Emphasis on assessment as opportunity to demonstrate value added
Interest in research on student learning and its impact on the educational environment
Business survey course for liberal arts majors
Athletics recruitment and reputation
Small college aura/safety of campus
Some competitors are gutting program to balance budgets
Our price point is moderate “Goldilocks pricing”
Potential for government funding
Electronic communications offer increasingly effective and efficient ways of communicating with primary audiences

THREATS

International/national economic crisis
- Tightened credit market
- Increasing price sensitivity
Increasing competition for fewer philanthropic dollars
Price ceilings
- Decreasing wealth, stagnant salaries, lack of inflation/deflation
Access: inability of students and families to pay
Increasing student debt loads
Tumult in the student loan market
Declining federal/state educational support
Fierce admissions competition from stronger, wealthier set of competitors, in addition to traditional competitors
Increasing student interest in large, urban universities
Lack of public appreciation for the liberal arts; students and families focused on career preparation
Reputational decline due to perceived sense of pricing arrogance
Projected decline in northeastern demographics
Demographic growth mostly in areas and populations that are not our recruiting strengths

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