From its inception, Rosemont College has been driven by the spiritual and educational philosophy of Cornelia Connelly-most particularly, her charge to educate students "to meet the wants of the age." Thus, Rosemont, founded by the American Province of the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) in 1921, is rooted in Catholic intellectual values and experiences that enable students to respond to life from a strong moral base with joy, zeal, and compassion.

This clearly articulated and unchanged mission is the foundation for Rosemont's future as detailed in the Strategic Agenda draft proposed to the Board of Trustees for their vote. As the world's only Catholic College offering Cornelia Connelly's "solid education," it is imperative that we sustain our existence, refine our identity, and fulfill our mission. In order to do so, we plan to provide an opportunity for all who desire to be educated for a worthy life in a multi-cultural community, working toward peace, cooperation, ethical integrity, and human dignity inspired by the reality of the Incarnation and God's love for all.

In recent years, Rosemont has experienced very challenging times, calling our fundamental viability into question. There has been a decline to varying degrees in enrollment, facilities and infrastructure, finances, and morale. As we learned from the research and analysis of our earliest financial models, simply "continuing as we are" but "trying harder" would not work. We have been forced to acknowledge that continuing in our current state would lead to failure, forcing us to close the entire college within 2 to 5 years, abandoning our mission.

Unfortunately, there are many interrelated reasons for this current state. Rosemont, like many small liberal arts colleges, is a highly-tuition dependent institution, but also one with a declining enrollment and a small endowment. This financial reality is compounded by the absence of a clear institutional identity within and beyond the Rosemont community, of a distinctive academic niche on which to base this identity, and of a cohesiveness and integration among the three schools. While these and other factors affect the Schools of Graduate and Professional Studies, the most significant threat to viability is within the Undergraduate Women's College. Our beliefs have been confirmed by hard data: only 1.2% of college-bound women nationally are interested in attending a Catholic women's college, and our own survey reaffirmed that in the tri-state Philadelphia region that percentage falls to 1%. A recent corroborating statistic indicates that 3% of all college-bound students prefer single-sex colleges (Womensenews.org).

In order to enroll 800 - 1000 young women, the Undergraduate Women's College must recruit 250 incoming first year students. 

Please refer to the Enrollment Management Funnel attachment.

In conclusion, faith-based, single-sex education is no longer a want or need of this age, but our mission is.

Over the past seventeen months, the College has been involved in the development of a shared vision and strategic agenda. Over sixty-five representatives from every area of the extended Rosemont community, aided by our consultants from Stevens Strategy, have evaluated our strengths, analyzed our financial position, researched our markets, solicited input from all levels of the campus and beyond, and studied the experiences of other women's colleges. The data from this lengthy and open process generated three specific scenarios: 1) maintain the Undergraduate Women's College as a single-sex education experience; 2) merge or partner with another institution; and 3) transition to co-education in the traditional women's college, following the over twenty year history in our other schools (which have been co-ed since inception).

Throughout the planning process, the majority of the community had a strong preference for the traditional undergraduate college to remain single sex. Yet after thorough review and analysis of enrollment models and forecasts as well as financial planning models based upon x years of information-together with the above referenced trends in preferences for single-sex education-no other conclusion could be drawn from the overwhelming data: Rosemont could not survive as a Catholic single-sex college at the undergraduate level. New initiatives of whatever type could not overcome a stunningly small potential applicant pool.

Our second scenario, merger, was considered primarily as an option for achieving financial stability. Yet after investigating the possibility of merging Rosemont with another institution and examining the histories of other higher education mergers, we determined that a full merger would mean the near-certain loss of our identity, our single-sex status, and most importantly, our Cornelian mission. More and stronger partnerships, however, with existing and additional institutions, were recommended again and again and have become an integral part of our vision agenda. We have already begun to work towards stronger and more partnerships, especially with Villanova University.

Just as the data pointed us away from single-sex education and merger, it clearly revealed to us the way, not just to survive, but to thrive: transition to co-education in the traditional undergraduate college, supported by new initiatives and sustained by increased numbers of students.

With this recommendation, we will thrive-first and foremost-because it will increase our applicant pool tenfold (we only need it to double), not just with applications from interested young men but with many more from young women who we know refuse to even consider a single-sex environment. Thus, over a 1 to 5 year period, the projected enrollments from this decision, if approved, will allow us to strengthen the academic profile of all entering students (because increasing our applications will allow us to be academically competitive within 4 to 5 years) and thereby our reputation; to expand our academic programs, and to extend our mission of offering Cornelia Connelly's "back-to-basics" education (with her all-important attention to individual fits and talents) to both women and men. Yet, it is co-education along with partnerships, online education, and other new or enhanced programs such as Ethical Leadership, Environmental Studies, a Women's Institute, flagships majors, and dual degrees to name a few, that will give individual students the opportunity to emerge, shine and flourish and allow Rosemont "to meet the wants of the age."

To accomplish these goals, Rosemont is prepared to raise funds through a variety of means from all sectors-internal/external, private/corporate, state grants, foundations, and long-term debt. We should note, however, that the majority of revenue needed to support these initiatives will come from enrollment increases tied directly to co-education, online education, and partnerships.

One of the cornerstones of this plan is the new Community Centre which is projected to cost $15 million, $5 million of which is a state grant; this is the only major capital cost. The cost associated with becoming a co-educational institution is $4.6 million, ranging across areas such as athletics, security, maintenance, and admissions. Non co-ed strategic initiatives, which include such projects as renovations to The Gertrude Kistler Library and the development and implementation of a Technology Master Plan, will increase the operating budget between $865,000 and $2 million per year over the next four years for a total of $6.5 million.

While these costs are high, particularly in relation to Rosemont and its past budgets, these investments in our institutional operations will position us to attract a critical mass of students that will, in turn, enable us to build a future in which we will thrive. Our forecasts indicate that these investments in co-education in the traditional undergraduate college as well as online experiences in all three schools will position the College to realize significant positive net income for operation. With this plan, in other words, we are finally leaving behind the "survival mode" in which we have been operating for the last several decades, and begin to work as a healthy institution towards thriving. This is exactly what so many other colleges have managed to do, having begun in situations that mirror Rosemont's current position.

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At the outset of this process, we promised ourselves that we would Rethink. Everything. As we have gone through this process, we learned that there are no easy answers or certain, risk-free decisions, only thoughtful consideration followed by bold action, conviction, and determination. We are now ready for the future, "to meet the wants of the age," now ready for "Action, not words."

UNDERGRADUATE WOMEN'S COLLEGE

ADMISSIONS BENCHMARKS - 1^st YEAR STUDENTS

	2007	2008	2009	2010
1st Year	Projected	Goal	Goal	Goal
Suspects	20,000	80,000	60,000	60,000
Prospects	4,000	10,000	15,000	15,000
Applicants	338	500	600	700
New Students	86	(100-120)	(110-130)	(110-130)

Benchmark: Increased increments of 15+ new 1 years through 2010.

For Fall 2008, to date have received deposits for 111 first year students and 21 transfers.

Suspect Development: Those activities designed to increase interest/awareness in the college to grow the prospect inquiry pool.

Prospect Development: Activities, both college initiated and student initiated, that require action/commitment on the part of the prospective student.

Applicant Development: College initiated activities that get the prospective student to complete an Application for Admissions.

Deposits/New Students: College initiated activities that get the prospective student to select Rosemont as her college choice.

Note: The Undergraduate Women's College Enrollment Plan outlines initiatives and activities in place to reach the Benchmarks.

Transfers not included in these numbers. However, Transfer Benchmarks will be measured in a like manner.