Early in my children’s high-school years, I asked both of them the following question: “What is a ‘ruler’?” If they answered, “A measuring device,” I responded “No, it is the person in charge of a country.” On the other hand, if they answered, “A person in charge of a country,” I replied “No, it is a measuring device.” My goal wasn’t to frustrate my children, but to get them to think about the role of context when defining terms. Each of us regularly gets into apparent disagreements because of the lack of defined terms.
I often think about this when someone asks, “How many students attend Whitworth?” The person is usually looking for a simple, straight-forward answer but, in reality, it all depends on what the questioner means by the term “students.” Since I like to look at things in a global sense, I usually start by responding that Whitworth enrolls over 2,900 students. (This year we are close to 3,000.) This is the total institutional enrollment; it counts all students – undergraduate and graduate – enrolled.
But this is often not the answer the person is seeking. So he or she might ask, “No, I mean how many undergraduates does Whitworth have?” This fall Whitworth will enroll over 2,600 undergraduate students; almost 400 of those students are enrolled in thriving adult degree programs. This is usually not the answer the person is seeking, either.
Finally, the confused person may ask, “Wait a minute. Isn’t it the case that Whitworth’s strategic plan was to grow by 2 percent a year to enroll 2,000 students by fall 2010? Your numbers are way above this!” Now we are getting specific. The 2005-10 strategic plan did set a goal to grow the number of full-time, matriculated day students by 2 percent each year. (Sometimes referred to as the FTMD number.) The FTMD students are defined as traditional-age students enrolled in the day programs, including those who live on-campus, eat in the dining hall, and so forth. It does not include students enrolled through Continuing Studies (i.e. Whitworth in the Evening) or graduate students.
In 2004, a key goal of the strategic plan would have resulted in an FTMD enrollment of a little over 2,000 students in 2010. It is what Whitworth initially set out to do. The reality is that, over the first four years of the plan, we averaged a growth rate of slightly higher than 2 percent. The result was an enrollment last fall of 2,006 full-time matriculated day students.
Why is this number important? For one reason, it provides a valuable tool for setting the budget. Our other programs – graduate programs, Continuing Studies, and so forth – are certainly important, but most of our budget is based on the number of full-time matriculated day students.
So, the next time you ask, “How many students does Whitworth have?” Be sure you are specific. Are you thinking about full-time matriculated day students (a significant budget figure), or total institutional enrollment, or some other important number? How we define our terms is very important.
Now that you’re acquainted with the various definitions of the word “student,” click on Fall 2010 Fact Book, which is the new name of the Tenth-Day Report. (The Fact Book is located on the campus intranet and requires network access). In the 2010 Fact Book you will find the exact number of students enrolled at Whitworth – undergraduate students, full-time matriculated day students – and much more information about the university.
Gary Whisenand
Director of Institutional Research
Director of Institutional Research
