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Initiative 4: Expand Enrollment Pathways and Access

How Saint Louis University grows matters as much as whether we grow.

A SLU Campus Ambassador leads a group of parents and students on a tour of campus.

 

We will pursue targeted growth in key U.S. markets where SLU’s Jesuit identity and student-centered approach are a competitive advantage, widen access to students who would flourish here, build clearer pathways for transfer and degree-completion students, serve more adult and nontraditional learners and tell SLU’s story more effectively so that our mission, value, academic strengths and student-centeredness are widely understood.

Like most independent universities, SLU relies heavily on tuition revenue to fund its mission, which makes our ability to grow and expand pathways to a SLU degree fundamental to everything else in this plan. Throughout, we will align enrollment growth with academic programs, student support, workforce needs and SLU’s Jesuit mission. Success will mean not only enrolling more students from more backgrounds and markets, but also enabling more of them to persist, graduate and thrive.

Actions

Action 4.1 Implement an integrated enrollment strategy that concentrates undergraduate and graduate recruitment in priority markets, such as Texas and the broader Southwest, where SLU’s Catholic, Jesuit identity resonates; matches recruitment to programs with growing demand and the capacity to support students well; and aligns pricing and aid with yield and retention goals. Ground the strategy in shared data on demand, yield and student outcomes, and feed that intelligence into the portfolio review in Action 1.1 and ongoing portfolio management capability in Action 1.3.
Action 4.2 Increase transfer student enrollment and success by providing clearer pathways for transfer students, faster and more transparent transfer credit articulation and coordinated academic and student support systems.
Action 4.3 Build SLU’s capability to serve learners we have not traditionally served: adults with prior credit and no degree, working professionals and continuing-education students — through credit for prior learning; flexible and online delivery; and advising, financial aid, and support designed for these students. Launch in a defined set of programs where SLU has clear demand and distinctive strength and scale where quality and results warrant.
Action 4.4 Rebuild SLU’s institutional marketing and storytelling capability around a clear, consistent narrative of mission, academic and research strength, health sciences, athletics and graduate outcomes, deployed first in priority recruitment markets and measured by awareness, inquiry and yield.