By Reed Oberlander, 3/4 Naval Engineering Major
The first listed goal of Stevens’ Ten-Year Strategic Plan is “…to grow undergraduate enrollment to approximately 4,000 students, up from approximately 2,500 today [2012].” Regardless of whether this planned 60% increase in enrollment benefits the university, the current students and staff are left aching from the “growing pains.”
Stevens is physically small at only 55 acres (0.086 square miles). In the Strategic Plan-Year 3 Report, Stevens acknowledges this and even mentions a one-year decrease in the rate of growth, citing “…plans enacted due to campus space constraints” but omits what these plans are. Many issues exist regarding the growing number of people in our small campus which cannot support them. Whether housing, classrooms, study space, parking, or other services, Stevens has not grown in other aspects at a rate comparable to the increase in enrollment.
Most students find themselves forced to live off-campus after their freshman year due to lack of on-campus housing (some say this negatively impacts quality of life, mental health, and academic performance). Commuting has challenges too: parking is difficult to find, expensive, and a headache during certain times like the recent Accepted Students Weekend.
Academics suffer from lack of space as well. This semester, I had a professor cancel a research project because there was no space available for the class to meet for student presentations. Despite renovations and plans for beginning the new Gateway building, classes are frequently filled to capacity, and students struggle to find their own space to study in buildings across campus, most notably, the library during finals.
Some departments on campus are seeing much greater use and are unable to keep up with demand. One example is Student Counseling and Disability Services, which currently has a wait list for first-time users. A department seeing this level of growth requires a larger staff and office.
It is time Stevens recognizes that population growth cannot be sustained without corresponding growth in infrastructure, and the administration should take action to provide the space necessary for their current staff and students’ wellbeing.
