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February 18, 2025
Dear William Paterson Faculty and Staff,
I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend and has returned rested and ready for the busy three months that remain between now and the end of the Spring semester.
Turning to enrollment, as of Census I on February 5, WP's total enrollment has exceeded 10,000 for the first time since Spring 2017, marking a 7.08% increase over last year. Overall enrollment stands at 95.8% of goal, with Census II approaching on April 1. Bear in mind that, as always, the mix matters, and this overall figure includes non-degree, dual enrollment, Main Campus, and WP Online. Full-time Main Campus undergraduate enrollment has reached 104.46% of goal, and new international Main Campus enrollment increased 42.50%, with 57 students. We also enrolled 340 additional high school dual enrollment students.
While new Spring Main Campus transfer and graduate enrollments fell just short of new student targets, applications for Fall 2025 are trending upward. Overall applications have increased by 16.81%; first-time, full-time applications are up 17.27%; and acceptances have risen nearly 11%. Eligible students are now receiving financial aid packages. With strong momentum heading into the next enrollment cycle, students are encouraged to consider WP’s summer sessions to stay on track.
You may have seen news reports of the U.S. Department of Education’s Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter (“DCL”), which was sent to state departments of education stating that public schools and universities that engage in racially preferential practices, broadly including DEI programming, risk losing federal funds. Please know that I and members of the Cabinet, including General Counsel Melissa Reardon Henry, have reviewed the DCL and are monitoring any impact its directives may have for WP. Among its representations is the promise that “additional legal guidance will follow in due course.” Department of Education enforcement of the DCL will likely face legal challenges. We are consulting with the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and will keep the WP community updated.
As you can imagine, executive orders and other federal directives were a significant topic of conversation at the American Council on Education’s ACEx2025 conference, last week. I traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in these important conversations and to meet with some of our elected representatives. We are fortunate to have many strong advocates for public higher education representing our district and our state as we confront a new higher education landscape in the coming months and years. While in Washington, I also had the honor of receiving the Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award. As I said in my acceptance remarks, I would like to think that being honored with this award due to my mentoring work demonstrates my continued gratitude to the many mentors and colleagues who helped me along the way. I am proud that the WP community has welcomed the ACE Fellows we have hosted in recent years and has long embraced a culture of mentorship, including through powerful initiatives like the Pesce Family Mentoring Institute and the ACE Women’s Network.
Watch your inbox next week for an email from the Division of Human Resources with full details about William Paterson’s participation in the 2025 Great Colleges to Work For survey. I encourage everyone to participate as a way to help us improve our workplace experience for everyone’s benefit, including our students, as employee engagement is a key factor of student success.
February’s First Thursday was canceled due to inclement weather, but we will hopefully be past the snow and ice by our next scheduled event on Thursday, March 6. Please plan to join us upstairs in Hobart Manor between 4:00-5:30 p.m. to socialize with colleagues over hors d'oeuvres and light refreshments.
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