2/7/1981, Burlington Free Press

GODDARD ENROLLMENT DECLINES

By NEIL DAVIS
Free Press Capitol Bureau

MONTPELIER - The president of Goddard College, which had about 1,000 resident undergraduates in its 1960s heyday, said Friday he is relieved that 160 to 165 have enrolled this semester.

Victor Leofflath-Ehly said the figure is down about 20 from a year ago, but the administration was expecting that.

He said he is betting that the enrollment decline has bottomed out.

"If we're talking about a continuing trend, however, we're in trouble," he said.

The enrollment figures almost precisely matches the administration's "bottom lline" projection of 160 to 162.

"At least there were no suprises," the president said. "It secures a pretty decent semester in terms of our budget expectations."

With tuition at about $4,000, the enrollment would mean $640,000 in revenue.

Floundering financially and in danger of losing its accreditation, the college has taken a variety of steps to survive, including a study of a limited merger with Norwich University, a Northfield military college.

Leofflath-Ehly said the encouraging resident undergraduate enrollment figures could be offset if there is an unexpected drop in graduate student enrollment, which is more difficult to gauge because it occurs monthly throughout the year.

"If all our programs were to drop that substantially (as resident undergraduate), it would know us out of the water," he said.

The next milestone will come in June when Goddard will enroll students for summer programs. About 200 will be needed to fill those programs, he said.