BREAKING NEWS: “Rightsizing” Incoming For The King’s College

Photo Courtesy of The King’s College

The King’s College will undergo several “strategic rightsizing” changes within the next few years, according to an internal email announcement from the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Nov. 15.

“Rather than pursue aggressive growth, we are purposefully adjusting the size of our New York City location,” the announcement stated. “This includes limiting our enrollment, reducing the number of faculty, raising tuition to realistically reflect the true cost of educating a King’s student, and condensing our campus footprint.”

“We have the opportunity to implement strategic and timely changes that we hope will preserve The King’s College and its mission,” said President Stockwell Day in the email announcement. “Sometimes, that means making difficult decisions in the present to course correct for the future.”

Instead of pursuing a high-enrollment admissions strategy, the enrollment of incoming students will be limited to create a student body population total of about 385 students starting in Fall 2023. 

“This size allows the College to become increasingly selective and more operationally efficient as it recovers from COVID-19-era enrollment declines,” the announcement said.

The number of full-time professors will be reduced from 28 to 23 based on reduced future teaching needs. 

“Contracts for the affected faculty are being honored, but not renewed, meaning changes… are not immediate,” the announcement said. Which professors will be affected in the upcoming years was not included in the announcement.

In a reversal from the tuition drop announcement in early 2022, the tuition for incoming domestic students will increase back to $35,000 per year. This will not affect the tuition cost for currently enrolled students. 

“Although our tuition reset earlier this year attracted some new and renewed interest from prospective students,” the email stated, “it also obscured the true cost and value of a King’s education. As a result, we are returning tuition to a level similar to recent years.”

The physical size of the King’s College campus will be adjusted as well. “Our present space is intended for 750 students,” the email said. “In 2024, we will reduce our space to accommodate this new strategic vision. The details of these facility changes are still being solidified.”

King’s students will see some changes to curriculum offerings over the next several semesters as well. “Future course offerings will be more limited than in recent years,” the announcement said, “but this new strategic plan includes sufficient teaching capacity to continue to offer all current majors, minors, and the major concentrations that have attracted substantial student interest over the years. Changes to the curriculum will follow normal faculty procedures.”

Some additional academic programs are also being impacted by the change, but others are continuing as normal under the rightsizing plan. 

“Summer Academy and NYC Semester will continue as usual,” the email stated. “We will discontinue recruiting new students for King's Crossover, but programs like debate and Interregnum will continue.”

This is a developing story, please check back for further details as they are released.

Melinda Huspen is the Campus Editor of the Empire State Tribune. She is a junior at The King’s College studying Journalism, Culture and Society.