Layoffs and budget cuts may be on the way for Boston’s Emerson College after its administration noticed a significant drop in enrollment for the fall semester.
In a letter sent to staff this week, Emerson College President Jay Bernhardt said the pro-Palestinian protests and confrontation with police on campus exacerbated the decline.
“We attribute this reduction to multiple factors, including national enrollment trends away from smaller private institutions, an enrollment deposit delay in response to the new [student aid] rollout, student protests targeting our yield events and campus tours, and negative press and social media generated from the demonstrations and arrests,” the letter reads.
Emerson College didn’t specify how drastic the student drop will be. The most recent numbers say it enrolled just over 1,000 students in 2022.
While the college believes the enrollment decline will be temporary, it said spending reductions will have to make up for lost revenue. According to the letter, these cost-cutting measures will include limiting hiring for next semester and possible layoffs.
Emerson College was one of the many institutions embroiled in protest over the Israel-Hamas war. After demonstrators set up encampments at Columbia University in New York, other universities followed suit.
Emerson students set up a camp in an alleyway near the college in April. The demonstrators demanded that the college divest from Israel and called for an immediate cease-fire.
Authorities broke up the encampment on April 25, arresting 118 students.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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