Columbia’s interim provost told students that the college is planning for a larger incoming first-year class in the fall, offering a more optimistic outlook after years of enrollment decline, layoffs and financial challenges.
“We are actually tracking and planning for well more than 4,000 students, and we have slightly less than 4,000 students right now,” Interim Provost Suzanne McBride said. “We’re definitely planning on a bigger freshman entering class for this fall than last fall.”
McBride made the remarks Tuesday, March 31, during a Student Government Association “Hi-Tea” forum, where she fielded questions about academics, resources and the college’s future.
She did not offer an explanation for how the college would achieve its enrollment goals.
On Wednesday, April 1, the college announced that a months-long national search for provost had failed after inviting three finalists to campus in March.
McBride will continue to serve in the role through the 2026–2027 academic year.
McBride, a professor of journalism, has been at Columbia since 2005 and has served as interim provost and senior vice president since June 3. The provost presides over all academic matters as the second-highest ranking administrator at the college.
This is the second “Hi-Tea” event hosted by SGA this year. The previous one was with President and CEO Shantay Bolton last fall as part of her efforts to facilitate an open dialogue between students and campus leadership, the Chronicle previously reported.
Around 20 students were at the forum held at the Hive on March 31.
“The best information we can get at any moment about anything is directly from students,” said McBride. “Just the fact that students can clearly identify the problem and even at times offer suggestions – I think it’s fabulous.”
Jenna Davis, president of Student Government Association and moderator of the event, said SGA invited the provost because the organization had fielded a lot of academic-based questions.
“So that’s why we brought the interim provost to get those questions answered,” said Davis, a senior fine arts major.
McBride felt that she was “empowered” by Bolton’s leadership, and it had motivated her to engage with students on a more frequent level.
“An institution that isn’t actively engaged with students isn’t going to be as good of an institution as it can be,” she said.
McBride said she wants to be careful about how tuition dollars are spent.
Columbia has raised tuition by 10% for first-year students and 5% for continuing students this school year. Tuition was also raised by 10% in 2022 and another 5% in 2023, as the Chronicle previously reported.
“We need to look at how we can figure out a way to put even more of your hard-earned tuition dollars into frontline work,” she said.
Throughout the discussion, McBride emphasized better support for students and their programs, as well as the need for stronger communication between students and faculty.
“You all are the reason we’re here,” she added. “I know sometimes we do things that don’t make you super happy, but as much as we can, we need to be very intentional about what we’re doing and really think about your experience.”
Michael Kowalkowski, SGA vice president of finance, said he was glad McBride took the opportunity to have an open discussion with the student body.
“We’ve had many discussions regarding courses and academics within SGA,” said Kowalkowski, a junior fine arts major. “A few things discussed during Hi-Tea were ideas and plans, so I’m interested to see how they will come into play.”
Throughout the event, McBride took notes regarding each student’s concerns and said that she plans on following up with the appropriate faculty members in order to address them.
“The way you fix problems and solve things is by working collectively,” said McBride. “It takes all of us to make this place what it needs to be.”
Copy edited by Venus Tapang
