Group to be appointed to explore freshman-class increase
Announcing the move, Hennessy noted undergraduate numbers have been nearly level over the past 35 years
President John Hennessy has announced plans to appoint a presidential task force to explore the idea of slightly increasing the size of the freshman class—and, as a consequence, the overall undergraduate population of the university.
Hennessy, who made the announcement at last week's Faculty Senate meeting, referred anyone interested in the topic to read his column in the most recent issue of Stanford magazine (September/October 2007), "Should Stanford Expand the Freshman Class? Historically Low Acceptance Rates Leave Many Deserving Students Out."
In the column, Hennessy said his primary rationale for asking the question now was the dramatic growth in the number of applicants prepared to do Stanford-caliber study.
For the Class of 2011, Stanford received nearly 24,000 applications—a university record. The acceptance rate for the class was 10.3 percent.
Hennessy noted that the undergraduate population has remained nearly level over the last 35 years. In 2006, the total was 6,689, compared with 6,630 in 1980 and 6,221 in 1970.
He said it was time for alumni, faculty, students, trustees and admissions personnel to "begin a conversation" about the issue. He noted that even a small increase in the number of freshmen would have educational, social and financial consequences for the university.
"How would we ensure that we maintain the small classes and seminars for undergraduates?" he wrote. "Where would the resources come from to maintain the faculty-to-student ratio? Where would we house the additional students and how would we finance new housing? How would we provide the additional financial aid to ensure that Stanford remains need-blind?
"In the end, though, I believe expanding the size of the undergraduate population would be both a practical and a principled response to current realities. It would create more opportunities for gifted students to attend Stanford and it would avail Stanford of some of the best and brightest minds in the country."
