Taylor University is undergoing changes.
In a survey the administration sent, students expressed frustration and anger about long lines for food, difficulty registering for classes and the change of Swallow Robin hall’s co-residence.
The overall theme of the survey results echoed: Taylor is growing, and the university doesn’t care about us, Chris Jones, vice president, chief of staff and chief information officer, said.
“(Taylor University) is not just some money-making machine or something like that,” Jones said. “(We) really believe in the mission that we're here to provide a Christian education and to help send the gospel into all extents of the world. And that's an incredible mission.”
Students voiced their concerns online that Taylor would double in size, Jones said. To these rumors, he said the administration values Taylor for what it is.
Taylor’s five-year plan includes Taylor’s undergraduate student body increasing from 2,000 to approximately 2,300, he said. The plan is not to double or triple the undergraduate population.
“It's not just growth at all costs,” Jones said.
However, many students still want to come to Taylor.
“So, how do you grow carefully and well,” he said, “but not be crazy and suddenly, like, ‘Oh, we're just packing people in’ — and just ruining everything about Taylor.”
Though Taylor is experiencing growing pains, many schools have experienced shrinking pains as well, he said. It's really painful for students to have a favorite professor get laid off — as it is a hard market out there.
He said the choice is between tuition going way up, which is not a good sign for the school, or a careful, sustained growth taking place for students to pay for these added expenses.
A lot of work is being done behind the scenes to accommodate the university’s growth that students also don’t see.
The administration has put in the person-power into modeling the next five years. Administration mapped out classes to ensure every student can take their required courses for his or her major to graduate. They have ensured available seats and spoke with faculty — all that is happening, he said.
“We’re working so hard on that,” Jones said. “That’s not seen; it’s not necessarily public. Actually, we care about every student... Yes, we know it's been a little tight, and so there were some problems, and that's why we're trying to respond. It doesn't fix overnight. It's a complex problem. But we are really working to address those things.”
Taylor’s administration is really trying to steward the school well, he said.
It’s easy to blame a faceless administration making changes to Taylor. Some students may think there’s just some administration who doesn’t care about “me,” he said.
“Actually, I pray for you everyday. I — we — so care,” Jones said. “We pray as a leadership team. We love Taylor. That's why we've devoted our work here, our lives here.”
Jones encouraged students to reach out to him if they felt that the administration didn’t care for him or her.
Jones can be contacted at: chris.jones@taylor.edu
