Visibility & Growth
Attracting and retaining exceptional students, faculty, and staff drives every aspect of our University community. Through our commitment to hospitality as a core value, we create welcoming experiences that draw new community members into the DeSales family and nurture their ongoing connection to our mission and values.
This pillar ensures our Catholic, Salesian identity becomes increasingly visible and attractive to prospective students, faculty, staff, and community partners. By deepening our embrace of hospitality, leveraging our academic strengths, maintaining sustainable enrollment, and authentically living our core values, we create a distinctive DeSales experience that naturally draws others into our community.
Our approach to visibility and growth is rooted in authenticity rather than promotion for its own sake. We believe that by being true to our mission and values while strategically sharing our story, we will attract individuals who resonate with our purpose and contribute to our continued flourishing as a Catholic, Salesian university.
Enhance the DeSales Welcome Experience for All
We are strengthening the experience that welcomes new students and community members to our campus family, both initially and continuously, as they develop their relationship with DeSales and its mission. This comprehensive welcome experience ensures every person feels valued and connected from their first encounter with our community through their ongoing engagement with the University.
Leverage Existing Strengths to Advance Our Reputation and Reach
Our established academic and other programs serve as platforms for expanding our reputation and extending our influence. By showcasing the excellence already present within our University, we demonstrate our capacity for continued growth and innovation. This strategic approach builds on proven successes while positioning DeSales for enhanced visibility in higher education and our surrounding communities.
Sustain Total Enrollment That Optimizes Positive Tuition Revenues
We are committed to maintaining healthy enrollment across all student populations—traditional day, graduate, and adult studies—through strategic recruitment and retention efforts. Our enrollment goals include reaching 1,800 traditional day students with a freshman class of 510 students maintaining an average 3.4 GPA. We will enroll 70 transfer students annually while maintaining current retention rates to ensure 412 students graduate each year. Graduate programs will achieve 3,000 total registrations, and adult studies will reach 3,100 fiscal year registrations. These efforts include expanding diversity and developing new revenue streams through qualified international students and strategic partnerships.
Promote Our Catholic, Salesian Mission Through University Core Values
Central to our visibility and growth is the authentic promotion of our five core values: gentleness, humility, gratitude, hospitality, and wisdom. The University Mission Committee is defining each value with behaviors and attitudes directly traceable to Catholic, Salesian dimensions of our mission. We are designing comprehensive campaigns to publicize these values and their corresponding practices while collaborating with institutional advancement, student life, academic affairs, and marketing departments for integrated implementation. Assessment through surveys of first-year students, faculty, and staff will measure knowledge, understanding, and embrace of these values, with follow-up evaluations tracking their lasting impact on our community culture.
