Feedback from listening sessions

• Laying off additional personnel
• Reducing salaries
• Eliminating inefficient programs and activities
• Improving utilization and workload efficiency
• Adjustments to employee benefits
• Eliminating employee travel, leaves and other reimbursements

I believe that these ideas show an appreciation for the seriousness of the situation and a willingness by those who participated to put the “greater good” ahead of individual interests. I want to thank those who participated for their candor and their care for the student experience.

As we move into the rebuilding phase, we received many ideas that we wanted to share as they represent future actions that we may be able to take to improve the student experience and continue the financial renaissance of Rider once we complete financial restructuring.

• Curricular structure: Suggestions to move from 3-credit to 4-credit courses, pilot 12-month tuition packages and create clearer degree pathways with less choice but more direction.
• Small but strategic investments: Proposals to enhance student navigation, counseling, physical and mental health and academic success.
• Experiential learning: Calls to expand co-ops, internships and employer partnerships, building on Rider’s reputation for real-world learning.

2. Partnerships, Mergers & Pathways
We have heard many suggestions that Rider pursue new alignments with other institutions, explore partnerships or mergers and build out new sources of revenue to address our financial predicaments. Specific suggestions include:

• Community college pipelines: Expansion of 2+2 and housing partnerships with community colleges.
• Employer and K–12 collaborations: Tuition-benefit agreements, dual enrollment, summer bridge and employer-in-residence models.
• External advocacy: Encouragement to work more closely with Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey (ICUNJ) to advance Rider’s interests in Trenton, especially for state aid and TAG support.
• Shared services: Exploring back-office collaborations (IT, HR, payroll, procurement) with peers to reduce costs largely through attrition.
• Strategic affiliations: Ongoing exploration of partnerships or mergers that strengthen Rider.

3. Campus Life, Housing & Engagement
We have received several ideas focused on addressing the decline in student retention and improving students’ overall experience at Rider. These suggestions include:

• Campus environment: Calls to brighten Rider’s atmosphere, fostering a sense of fun and pride.
• Student life: Suggestions to enhance Greek life, add consistent weekend activities and strengthen student-led traditions to reduce the “suitcase school” effect.
• Housing: Targeted investments to upgrade dorms and expand single-room options.
• Community connection: Requests for more ticketed events, festivals and cultural programming that invite residents onto campus.

4. Revenue Enhancement & Diversification
Several ideas were presented to enhance the existing revenue streams and better position Rider to create new revenues in the future, including:

• New programs: Rider should consider expanding programs in the health sciences and adding new programs in technology and engineering.
• Athletic division and conference: Study what conference or division would best suit Rider for athletic experience and expansion.
• Summer and weekend programming: Consider proposals for new and additional pre-college institutes and sports camps led by Rider coaches and student-athletes, and short-credit bridge programs.
• Continuing and online education: Expansion of hybrid/online offerings to working adults once Rider is able to affiliate with the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).
• Events and facilities: Increase rentals of venues, conferences and selective community partnerships aligned with Rider’s mission.
• Alumni/student ambassadors: Leveraging Rider students and alumni to share their Rider stories and strengthen recruitment.
• Visibility and location: Leveraging Rider’s geographic strengths to increase visibility and presence in the region.
• Town/gown relations: Strengthening Rider’s presence in Lawrenceville, Trenton and Princeton through partnerships, athletics and civic engagement.

5. Operational Efficiency & Resource Alignment
A variety of voices advocate for steps that could produce savings through greater efficiency in a range of institutional systems, including:

• Adjunct faculty and compensation: Better utilize adjunct professors and consider raising adjunct pay to attract higher-quality instructors.
• Processes and systems: Calls to simplify Rider’s tuition and fee schedule, modernize outdated systems, improve payment processing and automate more functions.
• IT: Desire for more transparency in IT decision-making, reduced redundancies and a shift from Banner to Colleague, along with hopes that IT staff could be dedicated collectively to major projects.
• Decision-making culture: Faculty and staff urged fewer decision-makers, more strategic clarity and recognition of high-performing departments. Weekly departmental brainstorming sessions were highlighted as a way to share best practices.
• Cost discipline: Proposals included shared administrative services, review of duplicative administrative positions, better energy management and reducing event overscheduling.

6. Marketing, Reputation & Community

• Reputation management: Concern about creating negative stories in the public eye, which can harm Rider’s enrollment and public perception. Calls for more consistent, positive messaging and for the Rider community to rally around those messages.
• Fix financial issues: Work quickly to solve the financial issues as this negatively impacts enrollment. Rider needs a better financial narrative.
• Trust and leadership: Requests for greater transparency in governance.
• Distinctiveness: Urging Rider to better market AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) accreditation, green/sustainability credentials and small-college community.
• Rankings and branding: Suggestions to strategically improve standing in national rankings and sharpen Rider’s brand identity.
• Improve website: Modernize our website to better tell the Rider story and demonstrate the student experience here at Rider with a focus on Rider legacy.
• Community service: Increase student interaction with the local community with a focus on Trenton to allow students the opportunity for experiential learning and community engagement and service.

What’s Next

As outlined in our initial message, the next step is to develop a restructuring plan that advances key priorities and present options to the Board of Trustees for immediate action. While there is a lot to consider, one thing that is certain is that we must act with urgency if we are going to get beyond the current financial hardships, which have only been exacerbated as of late.

In response to some questions I received regarding the Westminster settlement, prior to my arrival I, like many of you, was hopeful that the funds from the Westminster settlement would help with Rider’s financial situation, but this is not the case. The funds anticipated from the Westminster legal settlement had been committed over the last several years as a basis for borrowing money that paid for prior-year cash operating losses. Rider is obligated to use the Westminster settlement proceeds to repay those loans and borrowings.

We will continue to communicate as soon as decisions are made and timelines are set. We remain open to additional input at univcomm@rider.edu. Your feedback is shaping a plan that is pragmatic, student-centered and mission-driven.

Thank you again for your commitment to this institution. Rider is a place with deep roots, proud traditions and immense potential, and together, we can ensure our future.

Sincerely,
 
John R. Loyack, CPA, MBA
President