By William Coffman, Staff Writer 

Dr. Kevin Hearn, Xavier’s new Vice President for Strategic Enrollment Management, has entered the office at a challenging time for higher education in America, yet maintains a sense of optimism and excitement for the university’s future.  

“I think there’s a lot of reasons for people to be concerned about higher education. There’s a lot of stories about institutions that are closing or failing. This is an institution on a different path. We’re investing. We’re talking about growth in students, further academic and financial support,” Hearn said. 

Right now, many institutions across the country are struggling with enrollment. Xavier is no different. The class of 2029 arrived with fewer students than the university had hoped for, leading to the closure of Brockman Hall. Over the summer, Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York announced they were facing financial difficulties for their yearly budget due to missing their enrollment target. 

“The university will not meet our undergraduate enrollment target for the upcoming fiscal year. Because undergraduate tuition is the university’s primary source of revenue, the Fall 2026 enrollment shortfall carries real financial consequences – including a budget deficit, something the university has not experienced in quite some time,” J. Michael Haynie, Chancellor and President of Syracuse University said. 

Fortunately, Xavier had a rebound this year, welcoming more than 900 new students to campus. Hearn takes over the responsibility of enrollment, with the goal of keeping that success going.  

“In this very complicated, dense market of institutions, we have to be very loud, very aggressive about telling some of the things that differentiate Xavier from other institutions … I’ve been very impressed with the academic quality, the caliber of the faculty, their genuineness in terms of being very student focused,” Hearn said. 

One area Hearn wants to focus on, especially when trying to recruit students, is showing them the emphasis on preparation for the workforce and care that Xavier has for its student body. 

“The challenge we have as an industry is not the front door; it’s the back door. How do we get more students to finish on time, so your loan rates stay reasonable, and that you get into the job market, start paying off those loans as quick as you can? … The national completion rate for a bachelor’s degree is over 6.6 years,” Hearn said. 

“Sometimes we have families that come here and say, ‘I can afford that for four years. I know what the dollar sign is.’ Asking them to extend that is an unfair ask. We have a responsibility. The institutions need to structure themselves so students can finish in four years.” 

Hearn spoke about another point of pride Xavier wants to emphasize when recruiting students. 

“Institutions like Xavier are focused on those outcomes and the experiential learning that comes along with that. We have over 500 clinical sites. That’s an amazing data point for an institution like Xavier. Clinical placements are a difficult friction point at other institutions. You might become a nurse in your freshman year at UC, but you might come to find out by your junior year you don’t have any clinical sites because they don’t have anywhere to put you,” Hearn said. 

Hearn concluded by talking about the benefits of being in Cincinnati and Ohio. Hearn feels the Midwest is a good place to be for college students, where there is a lot of opportunity just outside campus. 

“Whether we’re talking about healthcare, we’re talking about finance, we’re talking about banking, we’re talking about AI. There’s so many things that are happening in the Midwest, and so many companies that are finding their way to Ohio, and so many other companies that are already rooted in Ohio. There’s so much here,” Hearn said. 

As Hearn and the university work to navigate the difficulties facing higher education, the enrollment office is confident students will continue to choose Xavier to get their degree, and witness firsthand the university grow even stronger through these challenging times.