By Gezim Dervishi
Thomas Jefferson University, having recently merged with Philadelphia University back in 2017 has taken its spot on the national stage as an undergraduate school with a modest student population, small class sizes, and a large student to faculty ratio. Jefferson’s facilities seem to reflect this well, with Ronson Hall, the biggest first-year residence hall, only being able to hold about 300 students. Lecture classes are capped at around 30 students, and labs are even smaller to create a more intimate teaching environment. However, changes over the last decade have shown that Jefferson has noticeably grown by taking over clinics, hospitals, and urgent care facilities, building its name up until the merger. Now, after assigning a small school with a big name, Jefferson is starting to see the consequences of giving its touch of revival to this small campus.
“I think that Jefferson’s size will likely continue to grow as more people enter the healthcare industry because nursing is one of the most sought-after majors in this area,” said first-year Jasmine James.
People are more inclined to enroll now more than ever, but like all other universities, Jefferson has had to make difficult decisions on who to let in to accommodate for the size of the campus. Although the acceptance rate is 89%, the 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio is large and classes are relatively small. Since the undergraduate and graduate populations are not decreasing anytime soon, students believe that our university needs to create more class sections, retain and hire more professors, and build more facilities to keep up with the explosive growth. It is also agreed upon by some students that class locations seem randomized within different colleges, notably with chemistry and biology classes being taught in the Tuttleman Center, which also houses many fashion merchandising and management classes.
“Since [2017], the number of undergraduate and graduate students at our East Falls campus is up 22% from 2017. Additionally, the size of the first-year class has grown 63% since the merger (482 in 2017, 782 in 2023),” said Senior Associate Provost for Enrollment Management Erin Finn.
Source by Jaleel Laraki
The dining area outside of Common Thread is packed every day around lunchtime.
With residence halls at full capacity every year, the criteria of students who wish to live on campus will have to be examined closely before decisions are made. Current students are expressing concern about housing and predict some people will unfortunately be left out unless a new dormitory building is built. Although the Ravenhill side of campus only houses first-year students, there is an overflow of them living in Scholler Hall this year, which is on the main campus. In addition, parking is a battle every morning as Jefferson’s commuter population continues to grow. 42% of students live on the East Falls campus and 58% live off campus, according to enrollment management.
“The university’s crowded enough to have first-years start dorming in Scholler,” said first-year Daud Tariq, who is currently living in Scholler Hall.
Sources by Jaleel Laraki
Every single parking spot is filled up by cars in the Ravenhill and Downs parking lots.
With general science classes gaining around 100 more students each year, the academic success center has felt the pressure of providing help to all of them during midterm season. Classrooms in Downs Hall and Ravenhill Mansion are filled to the brim with students attending group sessions with peer and professional tutoring. Additionally, the stress of scheduling classes for the next semester will soon dawn on students as Fall 2023 is almost halfway done. Anatomy and Physiology classes are one of the first sections filled as students across most of the healthcare majors, including nursing, LECOM, and PA, must take it during their sophomore year to stay on track with their program. A&P I is not offered in the spring, so getting a highly rated professor is coveted since failing the course would put a student back an entire year.
Jefferson is currently advertised as a small school on the outskirts of Philadelphia, the quieter side of things, within arm’s reach of the city’s attractions, making it one of the most perfect campuses for people who like the peace of nature within the city. A possibility that should be considered is if Jefferson is going to start changing up its narrative as the school nears 4,000 total undergraduate and graduate students. The school will only continue to keep growing, and even though the green fields and open parking lots give it that small-school “feel,” the nature of the park-like campus may have to be sacrificed to make room for students. While the growth is a testament to Jefferson’s wild success, it also serves as a source of stress for staff to overcome the consequences. Students can only watch and see if Jefferson can continue to use its resources and innovation to blaze its way through these challenges, redefining possible.
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