Amidst declining enrollment, Drexel University made the risky move of overhauling its process and is seeing its best numbers in years, writes Susan Snyder for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Four years ago, just eight percent of students offered admission actually enrolled in Drexel. This was a drastic drop from 25 percent just a decade before.

So school officials decided to make changes. In addition to overhauling the enrollment process, they cut costs and capped tuition increases. But the process has not been easy.

“Candidly, there were panic moments,” said Randall Deike, Drexel’s senior vice president. “You can’t turn a ship this large and expect everything will be where you want it to be in a year or two.”

The university is now seeing great results. Its six-year graduation rate is now 71 percent, the highest in its history. Close to 90 percent of freshmen also returned for their sophomore year in 2017, and the university is set for one of its biggest incoming classes this fall.

“We made the principled decision to really do something,” said Drexel president John A. Fry. “I think the reward is big, full, super-qualified classes of students who are really happy to be here.”

Read more about Drexel’s renaissance in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.