In promotional material distributed to prospective students, Loyola boasts a campus population where the student is more than a number. And it would be hard to argue that Loyola students get lost in the hustle and bustle of college life. We’re not a big university, and our campus isn’t all that expansive.

Like New Orleans, Loyola is a place where if you don’t know someone, chances are you eventually will. In short, for being a major university in the metropolitan New Orleans area, this is a place where everybody can get to know everyone else.

If they really want to, that is.

In his Aug. 23 state of the university document, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, set forth a bold vision for the university’s future. In it, Wildes outlines ideas that he and administrators believe will further Loyola’s educational mission, such as revising the common curriculum, integrating technology into the classroom, improving the quality of residential life and possibly expanding the footprint of the campus in New Orleans and beyond.

All of these ideas should be seriously considered.

One goal, however, reads this way: “Achieve enrollment stability by increasing student satisfaction.”

Recently, Loyola has been operating more like a business and less like an institution of higher learning. That’s understandable, seeing as how Hurricane Katrina left the university with a huge financial question mark that will last for some time. It doesn’t help that most of Loyola’s operating budget comes from tuition dollars. Thankfully, Wildes’ message seems to help refocus the university on its main mission: education. And part of that refocusing will come from the ideas mentioned in his recent publication.

Ultimately, those ideas will either get a nod or an axe from the administration. The problem, however, is that the majority of the administration is aloof. If the powers that be are serious about making Loyola a place where students can learn and be happy, they’ll do well to gather student input and seriously consider it along with their ideas while letting the students know that they are more than just a number. They are, ultimately, what makes Loyola. They’ll also take the time to learn a little about students on a personal level. It’s not that hard to do, according to the admissions office.