Chancellor Gabriella Scarlatta told nearly 200 faculty and staff that the University of Michigan-Dearborn needs to grow enrollment to 9,200 students by 2032, up from 7,741 this fall.

Scarlatta laid out the goal at her first Conversation with the Chancellor forum as permanent chancellor on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The Board of Regents approved her as permanent chancellor May 21, according to the university’s appointment announcement. Casandra Ulbrich, vice chancellor for institutional advancement, moderated the event.

Enrollment and financial stability are her top priorities this year, Scarlatta said. The 9,200 target would represent a 19% increase over current levels.

The campus has bright spots to build on. UM-Dearborn welcomed 608 new transfer students this fall, an 18% increase over the prior year and the highest transfer total since 2019. Undergraduate and full-time equivalent enrollment each grew 1%, according to a university enrollment release published Sept. 30.

But overall headcount fell 3%. Graduate enrollment dropped 17%, driven by an 82% decline in new international graduate students over two years. New international graduate enrollment went from 252 in fall 2024 to 46 this fall, a slide the university attributed to visa challenges and changes to federal work authorization rules.

To offset that loss, Scarlatta pointed to the Great Lakes Scholarship, which offers in-state tuition to qualifying undergraduates and online graduate students from states bordering the Great Lakes and Ontario. The program generated about $350,000 in tuition revenue during its pilot year from students who may not have enrolled otherwise.

"It's bringing revenue, but it's also bringing quality students to our programs, including the athletics program," Scarlatta said at the forum.

Her broader enrollment strategy includes expanding online and flexible degree options for adult and working learners, building new transfer pathways with community college partners, creating guaranteed and direct admission pipelines, and strengthening retention efforts. UM-Dearborn already has 2+2 articulation agreements with Henry Ford College, Schoolcraft College, Oakland Community College, Jackson College, Washtenaw Community College and other partners.

Scarlatta also highlighted financial aid as a recruitment tool. This fall, 46% of full-time, in-state undergraduates have their full tuition covered through the Go Blue Guarantee and other aid, totaling 2,231 students. Among full-time, in-state first-year students in 2025-26, 59% paid no tuition.

Scarlatta joined UM-Dearborn in 1996 as an adjunct faculty member in French studies, as MLive reported when her appointment was announced. The university’s announcement says she was promoted to professor of French, with tenure, in 2017. She also served as associate dean and provost before becoming interim chancellor in May 2025.

Her five-year contract sets her annual base pay at $500,000, according to Bridge Michigan.

Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Melissa Stone said in the Sept. 30 enrollment announcement that the university has begun marketing to out-of-state students and plans to expand those efforts.

UM-Dearborn reports, citing federal College Scorecard data, that graduates’ median annual earnings exceed $77,000 four years after graduation, the third-highest figure among Michigan public universities. The federal measure covers graduates who received federal student aid, were working and were no longer enrolled in college.