There was a video posted on Facebook showing part of the project under construction. It looked like a lot more than just adding air conditioning! I presume this area was what is changing from what was the joint cafeteria area. It looked extensive.
Donor email went out reporting freshmen class looks like it will be largest in a long time, and large increase in new students (first in a long time). Sounds positive... Numbers will tell the story and if this is indeed the case hopefully they can follow it up with another large class next year.
MW - not sure where you saw this (and I am also a donor). I did see a letter from Pres. Konkol that said enrollment of new students had improved some and that momentum was going in the right direction. I have haeard the same from other very reliable sources (new student enrollment improved, but not a lot). I do think that the VP of marketing/student enrollment (who started before Pres. Konkol) is doing a good job.
MW - not sure where you saw this (and I am also a donor).
A while back somebody reached out to discuss donations and support. I have gotten a couple updates from them since.
Even a modest increase in the upcoming class is a very hopeful sign that things are starting to turn around.
The demographic profile that faces colleges and universities today -- including historically solid, regional, private universities like Valpo -- will not be experienced equally.
It may be untoward to refer to this challenge as a deeply competitive one, as opposed to gentler references to marketing, recruiting, helping students find their right school, and so on, but a dogged competition it will be. Schools that are mission-driven towards helping students, with a strong sense of their own institutional identity, will have an advantage.
For obvious morale reasons, we all want to see an increase in VU headcount and freshmen FTE.
But we have been dropping by the hundreds in those categories in the last 5-10 years. So any gain will be great. Even though it's unfair to expect fast results from new staff, it's just hard to spin a decrease in counts as "less bad than before."
By contrast the simple three words, "enrollment is up," will echo across lips and headlines. Let's hope we get a few gains of 1+. The size of an increase is far less important than being upward.