Enrollment numbers

[FWalum]

President Padilla is making good on his promise to me about reaching out to Concordia Lutheran High School. Surprisingly they are also reaching out to the seminary here in Fort Wayne. About three weeks ago the new holder of the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Chair in Lutheran Music and director of the Bach Institute, Marin Jacobson, visited me on the CTSFW campus and I introduced her to our Kantor and other VU Alums on staff. She also met with other LCMS music people in the area. She was well received and is making plans to do some things here in the Spring.

[VULB#62]

This is a very appropriate and idea-filled discussion theme.  But we are still chatting amongst the choir, aren't we.

I would urge all who have contributed to this forum discussion to take it up a notch and independently communicate your thoughts and suggestions to the person at the university with the most to benefit from your thoughts:  Jill Schur, VP, Enrollment & Marketing (Jill.Schur@valpo.edu).

Jill is very approachable and, I might add, very responsive. Both 72 and I have had discussions with her and have learned a great deal about the direction she is pursuing.  But she needs help, and hearing from involved alums can bring pressure to bear that she can use to convince her boss to funnel more funding and staff her way to have an immediate impact on the next incoming class and beyond.

[mj]

So, VU has ceded this territory to others and now wants it back. This might work, but I would not bet on it. While we were sleeping the Concordias - and others - have established relationships with these high schools that will be hard to dislodge

Concordias and Valpo are two very different types of schools, despite both being Lutheran. I'm not sure they're competing for the same students. Valpo has programs and opportunities that just aren't available at Concordias.

Valpo needs to go after Lutheran high school students who would otherwise go to other private schools or smaller state schools. 

[valpo64]

I totally agree that Valpo and the Concordias have vastly different programs and opportunities.  Education at the Concordias is not cheap by  a long shot.  I am more concerned that the Valpo name is not being brought to the forefront in the FW and surrounding regions.  For years on a regular basis we see end of the year pictures and articles on area wide students, listing valedictorians and salutatorians and the college they were planning on attending.  We annually saw a handful of students listing VU.  Thís past year I believe there was only one student listed and that one was not from Fort Wayne,

Just like Coach Powell emphasizes getting players from the "area", ihe University should place more emphasis on recruiting it's immediate surrounding market, at least getting our name out in the public domain as often as possible.

[crusadermoe]

I can't imagine a better ambassador than Roger Powell in terms of reaching dozens of constituencies.

[valpo95]

OK, so it isn't directly about VU enrollment, yet elsewhere on this topic we have discussed the situation at Bradley University. To my knowledge, this hasn't been posted as yet - it shows how Bradly is cutting 15 majors in response to low enrollment and a $13M budget deficit. The announcement is as of December 11, 2023.

https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/the-latest-on-degree-programs-being-cut-at-bradley-university/

[David81]

OK, so it isn't directly about VU enrollment, yet elsewhere on this topic we have discussed the situation at Bradley University. To my knowledge, this hasn't been posted as yet - it shows how Bradly is cutting 15 majors in response to low enrollment and a $13M budget deficit. The announcement is as of December 11, 2023.

https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/local-news/the-latest-on-degree-programs-being-cut-at-bradley-university/

Gotta love the corporatized language: "'These changes are designed to help build a stronger, more agile Bradley, focused on the needs of today's students and the world the university is preparing them for,' the news release said."

I get why they're doing it, but this Orwellian language is bonkers. Program and job cuts will help us "build," leading to us being "stronger" and "more agile." What the heck does that even mean in the context of cuts?

[wh]

I get why they're doing it, but this Orwellian language is bonkers. Program and job cuts will help us "build," leading to us being "stronger" and "more agile." What the heck does that even mean in the context of cuts?

Program and job cuts (cost reduction initiatives) will help us "build (survive)," leading to us being "stronger" (less paralyzed) and "more agile (less encumbered)."

Typical corporate phraseology spun up in the public relations department.

[usc4valpo]

Most corporations use this  power language to buff a turd situation. I have seen this throughout my career.

[valpotx]

I know that getting tenure at the academic level is very important/feels more permanent for staff, and it has its pros and cons to a university, regardless of your personal viewpoints.  However, that locks in costs for a school that you wouldn't ordinarily have in the business world.  It wasn't a big deal when college was the expected path for a large portion of the younger generation, but when those numbers changed, universities are going to need to be more nimble moving forward.  As much as we can tease and laugh at the verbiage utilized, Bradley's PR group is very correct, in that with the yearly business and societal changes, schools are going to need to adapt much quicker than they have historically.  AI and what it means for a lot of professions, in particular, which leads to the degrees that you should and should not be offering. 

[vu84v2]

Part of "being nimble" for universities is to replace tenured faculty who retire (or depart for other reasons) with faculty who are on one, two or three year contracts (which the university can choose or decline to renew). These positions are typically referred to as professors of practice or clinical faculty and usually are filled by people with Masters degrees who also have a some (or a lot of) professional experience. Individual colleges in universities cannot do this to the nth degree, as accreditation requirements include a certain percentage of courses being taught by tenured/tenure track faculty. I wish this was not so necessary (though some professors of practice can bring tremendous and unique value), but the reality is that a business can't have excessive fixed costs (which is what tenured faculty are) when enrollment might not create the necessary level of revenue.

[valpotx]

Part of "being nimble" for universities is to replace tenured faculty who retire (or depart for other reasons) with faculty who are on one, two or three year contracts (which the university can choose or decline to renew). These positions are typically referred to as professors of practice or clinical faculty and usually are filled by people with Masters degrees who also have a some (or a lot of) professional experience. Individual colleges in universities cannot do this to the nth degree, as accreditation requirements include a certain percentage of courses being taught by tenured/tenure track faculty. I wish this was not so necessary (though some professors of practice can bring tremendous and unique value), but the reality is that a business can't have excessive fixed costs (which is what tenured faculty are) when enrollment might not create the necessary level of revenue.

Exactly, this was my main point.  I don't know the % requirement for accreditation, and I get the difference in potential quality in tenured versus professors of practice, but having a large amount of tenured faculty is not going to be the way to go for smaller universities.  I have no idea how many tenured staff Valpo traditionally carries, but it wouldn't surprise me if smaller universities take a hard look at these fixed costs.  I'm trying my best to put aside my bias against union environments and how it can make firing someone nearly impossible, so this is simply my take in a school trying to become more nimble as enrollment declines  . 

[vu84v2]

I don't know the percent requirement for accreditation, but it varies by college (and sometimes even major). While universities are accredited, the far more important accreditations are by college with unique boards that are specific to each discipline (i.e., nursing, business, engineering, etc.) - and that is where the "percent of classes taught by tenured faculty comes into play." My other comment is that this 'winnowing' of tenured faculty has started and is being done to some degree at most universities that are not state flagship universities.

Some might say, "why worry about accreditation?" The answer is that most companies only recruit and hire graduates from programs that are accredited at the highest level (e.g., business and engineering) or only hire people from the most highly accredited programs for the better positions in the field (e.g., nursing). Accreditation certifies that experts are teaching classes and that the programs have sufficient depth and rigor.

There is also a wide range of non-tenure track faculty (NTTs). On one end, you have people with PhDs who don't want to do research and people who have developed tremendous practical expertise. I know some who left industry that use their expertise, experience and connections to start new programs. They bring tremendous value and connection to the university. On the other end, there are people who just come in and teach classes. Universities are much better when they are hiring NTTs who bring value beyond just filling teaching slots.

[crusadermoe]

Here is a different issue on future revenue, though not related to tenure. Small universities, for funding reasons seem to be reaching badly to add degrees and niche programs (i.e. sports management). But a lot of market-driven service careers don't need the 4-year  residential degree.

By example, my daughter's friend at a flagship university majored in hospitality management. She says that the business course substance need 1-2 years max. She thinks she is wasting her parents money in the other courses. God help those kids who borrow to get it. But, the flagship brand does bring networks and opens doors in a sales skills position. But without the reach of a wide-reaching flagship brand, I don't see a Bradley or Valpo grad trading broadly on their brand. 

[crusader05]

One thing that I wonder about is how Colleges have moved into a situation where now, not only do people what highly specific majors focused on  career based areas but colleges themselves are meant to be little self-sustaining eco-systems.

It used to be that majors mattered less than just being educated: Knowing how to read, write, think, be exposed to new ideas and personal growth. Some areas obviously needed to be more skills focused than others but the idea that there needs to be highly specific curriculum in all these areas is probably a stretch. To be honest I think Business is probably the biggest offender in this as I'd imagine that class inflation that occurs to create a major curriculum does mean a lot of classes aren't really "useful" that said, i don't think the answer would be to just say change some majors to two years. I would love to see an embrace of a study what you want and you'll obtain the skills needed. My guess is there are more people in business with a random liberal arts degree than with just  straight business degree and that's because the basis needs are the basic things I mentioned before that most majors as well as working with others would give you. The other issues is the inflation in what students expect/need/want on campus: so many community sponsored events, all their services right on campus, activities and entertainment. Things that students used to provide for themselves. I get times change and I don't think you can put that much of the genie back in the bottle but I do think the expectations of what a college should do for a student are both too wide in some areas and too narrow in others.

[valpotx]

I don't think that I paid attention to such a thing when I was at Valpo, but does Valpo also entertain Professors from other schools that are doing a 'residency' at Valpo?  I don't remember if he referred to it as a residency, but when I was doing my MBA at TCU 15-16 years back, one of my Economics Professors had mentioned that he was staff at some Ivy League school, but was essentially on loan to TCU for a few semesters. 

[vu72]

I don't think that I paid attention to such a thing when I was at Valpo, but does Valpo also entertain Professors from other schools that are doing a 'residency' at Valpo?  I don't remember if he referred to it as a residency, but when I was doing my MBA at TCU 15-16 years back, one of my Economics Professors had mentioned that he was staff at some Ivy League school, but was essentially on loan to TCU for a few semesters. 

I presume this would mean "visiting" to include "residency" though the professors on our site would certainly better answer your question.

Here are a couple I found who are "visiting":

https://www.valpo.edu/college-of-business/mahdi-bohloul-ph-d/

https://www.valpo.edu/political-science/paul-olander/

https://www.valpo.edu/theology/about/faculty/marty-tomszak/

[vu84v2]

Most, if not all, universities have visiting professors - but it is never more than a few at any given time.

[wh]

Pritzker urges Abbott to stop busing migrants to Chicago due to storm: 'I plead with you for mercy'

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pritzker-urges-abbott-stop-busing-migrants-chicago-due-storm-i-plead-with-you-for-mercy

Keep those future Valpo students coming.

[valpotx]

I'm sure that everyone has their personal opinion on my state's undocumented worker/illegal immigrant (whichever word you choose to use) busing to other states, but if the Federal government is responsible for protecting our borders, and Texas bears the brunt of the costs in the government failing to do so, just because we are on the border, I've always felt it very fair that all other states need to support such folks equally.  Is it inhumane to bus folks to random spots that they might not want to go?  Yes.  Should all 50 states share the costs and crisis equally, versus just the border states?  Absolutely. 

[valpopal]

I'm sure that everyone has their personal opinion on my state's undocumented worker/illegal immigrant (whichever word you choose to use) busing to other states, but if the Federal government is responsible for protecting our borders, and Texas bears the brunt of the costs in the government failing to do so, just because we are on the border, I've always felt it very fair that all other states need to support such folks equally.  Is it inhumane to bus folks to random spots that they might not want to go?  Yes.  Should all 50 states share the costs and crisis equally, versus just the border states?  Absolutely.

I am not sure how this specifically relates to enrollment numbers, but I agree with most of your commentary. However, I would disagree with the conclusion that "all 50 states should share the costs equally," which according to a report this week on CNN has reached into billions of dollars. The last I looked, 11 states and the District of Columbia have formally declared themselves to have "sanctuary status": California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Hold them to their word.

[usc4valpo]

these sanctuary cities really need to walk the walk.

what does this have to do with enrollment numbers?

[VULB#62]

I think it began as a reference (wink) to hispanic immigrants from south of the border who could inflate VU's enrollment numbers. 

[valpotx]

I think it began as a reference (wink) to hispanic immigrants from south of the border who could inflate VU's enrollment numbers. 

Correct, the comment above mine.  I knew that it was off topic, but had to reply to that link.

[wh]

I think it began as a reference (wink) to hispanic immigrants from south of the border who could inflate VU's enrollment numbers. 

My comment was tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely. For better or worse, Metropolitan Chicago is being flooded (overwhelmed according to the Illinois Governor) with illegal Hispanic immigrants from the southern border.

As confirmed in a recent article, Valpo is fully committed to increasing its Hispanic student population over time as part of its institutional growth strategy:

VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY AND PRESIDENT JOSÉ PADILLA SUPPORT HISPANIC AND LATINX STUDENTS

October 18, 2023

"The University's efforts have shown positive results as the number of new Hispanic undergraduate students has increased by 33% since 2022, with Hispanic students now comprising 11.2% of the overall enrollment. Through this level of intentionality, Valpo will support all students. "We have taken great strides in our efforts to be a more inclusive university through partnerships across the Region, state of Indiana, and nationally," President Padilla said.