Moody's downgrades Valpo's bond rating

[David81]

While it's not surely necessary for an effective higher education consultant (though not sure however one defines "effective"....) to have a doctoral degree, it is necessary that they have a depth of understanding about the world of higher education. To some extent, degrees can be a proxy for that depth, with no guarantee that a Phd = wisdom in this realm.

A few years back, I proposed a new degree program at my university and was told that every such proposal had to be vetted by a market viability study conducted by a consultant. Without going into details, despite extensive briefing of said consultant (who was associated with a supposedly legitimate higher ed consulting firm), this person came back with a market study that, in essence, compared apples and oranges in a way that rendered the entire study worthless. This person's knowledge of this particular degree realm was so limited that he literally didn't understand that he was comparing two separate markets that had little to do with one another. But a maddening reliance on a fundamentally flawed market study was enough to sink a legitimate, revenue-earning proposed degree program.

My experience cannot be a complete outlier. I get the sense that too many higher ed consultants are beset by the Dunning-Kruger effect, which, according to one definition, "occurs when a person's lack of knowledge and skills in a certain area cause them to overestimate their own competence."

At the risk of sounding snarky, why are we paying top university administrators so much money if they have to retain higher ed consultants to assess the campus climate and to make the hard recommendations? Isn't that their job?

[usc4valpo]

22 - regarding your story about getting and keeping a job, I have to be blunt. As Colin Powell once said, "Get mad and get over it." Your experiences are analogous to what is seen in many professions in industry. If I interview for a position, I have to have experiences, resumes, credibility, references - you name it. I also have to perform well and get reviewed based on feedback from cohorts and managers. Also, you made a decision to leave and I wish you all the best, and it is good you made a decision that will be better for you. You gotta take care of yourself, because these days the company or institutions  base their decisions on the market or profit goals - not based on employee needs. 

I can empathize with your frustration, but getting the right consultant firm provides a broader method and level of expertise to solve a holistic problem that has not been solved adequately internally by Valparaiso University leadership and employees. 

Also, we need to quit being penny wise and dollar foolish. These problems require a big picture mindset where spending six figures is crumbs if it provides a better direction for the university. Last spring, you were whining about buying out Lottich's contract and hiring a new coach because of the cost. Well, basketball is the once proud and flagship sport of Valparaiso University, and it is D1 program and it needed help. Valpo needed to react like they cared to be successful, and fortunately they did.

[usc4valpo]

No worries dude. Trust me, I've had bad moment in my career, and there are instances where I wished I moved on earlier than I did.  But you to have a period to be pissed off because it meant something to you, then you move on.

Sounds like you are onto bigger and better places, and I'm happy for you. Now let's talk about more important things South Park providing more to the arts than Georgia O'Keefe.

[historyman]

There's seems to be an awful lot of speculation here with no real knowledge. Just my 2 cents. An awful, awful lot of speculation.

[vu84v2]

While I see historyman's points about lots of speculation with no knowledge and uscvalpo's points regarding the value of an outside perspective, I do have some general concerns about hiring an outside consultant:

-I will return to points from some posters about Valpo not using its own resources. I mention using people from the colleges to gain acceptance and foster involvement in implementation later in my comments, but is the university actively seeking involvement from alums? All I see, as an alum who cares greatly and tries to engage more than the average alum, are requests for money (which is fine and appropriate) and garbage requests looking for people to share their Valpo memories. There are a lot of alums with successful professional histories, yet I have not seen requests to be actively involved in more than a decade.
-When any organization, including a university hires an outside consultant, the consultant often tells the leadership that hired the consultant what they want to hear. In a basic sense, the consultant is trying to justify their pay and create further business with the organization - so the best way to make the customer happy is to confirm rather than offer alternative perspectives. Thus, the value of a consultant can be minimal.
-Building on historyman's point, we don't know what the consultant was hired to do. For instance, they might be hired only to provide external data on trends...in this case, there could be a lot of value.
-However, a university hiring a consultant will often only have direct engagement with the consultant from a small group that is mostly or completely from the administration. This is very problematic, since any tactics or strategic directions need buyin and active participation from faculty and staff in all colleges. "Coming down from on high" and telling everyone that "we met with the consultant and have decided to pursue these directions and we now need your involvement" will get minimal involvement...but lots of pushback.
-While I see the value of outside, unbiased perspectives, I do not think that a consultant can be effective without having people who have worked and managed in the context for which they are consulting.

Some other points related to the prior discussion:
-Valpo22: I really hope that things work out well for you in your new direction. I, of course, do not know the circumstances of where you worked at Valpo...but I must admit that I am concerned if you can get 2.25x the pay for the same responsibilities. Nothing against you at all...who wouldn't do the same thing? But Valpo has real problems with sustainability if it is underpaying people that much.
-usc4valpo mentions making major investments. I generally agree with this statement, but that means selecting the right places to invest which often requires a much harder action - choosing where to reduce or discontinue investment (or have solid real commitments for additional funds). The university did make the choice to buyout Matt Lottich, but let's not forget that the athletic department also had a major windfall from the New Mexico State buy game.

[KreitzerSTL]

All I see, as an alum who cares greatly and tries to engage more than the average alum, are requests for money (which is fine and appropriate) and garbage requests looking for people to share their Valpo memories.

I have gotten those same requests and thought I would check in on the page: https://alumni.valpo.edu/s/1347/21/1col.aspx?sid=1347&gid=1&pgid=3367

Half the links are broken, and the only highlighted quotations are from people who (according to LinkedIn) work at the Valpo fundraising office.

The video from Rev. Dr. Beckstrom was nice, though.

[usc4valpo]

I have varying reviews on consulting:

Regarding consulting, I would presume Valpo made sure they are hiring the right people to give them a perspective that will be beneficial to find or fine tune their identity. I would assume Valpo leadership is being a good consumer identifying the proper consultation to support them.

Valpo also needs to be open regarding suggestions resulting from the consultation. I have seen instances where a company culture remains the same despite consultation suggestions. Change is hard for some.

I have seen seen the situation where money is just thrown at consultation to fix a problem, which only results in the same behavior and a nice document a process they should follow. All this does is piss off employees and halts any progress.

I will say this to valpo22: in the exit interview if there is one, be honest yet objective as the university could benefit from a reality check of the market. It takes more than Valpo pride to keep talent.  A 2.25x increase in salary for a position perhaps similar in responsibilities should be noted.

[78crusader]

I attended a meeting at Homecoming maybe 3-4 years ago and listened to a presentation from a consulting group the university had hired. Nothing but platitudes like "VU prepares its students to succeed" - stuff anyone could come up with, slogans that could apply to any university in the country. Not impressive in the least and for sure not worth whatever VU was paying.

Why is this so hard? Is the university being run by academics who are lacking in the common sense department? Go back to basics that, after all, worked for many years. Here are a few -

Recruit traditional places where VU has name recognition and support - Chicago suburbs, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio. Spend extra effort recruiting students of Christian faith whose parents would appreciate VU's culture and size. Don't just talk about being a different place - act like it. Emphasize the opportunity for spiritual growth. For Pete's sake, don't neglect Lutheran high schools. Tout VU's impressive array of academic programs not usually found in schools our size. Point out that classes are taught by professors, not teaching assistants. Casually mention you won't be in classes of 200 kids and won't have to take a bus to go from your dorm to class. Take full advantage of the opportunity to play D1 sports. 

Paul

[crusadermoe]

Agreed on all points.  Those are the basics! 

But as shown by the dire title of this thread and 2025 enrollment cliff, I think they are trying to stop the bleeding and save the patient. Once the patient is stabilized, then he can learn better behavior.   

[crusader05]

My general assumption is that this consultant is being brought in to do a full scale assessment of academic programs and what they bring to the university as well as a general audit of the way departments are run.  Some of this will be a passing the buck: ie they get to say X program is continuing to show diminishing returns etc vs administration, but I also think that some of it is because asking faculty and Admin(many of whom were probably faculty somewhere) to do the cutting is going to be hard because everyone will argue about the intangibles and want to protect all programs.

Also, if I remember from other posts from past members: one of the biggest issues after the last blood letting was that the cuts seemed arbitrary, didn't factor in things like Grant money and didn't think about the future and where growth could also occur. I doubt there'd be any more trust for the administrations making these decisions over a consultant company just based on what some faculty/staff have said on here.

[crusadermoe]

The major dollar impacts are not achieved by cutting and slicing faculty departments. You're picking on easy targets that don't add up to that much.

To get real, what is the 10-year trend in total dollars spent on administrators' salaries vs.total dollars spent on total faculty salaries?

[David81]

This piece in The Atlantic examines the situation at West Virginia, which used the consultants now retained by Valpo. Given The Atlantic's lean, not surprisingly it emphasizes losses in the humanities, a widespread trend. But it also makes the case for the humanities in a state with a lot of folks who don't have or come from much money: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/class-war-west-virignia-university/676152/.

But it's not only the humanities getting hit. The math department is also on the list, as The New Yorker examines:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/an-academic-transformation-takes-on-the-math-department

As these articles suggest, the West Virginia president, Gordon Gee, is a piece of work, a legend in his own mind who has been around.

[valpopal]

My general assumption is that this consultant is being brought in to do a full scale assessment of academic programs and what they bring to the university as well as a general audit of the way departments are run. 

This is a good general description about the metrics involved and the scope of inquiry. I have seen the abundance of completed data compiled by the consulting firm, which is providing their details to all faculty as part of the process. Without getting too specific or trying to summarize the multitude of statistics, tables, charts, and findings, I will just say that to me nothing in the analyses appears surprising or even unexpected; therefore, the factual findings, somewhat predictable, are hard to argue against. The next phase of the process will take place in January or early February and possibly be more contentious when the administration decides what moves to make using the consulting materials as justification and interpreting them into actions impacting academic programs beginning with the fall semester.

[vu84v2]

valpopal - Thanks for the post. It is a positive if all information from the consultant is being shared with all faculty (can't say that is common across most universities - so kudos to the administration). Also agree that the greater challenge is developing strategies and subsequent moves from that data.

[crusadermoe]

Indeed that's encouraging.  It sounds like there are steady hands at this wheel. 

This Moody's thread is much more pertinent to Valpo than the current congressional hearings & Ivy League debacle. I think there is a modicum of common sense left in university leadership when you journey away from the coasts.  I trust Padilla to be pragmatic in the face of any crisis.