Freshman Class to set record!!

[vu72]

Just received word that at the moment there are 1084 new students who have made deposits for this fall.  Of those, 899 are freshman.  New deposits trickle in every day so admissions expects the freshman class to slightly exceed 900, with total new students of about 1100. The freshman class will be about 100 larger than the previous record class.  The new dorm is needed quickly!

[agibson]

The new dorm is needed quickly!

The basement seems pretty well dug out.  I haven't seen any concrete yet.

[okinawatyphoon]

Inside Indiana Business has a great article about enrollment: http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=61038

Among the highlights:  Valparaiso University expects to welcome approximately 1,100 new undergraduate students, including more than 900 freshmen, when classes begin Tuesday for the fall 2013 semester. This will be the University's largest incoming class in 36 years. Coupled with the outstanding retention rate, the anticipated total enrollment is expected to be nearly 4,400 – the largest in 32 years.

"We're thrilled Valpo continues its trajectory of growth and attracts students of promise who will embody the Valpo spirit of leadership and service," said Michael Joseph, Vice President of Enrollment Management at Valparaiso University. "Not only are we growing in numbers, but we continue to recruit and enroll outstanding students who excel in and out of the classroom."

Valpo expects enrollment growth in all five academic colleges. The College of Engineering anticipates 141 new freshmen, the highest number in 35 years, and the College of Nursing expects to enroll 115 new freshmen, the highest in the history of the College. An estimated 94 incoming students will enroll in Christ College — The Honors College, the second highest in the College's 46-year history.

The incoming freshman class had an average high school GPA of 3.65, and they averaged 1648 on the SAT, nearly 150 points higher than the national average, and an average ACT of 26, significantly higher than the national average.

[valpotx]

Good to see progress towards reaching our goal of 6,000.  I truly hope that we can get to that number on a yearly basis, as it can only help having more money to put into the university and facilities. 

Btw, what is the maximum score on the SAT now?  Did the ACT change its maximum score, or is it still the same?

[vu72]

Good to see progress towards reaching our goal of 6,000.  I truly hope that we can get to that number on a yearly basis, as it can only help having more money to put into the university and facilities. 

Btw, what is the maximum score on the SAT now?  Did the ACT change its maximum score, or is it still the same?

36

[valpo04]

Btw, what is the maximum score on the SAT now?

The current SAT Reasoning Test, introduced in 2005, takes three hours and forty-five minutes to finish, and costs $50 ($81 International), excluding late fees.[2] Possible scores range from 600 to 2400, combining test results from three 800-point sections (Mathematics, Critical Reading, and Writing). Taking the SAT or its competitor, the ACT, is required for freshman entry to many, but not all, universities in the United States.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT

[78crusader]

Interesting to note the law school enrollment is 524, which averages out to about 175 kids per class.  I'd be interested to know how many kids are 1Ls this year.  It's been reported that the Univ of Iowa law school only has 89 1Ls this year, which is way, way, way low.  I've also heard Drake only has 115 1Ls this year.

Paul

[FWalum]

So which is it, record or not? According to Inside Indiana Business it is not a record if it is the largest class in 32 years. While I applaud the effort to grow the university back to previous levels I think this puch to 6000 is a little bit foolish.  I have not heard one other prominent university say that they are going to grow their enrollment by 35%.  I think we are putting the cart before the horse, grow the endowment and the rest will take care of itself. 

So lets say we grow to the size of a Wake Forest... their endowment is 10 times the size of our's.  How do we maintain that size and the additional facilities and infastructure?

[vu72]

So which is it, record or not? According to Inside Indiana Business it is not a record if it is the largest class in 32 years. While I applaud the effort to grow the university back to previous levels I think this puch to 6000 is a little bit foolish.  I have not heard one other prominent university say that they are going to grow their enrollment by 35%.  I think we are putting the cart before the horse, grow the endowment and the rest will take care of itself. 

So lets say we grow to the size of a Wake Forest... their endowment is 10 times the size of our's.  How do we maintain that size and the additional facilities and infastructure?

I understand your concern but I think comparing endowments is not the point.  In our case the facts say that we can add students without any (or not much) new facilities.  We are talking about adding 1000 new undergrads and the balance of grad students who would be living off campus, at home or otherwise. I'm told that many of our facilities are under utilized thus the need to add students without the need to expand. A better utilization of our space if you will. Perhaps agibson can comment on this.  Added tuition while better utilizing space sounds like a program that will add profitability at minimal cost.  The new dorm is not so much based on need but rather as a means of attracting those who might not choose Valpo because of the older dorms.  It is just the first step in redoing the dorms completely. President Heckler told me that if we (a couple of years ago)if we had fiiled the dorms to capacity we would have one dorm empty. 

[mvandersee]

So which is it, record or not? According to Inside Indiana Business it is not a record if it is the largest class in 32 years. While I applaud the effort to grow the university back to previous levels I think this puch to 6000 is a little bit foolish.  I have not heard one other prominent university say that they are going to grow their enrollment by 35%.  I think we are putting the cart before the horse, grow the endowment and the rest will take care of itself. 

So lets say we grow to the size of a Wake Forest... their endowment is 10 times the size of our's.  How do we maintain that size and the additional facilities and infastructure?

I understand your concern but I think comparing endowments is not the point.  In our case the facts say that we can add students without any (or not much) new facilities.  We are talking about adding 1000 new undergrads and the balance of grad students who would be living off campus, at home or otherwise. I'm told that many of our facilities are under utilized thus the need to add students without the need to expand. A better utilization of our space if you will. Perhaps agibson can comment on this.  Added tuition while better utilizing space sounds like a program that will add profitability at minimal cost.  The new dorm is not so much based on need but rather as a means of attracting those who might not choose Valpo because of the older dorms.  It is just the first step in redoing the dorms completely. President Heckler told me that if we (a couple of years ago)if we had fiiled the dorms to capacity we would have one dorm empty. 

The new dorm is definitely being built to accommodate the growing student population. This year the University re-opened 807 Mound St. and even with that addition all of the residence halls are filled to capacity, along with some lounges being used as temporary housing.

[valpotx]

Seriously, people are staying in lounges currently?  How is that going to be resolved if the dorm is just now pouring concrete for the basement?

[historyman]

Seriously, people are staying in lounges currently?  How is that going to be resolved if the dorm is just now pouring concrete for the basement?

It seems obvious that some students will quit school and others with find other arrangements off campus eventually. If not the university with find off campus arrangements for those who eventually don't find space in a dorm room.


According to the archivists the university built army barracks where the Guild/Memorial parking lot is today when WWII ended to take care of the large number of students who enrolled at Valpo due to the G.I. bill.

[valporun]

valpotx, weren't there students who had to live in the lounges for a couple of weeks at least 2 or 3 years of our time there? You'll see some of the space taken care of by students who hate Valpo, get homesick, or just don't feel like they can handle the rigors of an academic school like Valpo.

[valpotx]

If they did, I have forgotten about it, I guess.  I know that I stayed in the Wehrenberg lounge during one of the breaks where they lock down dorms, as I had to stay for baseball.  I wasn't able to find anyone that would let us stay in their room, which I believe you had to do.

[sliman]

So which is it, record or not? According to Inside Indiana Business it is not a record if it is the largest class in 32 years. While I applaud the effort to grow the university back to previous levels I think this puch to 6000 is a little bit foolish.  I have not heard one other prominent university say that they are going to grow their enrollment by 35%.  I think we are putting the cart before the horse, grow the endowment and the rest will take care of itself. 

So lets say we grow to the size of a Wake Forest... their endowment is 10 times the size of our's.  How do we maintain that size and the additional facilities and infastructure?

I understand your concern but I think comparing endowments is not the point.  In our case the facts say that we can add students without any (or not much) new facilities.  We are talking about adding 1000 new undergrads and the balance of grad students who would be living off campus, at home or otherwise. I'm told that many of our facilities are under utilized thus the need to add students without the need to expand. A better utilization of our space if you will. Perhaps agibson can comment on this.  Added tuition while better utilizing space sounds like a program that will add profitability at minimal cost.  The new dorm is not so much based on need but rather as a means of attracting those who might not choose Valpo because of the older dorms.  It is just the first step in redoing the dorms completely. President Heckler told me that if we (a couple of years ago)if we had fiiled the dorms to capacity we would have one dorm empty. 

Endowment is very important.  Among other things, a large endowment minimizes the impact of any significant drop in enrollment because endowment income can offset the loss of tuition income.  Budgets are created and faculty hired before classes begin; some expenditures can be reduced later, of course, but it's difficult to reduce the size of the faculty at that time -- and salaries are the biggest item in the budget. As for living in lounges, it has happened previously and my memory is that all of these students were in regular rooms within a month, certainly by mid-semester.  On the matter of growth without significant increases in expenditures, dorm space is the most obvious need but a lot depends on the academic interests of the additional 1,000 students -- if they all want to major in the sciences, major additions/improvements to facilities are needed; if they major in history of English, not so much. Regarding record enrollments, it's difficult to know how counts were made during the early years of the university when the media reported an enrollment of 5,000 but any figures being reported this fall  by the university are based on data of at least the past 50 years.

[bmlvu97]

When my wife and I were both RA's and students back in the mid-late 1990's, it was quite commonplace to turn the lounges into 3-4 student rooms.  Some things never change...