Heckler Interview 05-02-16

[VULB#62]

Given the amount of financial aid Valpo doles out at the current cost of attendance, what if Valpo decides to just reduce tuition and fees to make it initialy more financially attractive?

[vu84v2]

Given the amount of financial aid Valpo doles out at the current cost of attendance, what if Valpo decides to just reduce tuition and fees to make it initialy more financially more attractive?

I can see the argument that you would end up at the same place, but there are several reasons for having higher prices and then offering financial aid (discounts). It is all about optics with prospective students and their families. Most every private university follows the same tuition and financial aid model that Valpo follows. If you lower the price, you may create the perception of a lower quality institution (i.e. perception that lower cost equates to lower quality). Additionally, people will (irrationally) look at the amount of financial aid (i.e. discount) in isolation when comparing it to financial aid offered from other universities. This is all tied to irrational economic behavior. Beyond that, there are students (mostly international) who are willing to pay the full price to go to Valpo and it would be foolish to set the price lower and have them pay less than what they would pay.

[bbtds]

As I remember it, in my era (1962-66) Valpo was consistently above 4,000 undergrads. It was almost exclusively an undergrad campus. The Law School was just beginning, I think.

It would be great to get to that number again.

I noticed that 78Crusader started  this thread.  I think he always brings a realistic view of the university and brings the facts.   

I truly hope that all the claims of highest enrollment ever and touted US News rankings are solid.  In the Fall of 1974 Valpo took in 1,087 freshman students.  I don't know what percent were residential undergraduates, but I could venture a guess that it was high.   

In terms of US News rank, I wonder how we ranked in the late 70s and the 80s?  I truly think we were #1 in some of those years.  Maybe other posters recall or can look it up with better internet search skills than I have?

The US News rankings started in 1983 and skipped 1984. In those early years Valpo was No. 1 in the Midwest.  Still, splitting hairs to decide between No. 1 and No. 4, our current ranking out of 173 schools in our category.

I do remember one stat from the 70's that many on campus were very proud of. It was beer consumption per student. Valpo was rated #1 in the country. Seriously. I can't remember which magazine determined the results and how they determined the consumption per school but Valpo was #1 in that particular year.

FYI, the Law School was founded in 1879.

Valparaiso University School of Law  

University in Valparaiso, Indiana
Address: 656 S Greenwich St, Valparaiso, IN 46383

Total enrollment: 573 (2010)
Dean: Andrea Lyon
Undergraduate tuition and fees: 37,240 USD (2011)
Phone: (219) 465-7829
Founded: 1879
School type: Private university

[bbtds]

What some of us overlook is the fact that a couple of years ago the University made a major investment in athletics.  How major?  I don't know, but the acquisition of the 17 acre hospital site wasn't cheap.  That area is obviously planned exclusively for athletics.

So the only major investment in athletics (we could count the improvements to the baseball field as major but that was after this statement was made) is the acquisition of land that hasn't had one part of it used for the athletic dept yet. You may all believe that the land from the hospital property acquisition will be used for athletics but there is nothing in writing that guarantees this will happen. I'll believe it when it finally truly benefits the athletics dept.