St. Joseph's College to Close

[swiftmutiny]

The board of trustees has voted to close down St. Joseph's College.

Article: http://wlfi.com/2017/02/03/board-of-trustees-votes-to-temporarily-close-saint-josephs-college/

Apparently there will be a "Teach Out" process in coordination with other universities so that current students can finish their degrees. I wonder if Valpo will be involved with this at all, being another private, religiously affiliated institution just down the road?

[covufan]

Unfortunate for St Joe. I guess we don't have to worry about losing to them in football anymore


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[valpo64]

During the 50's and 60's VU and St.Joe were a great rivalry both in football and basketball.  I believe out football team snapped StJ's  record winning streak.  Don't remember the number but it covered MANY games.

[bbtds]

Puma down.

The story from WLFI said it was a temporary closing. Has any school ever closed and returned to functioning well?

Valpo never closed even during the financial crisis that it went through before the Lutheran University Association was created and took over for the Henry Baker Brown administration of "dear old Valpo."

I hope that Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais isn't next. That would say something horrible about how the Bears leave an academic institution financially. 

I wonder if Wisconsin-Platteville is having any financial woes?

Unfortunate for St Joe. I guess we don't have to worry about losing to them in football anymore

It's terrible that a football team has their opponent go financially under before beating them on the football field on a regular basis. We hadn't played them for a few years anyway for fear of losing to them again.

[vu72]

Does anybody wonder why President Heckler is focused on endowment now?  St. Joes had an enrollment of 1100 and an endowment of $24 million.  It wasn't enough. With an enrollment of about four times that, Valpo has an endowment of 10X that and still makes President Heckler lose sleep.

I can't believe we lost all those games to that little school...

Sad for all those students and alumni.  The place opened in 1889...

[valporun]

Puma down.

The story from WLFI said it was a temporary closing. Has any school ever closed and returned to functioning well?

Valpo never closed even during the financial crisis that it went through before the Lutheran University Association was created and took over for the Henry Baker Brown administration of "dear old Valpo."

I hope that Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais isn't next. That would say something horrible about how the Bears leave an academic institution financially. 

I wonder if Wisconsin-Platteville is having any financial woes?

Unfortunate for St Joe. I guess we don't have to worry about losing to them in football anymore

It's terrible that a football team has their opponent go financially under before beating them on the football field on a regular basis. We hadn't played them for a few years anyway for fear of losing to them again.

We didn't quit playing St. Joseph's in football because we didn't want to lose to them again. They had another team join the conference, and that meant another conference game they had to play, meaning our regular rivalry game with them ended.

[Vinny]

Regardless of the circumstacnes, St. Joe's is one less non-D1 that we would lose to. Sorry to hear of the troubles, but maybe we can take on some of their football players? Would any scholarship players join a non-scholarship team or would they go elsehwere?

[vu72]

Regardless of the circumstacnes, St. Joe's is one less non-D1 that we would lose to. Sorry to hear of the troubles, but maybe we can take on some of their football players? Would any scholarship players join a non-scholarship team or would they go elsehwere?

Or, more importantly, we can hand pick from their faculty.  I'm sure teaching at Valpo is a step up and very close (42 miles) from their current homes.

[valpotx]

This is sad to see.  I enjoyed playing against St. Joe's, and playing with several of their team during each summer in IN.

[bbtds]

We didn't quit playing St. Joseph's in football because we didn't want to lose to them again. They had another team join the conference, and that meant another conference game they had to play, meaning our regular rivalry game with them ended.

And yet the Pumas last opening day football game in Rensselaer ever was against Edinboro College of Pennsylvania who St Joe lost to 31-30. Come on! You can lie to yourself all you want but Valpo didn't want to lose and St Joe wanted a win that meant something.

http://athletics.saintjoe.edu/schedule.aspx?path=football

[crusaderjoe]

Would a transition from D-II to D-I help St. Joes if/when they ever decide to reopen?  D-II would be an albatross for them IMO if money and student recruitment is the main issue—all that D-II would provide are the scholarship expenses that they incurred before (including football scholarships) but far less sports marketing exposure opportunities.   Not a whole lot of bang for the buck from a branding standpoint.

SJC could park their football in the Pioneer League, and then skeletally fund all other required sports for D-I status except for Basketball during their transition years. They could use Basketball as the flagship sport as a mechanism for student recruitment via sports marketing--employ the Valpo athletic model so to speak.  Maybe join the WAC as a provisional member for a few years and then try to join the Horizon or Summit.  Yeah, I know, travel costs would be much more astronomical but on the other hand your sports teams could potentially pull other students from across the country as a result of that travel.  Hey, if they ever joined the Horizon we'd finally have a natural rival again in this conference.  It's probably a pipe dream, but on the other hand what do they have to lose?

[vu72]

As shocking as St. Joes closing may be, it is not a rare occurrence.  There have been about 150 colleges that have closed nationally since 1990.  Small endowments and competition for students are two factors.  Having outdated equipment, crappy dorms and lack of climbing walls may be others.  It is a VERY competitive business.  EVERYBODY wants the top students.  Very few want the struggling ones.  Sports programs can be an attracting reason and one where the small liberal arts schools (like St. Joe) will always be left behind.

Valpo is on the right track in many ways.  Adding new programs, increasing enrollment in a difficult environment and now building the endowment are all things that will insure the ongoing viability of our beloved Valpo.  Keeping the athletic teams in the national spotlight is, in my opinion, another key element in ongoing grow and success.

[vu84v2]

As shocking as St. Joes closing may be, it is not a rare occurrence.  There have been about 150 colleges that have closed nationally since 1990.  Small endowments and competition for students are two factors.  Having outdated equipment, crappy dorms and lack of climbing walls may be others.  It is a VERY competitive business.  EVERYBODY wants the top students.  Very few want the struggling ones.  Sports programs can be an attracting reason and one where the small liberal arts schools (like St. Joe) will always be left behind.

Valpo is on the right track in many ways.  Adding new programs, increasing enrollment in a difficult environment and now building the endowment are all things that will insure the ongoing viability of our beloved Valpo.  Keeping the athletic teams in the national spotlight is, in my opinion, another key element in ongoing grow and success.

Agree completely, but would add the importance of improving the living space for students. Valpo still has too many vastly outdated dorms. Additionally, some buildings are vastly undersized to serve the size and demands associated with increased enrollment (example: the business school).

[IndyValpo]

Would a transition from D-II to D-I help St. Joes if/when they ever decide to reopen?  D-II would be an albatross for them IMO if money and student recruitment is the main issue—all that D-II would provide are the scholarship expenses that they incurred before (including football scholarships) but far less sports marketing exposure opportunities.   Not a whole lot of bang for the buck from a branding standpoint.

SJC could park their football in the Pioneer League, and then skeletally fund all other required sports for D-I status except for Basketball during their transition years. They could use Basketball as the flagship sport as a mechanism for student recruitment via sports marketing--employ the Valpo athletic model so to speak.  Maybe join the WAC as a provisional member for a few years and then try to join the Horizon or Summit.  Yeah, I know, travel costs would be much more astronomical but on the other hand your sports teams could potentially pull other students from across the country as a result of that travel.  Hey, if they ever joined the Horizon we'd finally have a natural rival again in this conference.  It's probably a pipe dream, but on the other hand what do they have to lose?

Well with D2 sports they lost the entire university....This school should have moved to D3 years ago (hindsight being 20/20). Trying to keep up with 15 other schools in a conference where half are public schools and distances include many trips to Missouri. The Heartland Conference (Hanover, Manchester, etc.) is where they belong should they return but lets be honest the odds of a return are slim.

As shocking as St. Joes closing may be, it is not a rare occurrence.  There have been about 150 colleges that have closed nationally since 1990.  Small endowments and competition for students are two factors.  Having outdated equipment, crappy dorms and lack of climbing walls may be others.  It is a VERY competitive business.  EVERYBODY wants the top students.  Very few want the struggling ones.

Agreed this is going to be a major fallout of small universities over the next few years I am afraid.

[wh]

Valpo is on the right track in many ways.  Adding new programs, increasing enrollment in a difficult environment and now building the endowment are all things that will insure the ongoing viability of our beloved Valpo.

Valpo necessarily invested in international student recruiting in recent years to sustain itself during challenging economic times. Unfortunately, blessing could turn into curse if the Trump administration is successful in closing the door on unfettered access to the United States.

By contrast, Butler has almost no international students. Instead, they  have grown organically. Different ways of arriving at the same place, but going forward Butler has fewer worries than Valpo about the impact of geopolitical politics on future recruiting success.

[vu84v2]

Or, perhaps, the courts will recognize that positions like 'unfettered access' and 'hoards of bad people pouring in from the seven countries in the ban' lack any supporting evidence or facts. It is great to see the system of checks and balances at work.

[a3uge]

How many students does Valpo have from those specific countries anyways? 5?

[covufan]

If I were the state of Indiana or one of those places with 11 digit endowment, I'd be looking to buy St joes. If Indiana, I'd start a small private like U, with some in state pricing - think college of William and Mary in VA. Of course, a campus that could fit 5k might be better.

If I were one of the other places, especially a campus for 1-1.5k, a place for those students from just out of your reach that if those students work hard, they could finish the final two years on the 'main' campus.   


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[crusader05]

much of Valpo's international students hail from India and China and come from connections with universities out there. They also can work both ways, offering our students opportunities to visit or study in other countries.

in regards to dorm I hope we see some rehabilitation of the freshman dorms soon. They don't need to be ask nice, but they should be less run down. My bigger concern is not necessarily loss of international students although I do think they help the graduate student and do pad the bottom line and are a benefit to campus for everyone involved. We have seen an increase in commuter students which has led to less revenue from residences. This is something that can have longer lasting impacts as commuter students are also less likely to graduate I believe. It's hard to be a commuter student on a residential campus and so I've heard the university is working to cut the amount of miles down that would allow you to call yourself a commuter student. I believe now it's 50 miles which could take you into Illinois and students have used that as a way to say they're a commuter while then getting an apartment in Valpo.

Overall though I think the problem comes down to the fact that most universities are propped up by your slightly above average student who can afford to pay their way/take out loans. This way they can use scholarship money to recruit top students and you have pell grants and need based aid for those that cannot afford it. The problem comes from state school tuitions and other schools looking to improve academic records providing more aid to the students that don't quite meet our standard for full aide

[vu72]

Valpo now openly appealing to St. Joe students:

http://www.valpo.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017_Teach_Out_Agreement_Valpo-FINAL.pdf

[bbtds]

Last class to graduate from St Joesph's College Rensselear, Indiana