Shakeup in Enrollment Management??

[vu72]

But if the debt was taken out with the assumption that the student population remains relatively constant, then taking out the debt to build buildings that can improve retention and potentially attract new students is the right move. In my view, it is not possible to praise or be critical of the administration without knowing the answers related to the overall business model.

Fair points to be sure and also difficult to prove, one way or another.  Let's think back for a moment on what structures have been added under President Heckler.  They include the new Arts and Sciences building, the Welcome Center, Beacon Hall, the new Bio/Chem building, the addition to the Chapel and the Sorority Complex.  Did I miss any?  We know the Dussenberg's paid the majority of The Welcome Center and the Helges paid for the Chapel renovation/addition.

Beacon Hall and the Sorority complex are being funded by student fees.  Beacon is the most expensive dorm on campus.  If Scheele was paid for then those fees were not going for debt service.  Nonetheless, if the Sorority women's room charges weren't going for debt service then their fees were being used for other needs which aren't available now.  Then again new building require far less maintenance then ones built in the 60's or before so another conundrum.

As for the Bio/Chem and Arts and Science buildings, it also becomes a complex question.  Are we attracting more students with new facilities and/or are we keeping others who might have left? Are faculty staying because of new facilities or is it easier to attract quality faculty because of these additions?  I guess this is why we have a Board and Administration who have much more background and evaluations from the constituents and thus are much better prepared to defend these expenditures and borrowings.

We have faculty members on this Board, some of whom may have been directly affected by these additions.  Would love to hear their thoughts.

[crusadermoe]

Indeed it is a complex chicken or the egg issue and the causal effects of the facilities are very hard to prove or disprove.

We will get some data soon.  The 2018-2019 enrollment would probably finalize by Sept 10?   

[crusader05]

https://www.myajc.com/blog/get-schooled/colleges-must-throw-open-the-gates-and-welcome-innovation/tgJsDoKk1kwUNl4VkbmxBI/

Putting this here because I thought it was interesting but maybe didn't warrant a whole other thread. I thought this was interesting in light of some of the new changes Valpo has been doing like their Innovation Hub which is designed for community partnerships and their new engineering program which is designed to meet upcoming needs of this area and in the future.

[crusadermoe]

There's a lot of annoying jargon in this article.  Ecosystems?       and "space" where we can interact.   

But the point is a solid one.  Universities must connect their students' work externally whenever possible.  There isn't as much slack in the world economy as we had in the 60s and 70s when college faculty and students could afford to navel gaze for four years and then get a real job through reasonable effort.

[crusader05]

Well I think the other piece you are seeing is that many students are coming to college academically sound which is shifting college towards these more innovative/soft skills focus. You can never really turn college into a "work training" facility because you can't predict job market trends like that, but you can create more hands on networking and also go even further toward turning the college into an economic driver for the area you are in outside of just the bodies you bring to the space.

[crusadermoe]

U.S. News Rankings come out on MONDAY, SEPT. 10.

The Wall Street Journal put out a ranking today.  It's a bit strange because they co-mingle the small colleges with large universities.  They use "outcomes" and "satisfaction" ratings. 

Valpo was #262 I believe.  The top 50 was a predictable group of Ivys and the very elite public univs and private colleges.   Drake was ahead of us.  I didn't really focus on other names. 

US News is still the standard. We will probably be Top 5 again in the Midwest universities.  But who knows?

[crusadermoe]

oK, good, we got our Top Five rank from US News.

When will enrollment numbers finalize?    Someone said there is a new COO.  How does that pertain?  Or does it?

[crusader05]

This new guy will be more looking forward. He has a pretty good pedigree in regards to working at smaller religious institutions. it also looks like he's done a good job and increased their competitiveness while increasing their selectivity as well. Seems like the type of guy you'd want if you are competing with Butler, Creighton, et al.

Haven't heard final enrollment numbers yet. Have heard that the new class is slightly down from last year which was a record high but still within where we have been the last few years. Definitely feels like the growth has plateaued and hopefully this new guy can help work to push it up another level.

[valpopal]

This new guy will be more looking forward. He has a pretty good pedigree in regards to working at smaller religious institutions. it also looks like he's done a good job and increased their competitiveness while increasing their selectivity as well. Seems like the type of guy you'd want if you are competing with Butler, Creighton, et al.

Haven't heard final enrollment numbers yet. Have heard that the new class is slightly down from last year which was a record high but still within where we have been the last few years. Definitely feels like the growth has plateaued and hopefully this new guy can help work to push it up another level.

What you have heard is fairly accurate.

[VULB#62]

I don't know if this will apply at Valpo because the overall environment and area demographics are not the same, but living in Wisconsin, I see a lot of aggressive Concordia University Wisconsin (Mequon) marketing presence in the eastern part of the state - Electronic billboards, TV commercials, official "something" of the Green Bay Packers, university physical logo on the south endzone scoreboard at Lambeau Field, and so on.

Google profile.
Private
Ranking: #51 Regional University Midwest (2018)
Acceptance rate: 63.00% (2016-17)
Tuition: $29,180 USD (2018)[R&B&F = ~$11,000]
Undergraduates: 3,830 (2017)
Enrollment: 7,721 (2017)
Athletic Affiliation: NCAA Division III - 29 sports

They have been aggressive since the mid 90s.  From Wikipedia: CUW has doubled in total enrollment from 3719 in 1995–96 to 7485 students in 2010-11. Adult education programs were also expanded, thereby topping the list of the largest such programs in higher education for the Lutheran Church. CUW's enrollment makes it the largest Lutheran university in the United States

Since 2011, the enrollment has flattened out, but it may be that they achieved their goals and are content to stay where they are now are.  Certainly, their physical campus would need to undergo significant construction if they were to aspire to increase enrollment any further.

[vu72]

I don't know if this will apply at Valpo because the overall environment and area demographics are not the same, but living in Wisconsin, I see a lot of aggressive Concordia University Wisconsin (Mequon) marketing presence in the eastern part of the state - Electronic billboards, TV commercials, official "something" of the Green Bay Packers, university phjysical logo on the south endzone scoreboard at Lambeau field, and so on.

Google profile.
Private
Ranking: #51 Regional University Midwest (2018)
Acceptance rate: 63.00% (2016-17)
Tuition: $29,180 USD (2018)[R&B&F = ~$11,000]
Undergraduates: 3,830 (2017)
Enrollment: 7,721 (2017)
Athletic Affiliation: NCAA Division III - 29 sports

They have been aggressive since the mid 90s.  From Wikipedia: CUW has doubled in total enrollment from 3719 in 1995–96 to 7485 students in 2010-11. Adult education programs were also expanded, thereby topping the list of the largest such programs in higher education for the Lutheran Church. CUW's enrollment makes it the largest Lutheran university in the United States

Since 2011, the enrollment has flattened out, but it may be taht they achieved their goals and are content to stay where they are now are.  Certainly, trheir physical campus would need to undergo significant construction if they were to aspire to increase enrollment any further.

I'm not sure Valpo would be well served by doubling the enrollment through part time/evening/online graduate students.  This is basicly the same story playing out at Concordia Chicago where there are 1400 undergrads and 5700 total.  This, on a 40 acre campus.  In the case of Concordia Chicago it is called survival.  I really think you lose your academic reputation when you shift to graduate studies as a main focus.  These are not research institutions. There US News rankings bares this out.  C Wisconsin 51st, C Chicago 72nd, both in the same category as Valpo.

I do like the idea of promoting via the stuff done by C Wisconsin.  Name recognition can go a long way toward increased applications.

[valpo64]

Adult ed programs and on-line schooling is what saved both of these Concordia institutions from closing a number of years ago.  They are not even close to when comparing themselves to Valpo.

[crusadermoe]

Looking at the 2019 US News rankings I was shocked to see C-Wisc drop all the way to #70 in the Midwest region.   That's a long drop from #51.  Pretty odd.

C-Chicago was #72.   And there was a Concordia in Nebraska that is ranked #35 in the Midwest.  How many are there?

[vu72]

Looking at the 2019 US News rankings I was shocked to see C-Wisc drop all the way to #70 in the Midwest region.   That's a long drop from #51.  Pretty odd.

C-Chicago was #72.   And there was a Concordia in Nebraska that is ranked #35 in the Midwest. How many are there?

Eleven.

Concordia College, Moorhead (ELCA)
Concordia College, Alabama
Concordia College, New York
Concordia University, Ann Arbor
Concordia University, Chicago
Concordia University, Irvine
Concordia University, Nebraska
Concordia University, Portland
Concordia University, St. Paul
Concordia University, Texas
Concordia University, Wisconsin

[VULB#62]

Didn't Concordia Alabama close?

I do like the idea of promoting via the stuff done by C Wisconsin.  Name recognition can go a long way toward increased applications.

So do I and that's why I mentioned it.  That aggressiveness had a big role in their growth and is part of their overall approach and business model.  But, as I alluded to, their situation is much different from Valpo's and the over 3000 adult ed, online grads are just pure revenue generation that supports the undergrad program which is the real calling of that campus.  But there is no reason why a similar marketing approach couldn't focus on what Valpo values most and still get some bang for the buck out of it. 

[crusadermoe]

Ok, so how did enrollment turn out?   The numbers have to be final by now. 

[bbtds]

Didn't Concordia Alabama close?

Yes, at the end of this past school year in 2018.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2018-02-24/concordia-college-alabama-to-close



In 1919, African-American Lutheran congregations in Alabama petitioned the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America for funds to open a high school and college to train church workers. The school opened in 1922 in a rented cottage, and the Synodical Conference soon purchased 13 acres in northeast Selma, Alabama as the site of the Alabama Luther College. A recitation hall (now named Bakke Hall) and a dormitory were erected at a cost of $36,000 and opened in 1925.

The college was forced to close during the Great Depression and the remaining high school was renamed the Alabama Lutheran Academy. Eventually the college was reopened, resulting in the name Alabama Lutheran Academy and College. In 1981 the name was changed to Concordia College Alabama, and in 1994 it gained accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a bachelor's degree-granting institution.

In February 2018, the college announced that it would close at the conclusion of its academic year due to enduring financial problems. The 147 members of the final graduating class received their diplomas on April 28, 2018.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concordia_College_Alabama

[crusadermoe]

Which folks on the board always find the enrollment numbers?   Hoping the undergrad ones are not too bad.

[crusader05]

I haven't gotten official numbers but I've heard this: Down from the last few years but not significantly. that goal is about 800 first year and 200 transfers for 1000 new undergrad a year and that they missed this mark but a little over a 100. Seems like the area of growth is college of business and arts and sciences as Nursing and engineering have grown over the years and show little signs of slowing. Also heard our transfer numbers are better than average for peer universities but we need to increase first time and increase retention with financial causes being one of the main reasons students leave (hence the endowment).

These are undergraduate numbers, we are at much lower enrollment overall as the law school winds down and we are working on  restructuring our graduate program. Obviously the law school is going to be phased out over the next year so if we are to grow up to our target (probably lower than the initial 6,000 now without the law school) the first focus is undergraduate and then graduate.

[valpopal]

I haven't gotten official numbers but I've heard this: Down from the last few years but not significantly. that goal is about 800 first year and 200 transfers for 1000 new undergrad a year and that they missed this mark by a little over a 100. Seems like the area of growth is college of business and arts and sciences as Nursing and engineering have grown over the years and show little signs of slowing. Also heard our transfer numbers are better than average for peer universities but we need to increase first time and increase retention with financial causes being one of the main reasons students leave (hence the endowment).

Since the official numbers are not public yet, I am not permitted to give the specifics; however, I would not debate the summary above, except for "a little over 100," which probably should be "less than 100."

[crusadermoe]

Are the statistics STILL not public?     Perhaps it is classified.  And/or maybe they slow walk that information like our national inteliigence offices.

[vu72]

Are the statistics STILL not public?     Perhaps it is classified.  And/or maybe they slow walk that information like our national inteliigence offices.

I believe the number shown on valpo.edu in the "about" section, are this fall's numbers.  I had found records here:
https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/institutional-research/enrollment-data/

And this shows fall enrollment for 2017 for law and grad programs at 802 and undergrad total at 3255.  The numbers showing on the "about" page show grad and law at 588 and undergrad total at 3220, for a total of 3808, down from 4057. 

If 3808 is correct, then that is the lowest total enrollment in over 10 years. The undergrad number is up from 2012 and inline with the total undergrad numbers since then.

[crusader05]

That sounds about right considering how much law has dropped in the last 3 years. I think they are down to 20 students or so?

[VUGrad1314]

This is concerning... We're building to suit 6000 students when we're struggling to exceed\stay above 4000 and just lost one of our greatest grad school draws. I hope it works out but it seems like our best and only way to achieve this goal would be for Valpo to go on some major tournament runs (sweet 16 or better).

[crusadermoe]

I think most folks on the board believe that a basketball success makes a big impact.   But thanks to ML2 we discovered how leveraged the university is in terms of loans to build its buildings.  You can only borrow money for so long against a "future income stream." 

We are "house poor" in the way that a young couple making a combined $150,000 buys a $500,000 house on the belief that they will earn more and more in the next decade and squeeze out a house payment. We did the same thing betting on tuition payment from 6,000 students.

Then they take a pay cut for unforeseen reasons and can't restore that income for the next five years.  They eat baked beans and tuna, and can't buy furniture or landscaping.  ....Or they just keep spending on landscape anyway.