Is Valpo strapped for cash?

[usc4valpo]

This came out of the Other Sports board. I am wondering why Valpo is having trouble with insufficient cash. Are they budgeting appropriately? are they being frugal to a high extent? Could it be the new tax code where you need more deductions to itemize?

[bbtds]

This came out of the Other Sports board. I am wondering why Valpo is having trouble with insufficient cash. Are they budgeting appropriately? are they being frugal to a high extent? Could it be the new tax code where you need more deductions to itemize?

I might say it's because our president has scared away many of the foreign students. But I won't. And that is a problem because the administration set it up for Valpo to be successful by inviting more and more foreign students just before a time when the US government was openly not encouraging foreign students or at least putting limits on their numbers. At least that was the result of the US government's actions.

[wh]

This came out of the Other Sports board. I am wondering why Valpo is having trouble with insufficient cash. Are they budgeting appropriately? are they being frugal to a high extent? Could it be the new tax code where you need more deductions to itemize?

I might say it's because our president has scared away many of the foreign students. But I won't. And that is a problem because the administration set it up for Valpo to be successful by inviting more and more foreign students just before a time when the US government was openly not encouraging foreign students or at least putting limits on their numbers. At least that was the result of the US government's actions.

And I won't say how utterly ridiculous it was to set a student growth goal of 50% in a declining market (lower birth rates, dog-eat-dog market, nation drowning in student debt), and naively thinking it would grow to unbelievable levels based on student cash cow funding from Saudia Arabia and China (of all places). Donald Trump may have a magic wand, but Heckler and your Trustees certainly don't. I could say that books and white papers will be written about the level of ineptitude of college administrators that bought into this nonsense, but I won't. Universities are not institutions of higher learning. They are medium to enterprise-level businesses that require high-browed strategic business minds at the helm in order to maximize results and sustain success. Promoting your best automotive mechanic to service manager became passé in the business world in the 1990's.

[a3uge]

This came out of the Other Sports board. I am wondering why Valpo is having trouble with insufficient cash. Are they budgeting appropriately? are they being frugal to a high extent? Could it be the new tax code where you need more deductions to itemize?

I might say it's because our president has scared away many of the foreign students. But I won't. And that is a problem because the administration set it up for Valpo to be successful by inviting more and more foreign students just before a time when the US government was openly not encouraging foreign students or at least putting limits on their numbers. At least that was the result of the US government's actions.

And I won't say how utterly ridiculous it was to set a student growth goal of 50% in a declining market (lower birth rates, dog-eat-dog market, nation drowning in student debt), and naively thinking it would grow to unbelievable levels based on student cash cow funding from Saudia Arabia and China (of all places). Donald Trump may have a magic wand, but Heckler and your Trustees certainly don't. I could say that books and white papers will be written about the level of ineptitude of college administrators that bought into this nonsense, but I won't. Universities are not institutions of higher learning. They are medium to enterprise-level businesses that require high-browed strategic business minds at the helm in order to maximize results and sustain success. Promoting your best automotive mechanic to service manager became passé in the business world in the 1990's.

Most Universities are basically hedge funds that happen to have a school attached to it.

[mj]

Wait, you mean that trying to increase enrollment to 6K students, taking on a ton of debt, hiring a bunch of administrators, and then failing to reach that goal isn't a good idea? Hmmm...

I have to say that I haven't been impressed with Valpo the past few years. They haven't been able to do the basics very well (alumni outreach) while in the meantime they seem to be chasing the newest trend (aviation degree, e-sports, etc).

[vu84v2]

Wait, you mean that trying to increase enrollment to 6K students, taking on a ton of debt, hiring a bunch of administrators, and then failing to reach that goal isn't a good idea? Hmmm...

I have to say that I haven't been impressed with Valpo the past few years. They haven't been able to do the basics very well (alumni outreach) while in the meantime they seem to be chasing the newest trend (aviation degree, e-sports, etc).

While I understand your concerns and see that some additions versus trends may not make sense (not sure where the aviation degree comment came from), the university has introduced new programs that are correctly in response to trends - examples: physician assistants, biomedical engineering. Of course, I am assuming there are good and reasonable business cases associated with these new programs and might ask what programs are being reduced or eliminated to support the costs of such programs.

As far as alumni outreach, I am not sure what your specific concerns are. They have been fine with me and have improved over the last five years.

[crusadermoe]

It always had seemed that many cities at once would lack "Valpo Clubs".     Not sure what those are anyway. Some universities have annual somewhat formal and routine celebrations in their key cities.

[valpotx]

I am the leader of the DFW Valpo Club, and would be happy to tell you what we do .

[mj]

So I just met a current VU student and the topic of Valpo's finances came up. Apparently the students are somewhat concerned. They joke whether the university will have to shut down. So clearly things are going well for Valpo.

[FWalum]

Interesting article from the Atlantic on the national trend of smaller colleges facing lower enrollment and online education having to shutter their institutions.  The Surreal End of an American College

[VULB#62]

Being from the Boston area, I am familiar with Newbury College. First of all it is located in college-saturated Boston.  The city has a population of around 600k citizens that swells by almost 250k students every September. That's a lot of competition. Secondly, it is D-Iii. Thirdly, Newbury is what I would call a "pure" urban college. There is no gorgeous sprawling campus, no grand athletic fields and field house, and few teams.

Compare that to my son's alma mater, Colby College in Maine, also D-III. 2,000+ undergrads. 3 hours from Boston in the Maine wilderness in the paper mill town of Waterville. Solid endowment and it recently invested $200 million in a totally new athletic complex to support over 30 varsity sports (BTW, what it is replacing would put Valpo's to shame).

[crusadermoe]

Interesting stuff. I hope the fearful student conversations don't reach the parents of other prospects.  The news likely has reached alumni and student siblings. Praying for the university's finances publicly in chapel last winter may not have been leadership's brightest move. 

VU leaders need to figure out what VU wants to be.   They said in the 2013 masterplan that they needed to build a campus for 6,000 students and they have built buildings to that scale and quite impressively.   Unfortunately, they doesn't leave a lot of flexibility if you change your mind on who you are or how big you want to be.

[vu72]

Thirdly, Newbury is what I would call a "pure" urban college. There is no gorgeous sprawling campus, no grand athletic fields and field house, and few teams.

It was located on 10 acres, was started only in 1962, had 600 students and an endowment of $2 million.  Zero chance to survive in this environment.

[wh]

Interesting article from the Atlantic on the national trend of smaller colleges facing lower enrollment and online education having to shutter their institutions.  The Surreal End of an American College

Collectively, my 3 children, my wife and I have 9 degrees from 9 small to mid-sized private universities, including Valpo, and I'm truly worried about the future of all of them. They all have good to very good academic reputations, but not are considered elite by any means.  They all need more money, they're all behind the times in terms of on-line offerings to help improve cash flow, and they're all potential victims of the "free," government-paid public education political propaganda being proposed by certain presidential candidates.  Could private universities go the way of the horse and buggy?  Part of me says it will never happen, yet I feel differently when I think about 9 beautiful campuses in 9 beautiful settings sitting like ghost towns right now for the entire summer, while millions of students of every age are taking on-line classes anywhere and everywhere to fill all or part of their academic requirements, community colleges have jammed full parking lots as we speak, etc.  I was at University of Chicago yesterday. Parking lots were full of cars and there was no street parking anywhere to be found.  Of course, we're talking about Med School students, et al, but the point is education never stops at a school like that. So much more efficient. What really frustrates me personally is I don't have a clue how to fix it or even help it, other than support our alma maters financially (which I'm guessing most everyone on this board does the same thing), and hope for the best.  Sorry for being such a downer.  Just venting.       

[wh]

More negative news about private universities:

Survey: Two out of Three American Employees Regret Their College Degrees

"The burden of student loans is a plight shared by every group in this research, but the degree of student loan regret changes throughout these data cuts," says PayScale. "Those who are younger, majored in lower-earning fields or attended private universities tended to regret their student loans the most."

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/25/survey-two-out-of-three-american-employees-regret-their-college-degrees/

[valpotx]

No regrets on my Psychology major and Business Administration minor.  It has paid off well for me!

[vu72]

More negative news about private universities:

Survey: Two out of Three American Employees Regret Their College Degrees

"The burden of student loans is a plight shared by every group in this research, but the degree of student loan regret changes throughout these data cuts," says PayScale. "Those who are younger, majored in lower-earning fields or attended private universities tended to regret their student loans the most."

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/25/survey-two-out-of-three-american-employees-regret-their-college-degrees/

Perhaps for some.  Valpo has very highly regarded programs in Engineering, Business and Nursing, all in high demand.  Add other areas with a national reputation like Meteorology or Christ College and I doubt many Valpo grads regret their degrees.

[FieldGoodie05]

More negative news about private universities:

Survey: Two out of Three American Employees Regret Their College Degrees

"The burden of student loans is a plight shared by every group in this research, but the degree of student loan regret changes throughout these data cuts," says PayScale. "Those who are younger, majored in lower-earning fields or attended private universities tended to regret their student loans the most."

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2019/06/25/survey-two-out-of-three-american-employees-regret-their-college-degrees/

Perhaps for some.  Valpo has very highly regarded programs in Engineering, Business and Nursing, all in high demand.  Add other areas with a national reputation like Meteorology or Christ College and I doubt many Valpo grads regret their degrees.

I think those incurring large debt to study literature (and expect income to offset) should feel the repercussions.  This should be regardless of college choice.

[valpo95]

I think those incurring large debt to study literature (and expect income to offset) should feel the repercussions.  This should be regardless of college choice.

I remember a story from about 2011 - a protester from Occupy Wall Street (remember that?) was complaining that after leaving his job as a teacher in the NYC Public Schools to pursue a MFA in Puppetry. He had student loans of $35,000 or so and could not find a new permanent position. I'm all for someone pursuing their passions: The Declaration of Independence says that all people have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Among other things, liberty is the right to make informed choices, and if puppetry makes him happy, so be it. I also get that education is expensive.

What I can't see is that taxpayers should pay for someone's pursuit of happiness, be it puppetry, literature or any other subject. 

[usc4valpo]

valpo95 - well said. My daughter is a senior look at her passions and what to degrees to pursue. She wants to major in education and will likely go to a state school (we made a visit to Valpo and it was not for her). My advice to her is find something you love, but have a plan to make it happen and get advice from others for reality checks and opportunities.

Generally (not all) speaking, the Wall Street protesters are losers blaming the world for their woes and not taking actions to improve their situations. I am sure companies and businesses cannot wait to hire them.

[FieldGoodie05]

valpo95 - well said. My daughter is a senior look at her passions and what to degrees to pursue. She wants to major in education and will likely go to a state school (we made a visit to Valpo and it was not for her). My advice to her is find something you love, but have a plan to make it happen and get advice from others for reality checks and opportunities.

Generally (not all) speaking, the Wall Street protesters are losers blaming the world for their woes and not taking actions to improve their situations. I am sure companies and businesses cannot wait to hire them.

I was looking at a chart last night of ppl 25+ with a bachelors or higher.  It didn't say the precise numbers on the graph (and I fell asleep before digging deeper) but it was intriguing:

My parents graduated 1974
~12% had Bachelors degree

Today around 32% have a bachelors degree.


It makes me wonder why colleges are having such a difficult time.  Around 66 million Americans are alumni and a host more are enrolled at the schools.  Might it be they have spent irresponsibly?  I don't carry a lot of sympathy for colleges (Valpo included) who have made a host of poor decisions to end up in their predicaments.

I contribute to Valpo less than some and more than many, but sometimes I feel disconnected by ideology in what it means to run a business.  I'm sorry if this offends, for it's not intended to apply to all, but I cannot help but think that academia is woefully out of touch with real world economics.  All this despite the fact that many operate with large tax exemptions as not for profits, am I wrong?

I'm certain others have vast knowledge on this subject.  Help a neophyte better understand what has NOT been in colleges favor other than the recession?  Because to this outsider, they've had one of the most aggressive growth curves of any business in existence since 1974 (when only 12% of those 25+ were alumni).

[usc4valpo]

I hate to say, but free public education will kill private universities, and those that exist will be elite upper class. Schools like Valpo, Butler, Evansville, Bradley and Drake will be hurting bigtime - whether or not they are religiously affiliated.

[vu84v2]

I'm certain others have vast knowledge on this subject.  Help a neophyte better understand what has NOT been in colleges favor other than the recession?  Because to this outsider, they've had one of the most aggressive growth curves of any business in existence since 1974 (when only 12% of those 25+ were alumni).
[/quote]

Let me offer some thoughts regarding what has changed and other factors affecting strategy:

1. The needs from universities change, but universities cannot easily change. In business, good strategy not only involves making additions to the organization to address new opportunities and needs, but also pruning or eliminating what is no longer needed or valued. Given tenure, prior capital investments and (to some degree) specific alumni priorities, universities cannot easily do this. Thus a school like Valpo adds a needed program like Physician Assistant or Biomedical Engineering, but cannot easily trim faculty or repurpose buildings associated with liberal arts fields. Additionally, universities (to varying degrees) operate under shared governance, and the largest colleges within universities are Arts and Sciences - so there are strong factions within universities that resist necessary strategy adjustments. The big state schools are more successful at resisting this problem because their sheer size provides sufficient capital to develop new programs while not worrying as much about cost.
2. Online education. While obviously disruptive, the other issue regarding online education is that it requires a great deal of infrastructure and human capital to be at parity with the major players (e.g., Arizona State). The winners in this space get many more students, but they take many from other colleges.
3. The facilities arms race which is complemented by highly available information. Any student and his or her parents have a set of things they require and that would be nice to have. They can easily find the list of schools that provide those things. Thus, competition becomes more perfect and any school must be at parity or it will not attract as many students. Maintaining parity requires ever increasing capital expenditures.
4. The rise of many more "mega-universities". Ohio State has gone from about 48K to 61K students in the last 20 years, but there are many schools like Central Florida (who has increased from 30K to 56K over the same time period). More schools with enormous advantages from economies of scale creates problems for private schools (see points 1 and 3).

My guess is that you will see more liberal arts colleges fail, but that the universities with professional programs will be fine as long as they spend wisely and work hard to make the strategic changes discussed in the first point. Furthermore, they need to emphasize their unique abilities to help students develop towards successful careers and lives...and they need to ensure that they only give tenure to faculty that provide that necessary support to students. Valpo does this well, but it needs to continue to further improve in this critical area.

[usc4valpo]

 Valpo missed the boat to provide online education.many small colleges have provided this and in some cases it has been a lifeline.

[vu84v2]

Valpo missed the boat to provide online education.many small colleges have provided this and in some cases it has been a lifeline.

Respectfully, I do not agree that online education should have been or should be a great strategic emphasis for Valpo. Think about why people come to Valpo and the value that they get out of Valpo. Great teaching that is personal provided by people who care. This requires relationships, which I do not see possible with online education. There may be a place for online education at Valpo, such as replacing the few large lecture hall classes that are not associated with a given student's major (which could create cost savings while not reducing relationships). Offering full online programs, however, is a battle that Valpo cannot win and one in which its greatest strength has little value.