Valpo Strategic Plan

[usc4valpo]

Disagree. They are both equally important in different perspectives. The ARC upgrade is way overdue to stay inline with facilities in the MVC. This isn't good especially if we are committed to Div. 1 sports. We can't keep playing in a High school gym for the next 20 years.

Regarding nursing, agreed. Great program, profession would employment will always be strong, gotta keep the nursing school strong.

Cripe, they have a $250m endowment, spend a few million on upgrades to keep it strong!

I have a really big concern about the university being disconnected with alumni base. This is currently a big problem that requires mending.

[78crusader]

The University is wise to begin preparation for a new nursing/health sciences building. We are losing kids to community colleges, many of which have very nice facilities - at lower tuition costs.

This building is, and should be, the #1 priority for VU.

The strategic plan says it will be built on campus, or off campus. Building off campus would be a big mistake -but it is a mistake the university is perfectly capable of making. Let's hope it gets built (a) within the next two years, and (b) on campus.

Paul

[vu72]

We are losing kids to community colleges,

I found out today that Valpo is starting/has started a two year certificate/Associates degree program covering, I presume, several areas of study--with the hope that some of these students will continue on a get a Bachelors.  this new college will be housed in the old Law School.

[crusader05]

The pendulum has swung strongly towards state schools right now and the midwest have some very strong public universities to attract students.

[valpo64]

I like the idea of starting up a 2-year program to compete with other schools.  As mentioned earlier it could lead to students continuing on to complete a bachelor's degree.  I too think that the upgrading of our Nursing Program is a necessity, especially since our program is well respected and highly rated.  But we cannot forget about the ARC!

[crusadermoe]

These are pretty serious "fork in the road" comments about investing in 2-year programs.  It begs big questions about mission, identity, and residency.

Valpo05 cites the realities of state schools as competitors. The biggest danger to Valpo came when the big flaghshhip universities started the best of both worlds by providing cloistered "honors college" experiences to get a small school feel, but these schools also offering all the amenities and major league vibes of the Big Ten.

[David81]

These are pretty serious "fork in the road" comments about investing in 2-year programs.  It begs big questions about mission, identity, and residency.

Valpo05 cites the realities of state schools as competitors. The biggest danger to Valpo came when the big flaghshhip universities started the best of both worlds by providing cloistered "honors college" experiences to get a small school feel, but these schools also offering all the amenities and major league vibes of the Big Ten.

I'm not sure what state flagships in the Midwest offer honors college programs, but here's an example from UMass-Amherst, the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system, which must compete with a megaton of strong private schools:
https://www.umass.edu/honors/

Throw in the lower price tag, merit scholarships, and a broad curriculum, and it's pretty enticing.

That said, there remain many prospective students who would prefer a smaller campus, one that leans toward the small college experience. Let's not forget that the non-honors classes at state flagships may be the very kind of full auditorium cattle shows that can be very alienating to some students. And not everyone wants a Big Ten-type of collegiate sports experience, either.

VU has real strengths, which if blended and presented correctly can be very attractive to prospective students. When enrolling students is a challenge, like it is now for VU and countless competitors (and will be for some time), there's a risk of panicking and trying to radically re-position in ways that make a place look unrecognizable. I don't sense that VU is going in that direction, so fingers crossed that it can get the blend right.

[David81]

Indiana's Ball State has long had a Honors College : https://www.bsu.edu/academics/collegesanddepartments/honorscollege

Definitely, Valpo's honors college can be a real draw for students who want the small class-size, high faculty contact, seminar-style kind of college environement, but I think the decline of Arts and Sciences has hurt them too. Whereas a Michigan or a Ball State can pull off a sort of segregation between what you're calling the 'cattle show' big classes vs the small intensive Honors College and thus provide quite different experiences to different types of students.... Valpo is pretty small and so the two divisions' fates are more tied, for better or for worse. As A&S has fallen in terms of student quality and faculty turnover etc, that eventually hurts Christ College as well. Most high schoolers and their parents just aren't initially that aware of the difference, so they just hear about 'Valpo' and whatever they hear, they assume is the case across the board. So if we want top students to want to come to Christ College, they need to know that the university as a whole is still good. I heard the old dean who oversaw the decline of A&S has left this Summer for some satellite state or community college in Iowa or Idaho, so there will be new one this Fall and maybe there's some chance for a re-set if they can rebuild somehow. But at any rate, Valpo is too small a place for the honors college and the A&S to really be separate experiences, even if the (past?) administration might (have?) wanted that (?). Anyways, if Valpo is going to get the mix between professional schools and liberal arts right, it can't be just a small batch of Christ College students that get the warm/small-class sort of experience while the 'regular' students in the main division have the cattle experience. People out in the community or in the high school guidance counselors don't necessarily know the difference, so if they keep hearing about all the A&S disarray and programs closing and all the faculty leavving, etc, then they won't bother to send the strong students to CC or the Nursing or Engineering schools either.

I guess what I'm saying is the 'mix' is important, but maybe also the blend?  It seems me like Valpo keeps trying to do a 'mix' in the sense of disparate things (here's some caviar, there's some rice&beans; here's some creme brulee, there's some Velveeta cheese product on a cheeto; or would you like to go to our separate satellite restaurant to have some salsa?) which may work on a state university of 25,000.... But in a small comprehensive unviersity, the mix also needs to blend in a way that makes sense (flour, sugar, salt, to actually make a coherent cake).

Could I ask for clarification here? When I speak of cattle show-type survey classes that are standard at many large universities (include some regarded as prestigious), I'm talking about packed auditorium classes, perhaps with breakout sections taught by graduate teaching assistants. Have things changed at VU so dramatically that such class sizes are being regularly imposed on Arts & Sciences students?

[vu84v2]

Lots to unpack here. As someone who teaches, let me offer a few opinions:

-Teaching four different classes simultaneously would be insane, and thus this (to my knowledge) rarely (if ever) happens. A smaller college would (and should) choose to offer two sections of a class in one semester and none the other semester to avoid this (if demand/need for that class was not large).
-Blackboard (or similar tools like d2l) should be used as a single source to access course material (e.g., a repository for readings or course slides), an easily accessible gradebook, and an efficient system for students to submit work and professors to provide feedback. It can also be an alternative and efficient tool for delivering and grading exams and tests (though monitoring tools are far too intrusive - thus exams and quizzes need to be structured as open book, material). Blackboard and d2l should not be used to replace in class experiences (discussion)....that, in my opinion...is bad teaching.

In a broader sense, this is all about what it takes for great teaching. A problem in academia is that once a faculty member gets tenure, they can pretty much do what they want and it is very difficult to force them to change. Thus, you can get some faculty who don't use technology at all (and thus lose efficiencies for things like having a common repository or an 'always accessible' gradebook) and others who are too far in the other extreme (excessive use of technology that replaces high value classroom experiences). Valpo classes need to strike the right balance...I believe that they do (for the most part) in the two colleges in which I am most familiar - but not sure about A&S. Further, while CC is great - great teaching (with professors closely engaged with students) needs to be pervasive in all of the colleges.

[David81]

David81, thanks for the question and clarification -- and no, you're right, I don't think that (huge lecture halls, TAs teaching) is standard at Valpo in A&S or elsewhere. It is still usually professors who do all their own teaching and grading.

Maybe what I was characterizing as 'cattle' experience is something different or not quite so bad.... But I guess what I had in mind was the 'mass communications' aspect of Blackboard, which is just inevitably more anonymous and piecemeal when the profs are juggling more. Probably this is not just a Valpo thing, but anywhere that the teachers are juggling a lot of different classes or students. For instance, if a prof has 4 different courses, and 100+ students, even if they don't rely on TA's, they can't really focus that much on anybody and the technology today allows for a sort of mass production tendency whether good or bad. I think CC has tried to hold this at bay with a priority on face-to-face seminar teaching, since they do have fewer and smaller classes and also didn't have so many layoffs and cuts. And maybe certain sectors like Nursing have been able to keep the personalized attention because they have to do things on a certain small scale (labs, dissections, etc). But in general, college can turn into a lot of massive Blackboard online discussions that the prof can't really keep up with, so everybody's just posting "I agree with what Clifton said" in order to get their 2 participation points for the day, and the prof may or may not even read them. I do think Valpo has tried to still keep the A&S class sizes under 30, but even so... the Blackboard and other online systems have just made possible a different sort of cattle experience.  If you're a student in 5 different classes, you've got 5 different professors who are all sending out mass blast e-notifications, all the time, "don't forget to do your BB" post or "sorry, the reading is now uploaded." But it also depends on the department. I think in some depts they are able to teach multiples of the same course and combine the sections into one massive BB which may both streamline things and lead to more 'cattle' quality, while in others it is different courses which may be more personalized but then also more piecemeal since it is just one of many more differen things the prof is jumping between.

Anyways, I think you're right that Valpo is still fundamentally *different* than the sort of place that does lecture halls of 100 students.... The small college identity is still a distinctive thing, and should be emphasized as a draw. But maybe I would counter a little bit just to point out that even a smaller physical space arrangement doesn't guarantee personalized attention. Even if the setting isn't a big lecture hall, the digital technology of college today can still enable some some aspects of the cattle experience if the uni just carves up that big population into 30+ 30+ 30 + 30 and it's all e-assignemnts and e-discussions. I actually think that is a big part of the disconnect between the older alumni who had the sort of quintessential collegiate experience vs newer alumni who did it on BB. On So too, you've got the older administrators who kept using the 'small college excellence' narrative since they themselves went to college before 2010 and have some sort of romantic memory of sitting chatting with their professors, but are simultaneoulsy pushing the technology for the sake of corporate streamlining; and on the other hand, you've got the more student-facing faculty and staff so so worried about layoffs and rising course-loads/caps and the university's push to use all the digital platforms and tracking systems and worried about the evaporation of the humane side of it all. Indeed, most students thought Starfish was super creepy -- and isn't it just yet another way to enable mass tracking as a substitute for actual people talking to other humans? Soon maybe they will get AI academic advisors, haha; robots are cheaper!! At any rate, this is not just Valpo A&S and of course involves a lot of other trends outside VU's control. Now students have done both high school and college on Blackboard, so whether anybody wants it to be or not, college is sort of a continuation of the high school Blackboard posting and getting e-tracked by the institution for better or for worse. I think depending on their generation, people just have totally different conceptions of what fundamentally is going on and the pros and cons of what different models of education enable.

Valpo22, thank you for that detailed explanation. It mirrors what I've seen as a faculty member, with Blackboard playing an increasingly significant instructional role. I am an outlier at my institution in that I rely very little on Blackboard and in most of my classes I do not use PowerPoint slides and do not permit laptop usage absent a compelling circumstances (usually disability-related). I have pedagogical reasons for doing so, not the least of which are studies showing that student retain more by recording notes by hand.

But I digress.

I sense that VU remains different enough -- even with the digital tools -- to say we are qualitatively different than many bigger schools that impose much larger course sections on their students. But I also understand how different the classroom experience can be compared to the Stone Ages of my collegiate and, soon afterward, law school experience. I deeply lament these changes but realize the realities.

[historyman]

the mix also needs to blend in a way that makes sense (flour, sugar, salt, to actually make a coherent cake).

If you keep using those cake and food metaphors I'm going to get a lot hungrier while reading these posts which could lead to weight gain. 

Do you have a pic of that cake?

[Pgmado]

-Teaching four different classes simultaneously would be insane, and thus this (to my knowledge) rarely (if ever) happens. A smaller college would (and should) choose to offer two sections of a class in one semester and none the other semester to avoid this (if demand/need for that class was not large).

Checking in here. I am currently teaching five classes. I range from 10-40 in my classes. Blackboard is something I utilize to upload my lectures and it's the portal where my students turn in their assignments. Very helpful.

[crusadermoe]

Second to last paragraph mentions he wants Valpo to e a "liberal enclave...but open to all ideas."  In our polarized climate I would have not chosen that word.   

But I will give him the benefit of the doubt in the word liberal meaning "teaching a broad-based historical perspective."  But if the Torch article is correct he botched that by implying a contrast of "liberal".....,but "open.  It's hard to infer at least a sub-conscious bias from that dichotomy.

[vu84v2]

Fall Townhall on strategic plan:
http://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_65874c46-4083-11ed-a429-9b19b35bc1af.html

While I believe that the intentions of those creating the strategic plan were good, there are several considerations not included that are foundational to creating and executing a good strategic plan:
-What are the greatest priorities? (I believe the plan lists 16, which is too high)
-What will the university discontinue or reduce to free up attention and resources to address priorities?
-How will sufficient resources be acquired (donations, etc.) to meet the priorities?

One other thing, this quote is way too vague and thus it is concerning:

Director of Athletics Charles Small spoke about his vision for the athletic department to attain "championship-level synergy."
"We're going to do something really special, and what I've noticed is that we also believe that we're going to do something special in the community," Small said. "We want to engage with you all to build something special."

[usc4valpo]

C'mon Padilla. 16 Priorities? Terrible strategy. When you list that many, you are bound to not meet your goals.

To get something significant done In the next 18 months, Valpo need to derive 3 "Wildly Important Goals"

https://www.franklincovey.com/the-4-disciplines/discipline-1-wildy-important/

"Begin by asking 'If every other area of our operation remained at its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would have the greatest impact?' This question changes the way you think and lets you clearly identify the focus that would make all the difference."

Remember, 80 percent of your team's energy will still be directed at sustaining the whirlwind, so ignore the temptation to worry that by making one or two goals most important, your team will ignore everything else. And once you stop worrying about everything else going backward, you can start moving forward on your WIG. "

What behaviors (outcomes) are you trying to change? Who will be held accountable?

The WIG principle works in industry and academia, and I have experienced this, unlike a laundry list of stuff just to make everyone happy.

[valpotx]

Second to last paragraph mentions he wants Valpo to e a "liberal enclave...but open to all ideas."  In our polarized climate I would have not chosen that word.   

But I will give him the benefit of the doubt in the word liberal meaning "teaching a broad-based historical perspective."  But if the Torch article is correct he botched that by implying a contrast of "liberal".....,but "open.  It's hard to infer at least a sub-conscious bias from that dichotomy.

If it becomes a 'liberal enclave,' as taken at face value, the university will quickly lose me as a donor

[vu84v2]

C'mon Padilla. 16 Priorities? Terrible strategy. When you list that many, you are bound to not meet your goals.

To get something significant done In the next 18 months, Valpo need to derive 3 "Wildly Important Goals"

https://www.franklincovey.com/the-4-disciplines/discipline-1-wildy-important/

"Begin by asking 'If every other area of our operation remained at its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would have the greatest impact?' This question changes the way you think and lets you clearly identify the focus that would make all the difference."

Remember, 80 percent of your team's energy will still be directed at sustaining the whirlwind, so ignore the temptation to worry that by making one or two goals most important, your team will ignore everything else. And once you stop worrying about everything else going backward, you can start moving forward on your WIG. "

What behaviors (outcomes) are you trying to change? Who will be held accountable?

The WIG principle works in industry and academia, and I have experienced this, unlike a laundry list of stuff just to make everyone happy.

To clarify my previous comment in which I remembered there were 16 priorities, the actual number is 20 - though Valpo now has a separate document highlighting 12 priorities within those 20 (see links provided with the website below). Of the 12, some are related to student success (good!) - none are related to athletics or specifically to any of the professional colleges (not so good). Working towards a Hispanic Serving Institution is also on the priority list - I am all for attracting students from many cultures and helping them succeed, but a stated goal of having 25% of all students be hispanic (which is what HSI certification requires) is just unrealistic. It is never good to set goals that are completely unachievable.

https://www.valpo.edu/strategic-plan/

[crusadermoe]

It's just vagueness and viability.  The twin Vs.

The core ideas of "serve, lead, and thrive" would probably found in hundreds of other gauzy introductions to other strategic plans at least 1/2 of the colleges and universities in the country.

Notably, measurables were stated for three 3 of the 22 goals: enrollment revenue (10%), Hispanic Serving Institutions (numerical), and transfer student revenue. But there were no measurables attached to the Christian schools relationships statement.

The athletics section strives to "evaluate athletic facility....by the end of the plan."  That is simply a means rather than an "end." There is no commitment to raising funds, even in concept, during the plan period.  Understandably the mix/# of teams is on the burner.

[78crusader]

This probably doesn't belong in the "Strategic Plan" discussion but I'll put it here anyway.

I pointed out earlier this summer VU successfully completed a $300 million campaign on June 30 and I was looking forward to VU publicizing this achievement.  It might be the largest campaign in the history of Lutheran colleges and universities.

I awaited a press release on this wonderful accomplishment, hoping that it would begin to balance out some of the negative publicity VU has suffered in recent years (lay offs, closing of the law school, being sued by Indiana Department of Justice, just to name a few examples - it has gotten to the point where if I see the words "Valparaiso University" in a headline, I won't read the article, because chances are it will be bad news).

No press release was forthcoming this summer, so I thought that VU had decided to wait until Homecoming, which would be a great time to publicize and celebrate the campaign's success.

Wrong. Nothing. This is another example of mystifying decisions made over the years by this university. I'm worried another mistake is in the offing when the strategic plan calls for VU to be a "liberal enclave." Doesn't it occur to anyone at VU that the more liberal this place becomes, the more struggles we have with enrollment? Folks don't know anymore what VU stands for. Used to, they did. Not anymore. Conservative folks think the place is too liberal, and liberal folks think the place is too conservative. Try to please everyone, and guess what? You please no one.

If I'm wrong or mistaken - and I hope I am - please someone on the Board enlighten me. Sometimes I think about this place and see light at the end of the tunnel - and worry that it's an oncoming train.

Paul

[David81]

I've been around higher ed long enough to know that strategic planning documents should be kept in perspective. They're typically a mix of broad objectives and pet projects of more powerful stakeholders at that snapshot moment, with much of the impetus coming from the administrative level. This is not meant as a knock on VU specifically, but rather a general observation that unless the institution exercises excessive top-down control, the heart of the educational enterprise remains that which occurs between faculty and students.

FWIW, I found the executive summary to be the most worthy of one's time. Among other things, it's what most people will read:
https://www.valpo.edu/strategic-plan/files/2022/07/SP_Exec_Sum_Goals_approved_July2022.pdf

I sense that President Padilla is a pragmatist type of leader who is well aware of the challenging demographics in terms of the shrinking pool of traditional college-age students, set to hit hard around 2025. VU cannot be, and should not try to be, all things to all potential students. But it can't afford to become an insular church college, nor is it remotely capable of morphing into a liberal enclave that some seem to fear.

As I've said before on this board, VU has to build on its traditional base, while creating genuine space for others to feel welcomed. And it has to relentlessly search out the right blend between the liberal arts and professional training. I think it's possible to do this. A bit of a balancing act, but the main pieces are there already.

[vu72]

While wondering about why Valpo hasn't announced the final number on the Forever Valpo campaign is a legitimate question, I'm wondering why the question hasn't been asked of the President instead of the participants on this board?  For what it's worth, I just did.  I'll post if I get a reply.

[vu72]

While wondering about why Valpo hasn't announced the final number on the Forever Valpo campaign is a legitimate question, I'm wondering why the question hasn't been asked of the President instead of the participants on this board?  For what it's worth, I just did.  I'll post if I get a reply.

And 2.5 hours later:

Good morning,

President Padilla asked that I respond to your inquiry. Yes!! The new Valpo Magazine (which should be in your mailbox any day now) has a very nice spread (pages 6-7) about the overall impact of Forever Valpo, including our final total of more than $302M. I hope you find it informative!

Thanks so much for all you do for Valpo!

Lisa Hollander

[78crusader]

I think we can all agree that while an article in the Valpo magazine regarding the recently concluded campaign is nice, the university does not get anywhere close to the same PR boost as it would by putting this news out to the general public. This is a "fail" by VU.

Paul

[vu84v2]

I think we can all agree that while an article in the Valpo magazine regarding the recently concluded campaign is nice, the university does not get anywhere close to the same PR boost as it would by putting this news out to the general public. This is a "fail" by VU.

Paul

I agree! With most people having news feeds in some way, shape or form, it would be good if a press release came up for many people that communicated the success. Given that some prospective students and their families may have concerns about financial viability of the university, it would also be a good idea to make it visible (a link to the press release?) on the university web page.

[vu72]

I think we can all agree that while an article in the Valpo magazine regarding the recently concluded campaign is nice, the university does not get anywhere close to the same PR boost as it would by putting this news out to the general public. This is a "fail" by VU.

Paul

I agree! With most people having news feeds in some way, shape or form, it would be good if a press release came up for many people that communicated the success. Given that some prospective students and their families may have concerns about financial viability of the university, it would also be a good idea to make it visible (a link to the press release?) on the university web page.

I just confirmed that there will NOT be a press release.  I agree, this makes zero sense.