My point in noting this is in no way to question the quality of the Engineering School - but just to warn against any overly idealistic assessments of Engineering as 'too good to fail' or 'too strong to be affected' by the struggles that affect the rest of the university.
Good point. Prospective engineering students and their families read the same negative news reports concerning the university as everyone else and are not immune to intuitive or instinctive responses, especially when there might be keen competition with more affordable prices elsewhere. For this reason, I would not be surprised to see the College of Engineering underperform in enrollment alongside some other sectors this year.
Ultimately, this is a transition between the VU of years past and the VU of the future. If VU didn't recognize the problems and just sat back on old glory, they would die within 10 years. By acknowledging the problems of previous admins, this admin is attempting to make sure this university can survive to 2059 2159 and beyond. Launching a massive rebrand and retooling campaign was ultimately the best choice to ensure the future of the school. Most decisions are being made to attempt to bandage old, deep, wounds.
@rezynezy That pissed me off, that was a very narrow uniformed statement comparing the Valpo engineering program identity Purdue NW or Purdue. The College of Engineering has urarguably been one of the strongest programs at Valpo, and has graduated great engineers and leader making huge impacts on industry. If anything Valpo engineering is a strength and they need to continue to strengthen it. vu84v2 and I graduated together in electrical engineering I will speak for speak for both of us that the undergraduate engineering experience was great to get us prepared and aware of future challenges. The technical education with thorough lab was powerful which you don't usually get at larger state universities. Pruning engineering in these times would be a disaster for Valpo.
@usc4valpo Well narrow and uniformed is what people with outside perspectives see. No one sees the toys the department has or the strength of the department. All people see is cost of education vs quality of education. VU doesn't have a good track record right now. Be pissed off all you want. It does not change the fact that people aren't going to see the quality of the education unless it is marketed. Please read the statements made after by myself and other forum members before replying to old news. I understand there are new innovations being made, but unless you MARKET these innovations, all people see is a price tag, and what the media produces.
I also did not say that engineering needed to be pruned. I mealy displayed sentiment that it is hard to compete with Purdue and that previous admin was probably hesitant to prune other branches in full support of the program because of threats in this area like PNW and Purdue main campus. It is David vs Goliath. Unless you have your slingshot, in this case a strong marketing team, you cannot hope to take down Purdue.
Would I like VU to continue to support Engineering. 110%. Engineers and nurses are always going to be needed. I never attended the University. All I can provide is an outside perspective given proper research into said topics. Hence why I was unaware of the fact that there is a strong research sector and one of the only solar research opportunities for undergrads. Why isnt this being marketed? It should have been the forefront of enrollment recruiting for a while if they offered opportunities no one else offers.
In engineering and technology Valpo has a very decent reputation in industry. Comparing Valpo to PNW regarding quality of education is crappola. FYI, vu84v2 and I went to decent university for graduate and doctorate studies. Valpo prepared us well. A Valpo engineering education can be sold in a similar fashion as how it is done at IIT, Rose Hulman, etc. Don't mess with something that is working well.
@rezynezy agree that they need to rebrand and retool, and Padilla is doing his best given the circumstances. Cutting programs for 3% makes finacial success?
BTW - I understand removing the theology degree is a bad, but why the fuss over the German major?
There is plenty of engineering marketing and horn tooting available for anyone actually willing visit their site at Valpo.edu. Take a look! https://www.valpo.edu/college-of-engineering/
As for Valpo's ranking being among a pretty small sub-set (no doctoral), that may be true, but it leaves us is a group including but not limited to schools like Rose-Hulman, Harvey Mudd, West Point, Cal Poly, The Naval Academy, Cooper Union, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Embry-Riddle and Smith. Not bad company.
Someone said partnerships between schools for grad degrees and undergrad was becoming popular, i assume they are looking into that. As for quality of degree vs PNW, VU would probably have the better quality, but the cost is still a massive hit. Why pay 25k a year at Valpo when the cost of attendance at PWN pre financial aid is 2k less than that. People would be more willing to go to PWN based on cost alone. Affordability of college is still a massive issue in today's world. Hence why I commend efforts from this admin to reduce the cost of attendance across the board to get more eyes in on the school. All this info being on Valpo's website is great, but your name needs to be in someone's mouth first before your resume is viewed. (Sports success is pretty good at making people think about you) As is a good marketing strategy. Maybe we can get the US report on a ticker at Comiskey rather than just a brown backstop.
You said don't mess with something that is working well, but you can still spread the word that you have something that works.
I do have to commend Valpo on the Bachelor's degree that I received, and how it prepared me for my MBA program at TCU. At the time, TCU was in the top 30 for MBA programs (no idea what it is now), and I felt that I was better prepared than most other students in the program, that came from various other schools. Very similar to what usc is saying on the Engineering program. Just an fyi, regardless of AI, you will always need AI Engineers behind that type of work, it isn't like AI just takes over and starts running things on its own...at least for the foreseeable future.
I felt the same regarding preparation going to graduate school for electrical engineering at USC. My braod education was also beneficial for post grad studies at MIT.
Small colleges can be great for engineering. My daughter goes to Rice for chemical/biomolecular engineering and is thriving and loves the academic atmosphere.
Let me add some comments on Engineering toward several of the previous comments:
-Engineers are required to take Physics and Chemistry (not Biology unless Biomedical Engineering). They are required to take a lot of math and are required to take the Core. All of these are (and should be) provided by the College of Arts and Sciences. I don't know specifically how budgeting works at Valpo, but my guess is that about 1/3 of an engineering student's tuition goes to the College of Arts and Sciences (as it should), since those students fill seats in A&S classes. Anything significantly greater than that, however, is a questionable tax on the College of Engineering.
-One of the greatest value propositions of Valparaiso Engineering is the personal interaction with faculty. They teach ALL of the classes. They are at Valpo because they truly want to help students engage and progress in the College of Engineering. This was true when I was a student and is true today. If you don't believe me, spend 15 minutes with Doug Tougaw (Dean of the College of Engineering). I could sell the value of this to any prospective student and his/her parents all day.
-In the job market, Valpo engineers are differentiated by their skills in personal interaction and teamwork. Lots of schools can teach engineering skills (and Valpo does this well), but companies who hire Valpo engineers always point to their communication and professional skills relative to graduates from other big and small universities.
I totally agree with the previous statement. Valparaiso University College of Engineering has remained strong. also, the connections Valpo has with industry and job and graduate school placement is truly excellent.
Prospective families aren't stupid, and they're looking at all the same news articles we are.
This plain statement is the heart of the matter for Valparaiso. In recent years the university has continually created bad news stories—sometimes through needless controversies, ill-advised statements, or often poorly timed actions that influence students and their families during the spring enrollment period. The slide seemed to begin with the disastrous New York Times article that one news story called "the vivisection of a dying law school" in 2016. Naive VU faculty and administrators invited the Times reporter and cooperated fully with him during the writing of the hit piece. Following this and an avalanche of negative reports in the media, the Law School announced in 2018 its intention to close, and the doors were shut following the 2019-2020 academic year. In the spring of 2020 a law suit concerning the closing of the school filled the news.
At that same time, in Spring 2020 the university announced drastic cuts with layoffs of hundreds. The damage from this poorly managed process lingers to this day. That year in Fall 2020, the university discontinued a number of programs, including secondary education major, theatre major and minor, Chinese minor, French major, and Greek and Roman studies major and minor. Rather than take time to recover from this, the university announced in February 2021 the Crusader name change debacle, which further alienated many alums and fueled news stories in the middle of enrollment season. As if this wasn't enough, that summer brought the Confucius suit against the university and the institute's subsequent closing in the fall.
In January 2022, again the middle of enrollment period, the university announced a staff reduction plan that would include buyouts of more than fifty staff members, many longtime respected faculty. In January 2023 and throughout the enrollment period, the proposed sale of the art museum masterpieces hit the news, and as a defense the university president actually declared VU had substandard housing for its prospective students. Now in the middle of 2024 enrollment, there is another announcement of discontinuation plans, which would impact a number of departments (and faculty), including eliminating majors and minors in Theology at a Lutheran university. This is a recipe for bad news articles.
Admittedly, Valparaiso has had a few good news stories during this period, but they have not controlled news cycles like those negative narratives above, which in fact, have overtaken them—such as when the new president was inaugurated, the celebration was overshadowed right in the middle of the Crusader controversy. On the other hand, when Valparaiso can get some good news distributed in the press, it is advantageous. For instance, the announcements of a large grant to the nursing program, its partnership deal with the University of Chicago, and the initiation of new online grad programs have boosted nursing to Valpo's number one major.
Obviously external uncontrollable factors influence enrollment, as with other universities. However, Valparaiso has long had weak public relations, poor timing, and an inability to highlight positive news. In fact, on this sports forum we have frequently lamented the lack of Valpo making the most from the Drew era or the transition to the Missouri Valley, just to give a couple of examples. As VUIndiana stated: those prospective students and their families are "looking at the same articles we are." The Valparaiso University administration and public relations need to step up with a sustained plan and control the flow of news with good news messages that enhance perspective and initiate branding that engages or attracts positive attention better than "Grounded, We Radiate."
-In the job market, Valpo engineers are differentiated by their skills in personal interaction and teamwork. Lots of schools can teach engineering skills (and Valpo does this well), but companies who hire Valpo engineers always point to their communication and professional skills relative to graduates from other big and small universities.
At one point or another, and maybe still today, aren't Valpo engineering students required/highly encouraged to take a Dale Carnegie course? It would go well with dining etiquette taught at some schools, including Valpo.
I hardly think we can count 2020 in events under the university's control. There seemed to be a "significant event" that prompted many schools and all businesses to incite mass layoffs
