@vu84v2 was spot on . I went to college with him and we will assure that the classes were solid and for the most part very challenging. Valpo had a personal feel in education that you don’t get at Purdue or Illinois. The situation is different compared to the big state schools and difficult to compare. Maybe you can compare to Rose Holman or IIT, but not big state schools.
Do not underestimate the quality of engineering education at Valpo and the lab experience which was very tough for and got me out of my comfort zone.
right now Valpo has to focus on strengths and build on them and not focus on program that exist for the sake of existing.
I will add to my prior comments, comparing the value proposition at Valpo versus Purdue (or other R1s). Faculty in engineering or business at Valpo, on average, spend ~70% of their time in teaching and teaching related activities. At Purdue, because it is an R1, it is the reverse. Faculty in engineering are first and foremost evaluated based on research and grants. Purdue is certainly a good school, but how many of their classes (especially undergraduate) are taught by professors? There are similarly excellent engineering schools that focus on high quality teaching (e.g., Milwaukee School of Engineering), but you can make a strong case for better teaching at Valpo than many of the bigger name state schools.
I will add to my prior comments, comparing the value proposition at Valpo versus Purdue (or other R1s). Faculty in engineering or business at Valpo, on average, spend ~70% of their time in teaching and teaching related activities. At Purdue, because it is an R1, it is the reverse. Faculty in engineering are first and foremost evaluated based on research and grants. Purdue is certainly a good school, but how many of their classes (especially undergraduate) are taught by professors? There are similarly excellent engineering schools that focus on high quality teaching (e.g., Milwaukee School of Engineering), but you can make a strong case for better teaching at Valpo than many of the bigger name state schools.
I wouldn't call what I said misguided. All the things you said could certainly be true, and I trust that they are true about the dept. Purdue does teach a drastically different way than VU I'll say that from experiences with Purdue students, and they are internally a dumpster fire of a school when it comes to accommodating the academic needs of students (CS students at PIN get 4 electives to choose from IUI gets about 100) but at the end of the day, there is simply more name recognition with Purdue than there is with VU. The avg person sees Purdue and puts it on a pedestal for engineering, even though the education they are getting, in your eyes, does not prepare them as much for the challenges of the work force. VU may be a really good engineering school, but the name Purdue is basically a trump card. Sure, there may be more value out of a VU education, but that then begs the question. How do prospective students see this value given VUs current situation, and proximity to a school such as Purdue.
The piece that I know affected my decision to come to Valpo was both a combo of Good Education and Small School. Privates exist because many people do not want the state school/large school experience and that there is value in being a member of a community.
I think that there should be the push/focus: Valpo is a service/community minded school. Our more popular, growing or successful programs are generally rooted in service including engineering. Social work and Psychology are popular and will soon both have matching graduate programs. Nursing is Health Care, Our business school markets itself as focused on ethics, some of the most popular orgs are rooted in giving back to the community, and fraternity and sorority life often support local causes. In fact I'd argue the one part we'd been lacking is the university as a whole giving back and working more with the community and that seems to be a big piece that's changing. Marketing ourselves as the place for students who want an education that helps them make a difference is a good angle and I see how they are trying to do that with the Beacon frame work and leading/lighting the way. Our education quality is represented in rankings and meeting with professors, but what differentiates us is our focus/mission about service to others, not a specific religious dogma.
I agree with Rezynezy's points about brand for the professional schools (relative to schools like Purdue). That should be something that each of the Colleges are allowed to address (my belief is that the University's approach to branding is too centralized). I also (for the most part) agree with Beacon92's points about service. It is definitely something that improves the brand and is valued by prospective students. My only concern here is that it is harder to create perceived differentiation on service (relative to other schools that Valpo's prospective students consider). Doesn't mean that it should not be an important aspect of education...it just seems more difficult to show how you are different/better on that dimension.
To VUIndana's points:
-I cannot say that I have surveyed a wide population of business and engineering alumni, but the ones that I know want Valpo basketball to win, but support (financially, etc,) their respective Colleges. Of course, there is a lot of data that says that alumni, in general across all universities, donate more to their alma mater when the flagship sports win.
-Mocking faculty governance? Yeah, we disagree on several things. For example, we disagree on the art sale....and disagreement is healthy when it is professional. I have not mocked that. What I do have a problem with is: (1) not recognizing that shared governance does not mean equal say or everyone must agree - someone has to make a decision and that, whether you like it or not, is the administration, and (2) going to the media and other external groups when you don't like something - which in my view says "if you don't do what I want you to do, I will take steps to destroy the institution." This is highly unprofessional and would get you fired immediately from any company and most non-profit organizations. And I do not believe that this falls within the definition of academic freedom.
-Enrollment/retention and faculty: what do you suggest? Valpo needs to increase enrollment and retention. In my view, without faculty involvement from the Colleges you are relying on general material on the university from general people in admissions to sell people on making a major (well over $150K over four years) investment when there are a lot of strong alternatives. As I have said before, faculty and senior staff in my College meet with every prospective student and family. Our College of Nursing does the same. And not surprisingly, these Colleges far exceed expectations on enrollment...while other Colleges that do not embrace this approach fall short. You want to retain programs? You want to increase salaries? Far and away, the best way to do that is to increase enrollment and it takes a massive, non-centralized approach to do that. No program, no College, no University has a divine right to exist. You may not like it and you may feel that someone has 'moved your cheese', but it is your responsibility to sell the value of your discipline. And if you don't feel you can sell it - because you feel the values aren't aligned or you just don't feel that is your responsibility - then maybe you need to consider another university or another line of work.
@vu84v2 There is an easy way to increase enrollment at basically any school, and you mentioned it in the opening sentence to your response to VUIndiana. If you are good at one of the big 3 sports (Football, Basketball, Baseball). You are guaranteed an enrollment boost. Many people credit the 98 run as to why they chose VU. Being good at sports puts your name into people's mouths.
Basketball and Football - yes, Baseball - no. Easy? - for only a few.
There are, of course, several problems with relying on flagship sports to drive enrollment. First, you are essentially gambling and, assuming you are good, your fortunes could turn dramatically with one or two injuries (especially in basketball). Second, for the vast majority of schools there will always be someone with deeper pockets that can just keep outspending you. If you build your success around something else (example: culture), you can sustain an advantage a little more.
Oh it certainly is a gamble, but it is still a "get rich quick" method of boosting enrollment. Just look at Gonzaga's numbers before vs after they were well-known. If the school invested in athletics when they were good, VU could have been Gonzaga. I wouldn't completely discount baseball. Heck, the only reasons Vandy hasn't been vote kicked from the SEC is because of baseball and the fact they were a founding member of the conference in the 1930s.
Also, I saw something interesting that is taking place in the football world that will translate over to basketball. The joke we have all had about players signing contracts with schools for play is becoming a reality. Players at some schools are now going to be expected to sign "deals" with a no-transfer clause. NIL is expected to move in-house with each school funding an "agent" who gets players in contact with brands and businesses to make deals.
That's pretty cool that Valpo is part of such a program and speaks to the Engineering program for a school in the Midwest to be selected for such a thing. You would think that it would only be the coastal universities or those near satellite manufacturers. We/SiriusXM manufacture our satellites through Maxar's location in Palo Alto, CA.
Very interesting story from The Torch on cost cutting and future campus changes:
https://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_391fcf90-0920-11ef-8323-53edda1cf043.html
Very interesting story from The Torch on cost cutting and future campus changes:
https://www.valpotorch.com/news/article_391fcf90-0920-11ef-8323-53edda1cf043.html
This is a really good read for those skeptical about the cuts. It seems the nursing building is going to go on the site of some buildings set for demolition, and condemned residence halls will be reopened and renovated. This seems to be a decent enough move. Across the board cuts are also not being considered. I actually know someone in facilities management, and they constantly complained about lack of grounds keepers.
@rezynezy I would just rephrase a few of the things you’re saying - Brandt and those reopening residence halls aren’t condemned, Brandt is actually in decent condition as is. Also wouldn’t say it’s just “some” buildings that are being demolished, Lankenau currently houses over 200 freshmen - if they try to renovate Brandt, Alumni, etc. it could be a bit of a headache for housing all the freshmen without Lank.
