Just read up on some of the perks and they seem to be really enticing to prospective students.
- 30% discount for students pursuing an MBA
- 18k-25k transfer merit scholarship
- City Colleges Beacon Scolarship of 5k
- Honors enrollment for 3.5 GPA students
- PTK scholarship of 4k
- Academic Advisor services
- Associate Degree Completion Scholarship of 4k
Apparently this is a big deal. Here's another article:
It is a big deal. Great tactical move. Padilla just built an encentivised, no stop-sign/traffic light pathway from Chicago to Valpo. That’s thinking outside the box.
Most of us have been preaching about getting butts in seats first and foremost. Allowing access from Ivy Tech, and now Chicago is an excellent strategic move. Extends the schools reach into the Chicago Metro area. Powell had been doing this previously with team charity work in the Gary area. Gets the schools name out there more. Great to see articles on major outlets such as WGN as well. It is really hard in the modern college atmosphere to get your name in peoples mind unless you have a specific degree or other niche to fill. It seems Padilla is trying to fill the niche of "affordability" and "gateway". Those are the best I can put to what his current moves are doing. As LB said. This is metaphorically building a no stop sign pathway to the school. IE a metaphorical "South Shore Line" directly to Valpo. (Hopefully we get our physical South Shore Line here soon)
It seems like this is a good idea - It is a positive move and there is little downside to a partnership like this.
However, it does not seem to be a dramatic gamechanger. CCC already has admissions partnerships with many regional and national universities (including Concordia Chicago, DePaul, IIT, Illinois State, Marquette, SIU, UIC, UIUC and many others). https://pages.ccc.edu/apply/transfer/#partners
Thus, it remains to be seen how many more students will come to VU.
Saw this on a recent article about the agreement. I adds some depth to the possibilities:
"City Colleges of Chicago is comprised of seven independently accredited colleges. Over 60,000 Chicagoans are enrolled in City Colleges’ educational programs. Offerings range from tuition-free English as a second language and high school diploma preparation classes and certificate and associate degree programs.
Valparaiso University serves about 3,000 students. The university offers over 70 undergraduate programs and over 20 degree and certificate programs in its graduate school and continuing education. Valparaiso University was founded in 1859".
@valpo95 It seem that articles outlining the partnership see the small class sizes as a plus for attracting students. In addition to the perks (which I assume most of the institutions offer) There should be a fair amount of students to might want to take VU up on their offer. Most of these students are also most likely from the Chicago area. Valpo is 1 of 4 other schools which are not inside the city. Students looking to complete their degree while also wanting a "change of scenery" seems to be the draw.
I feel this will benefit Valpo - Padilla has decent Chicago connections which will be very helpful in this collaboration.
@vuindiana I assume this is why there js such an emphasis on the scholarships offered to these students for choosing Valpo. If you simply offer more in fee remission then it becomes an easier choice.
I also think it is worth noting this is one of 3 partnerships to come in the past year regarding academics. Ivy Tech and the transfer eligibility, CCC and the same thing, and a partnership with UIC in Lake County. While I do agree with 95 that 80 institutions is a lot to compete with and with VUIndiana about the perks once you get here, having all these partnerships is low risk with a high reward. At least in my opinion
While this article doesn't directly deal with Valpo, it is indicative of the challenges facing small, liberal art institutions. While the art sale continues to churn on in the courts, the answer to how to otherwise fund needed renovations remains elusive. Their story, unfortunately, reads in many ways similar to that facing Valpo.
@vu72 Just to be clear (I know that I have stated this before), Valpo (at least to my knowledge) has not tapped into its endowment - nor has it taken loans against the endowment (like Marymount). From what I see, Marymount is in a much more precarious situation than Valpo.
I have no doubt of the good intentions of Pres. Padilla and others at Valpo regarding partnering with CCC and other similar entities. Further, I hope that it is successful. However, the challenge for many programs like this is that these students from community/junior colleges lack the skills necessary to meet the academic requirements of a university like Valpo. Thus, to be successful, a university like Valpo that implements this type of program needs to invest in support services, alternative (but not less difficult) curriculum plans, etc. My fear is that despite the best of intentions, Valpo may be trying to do this with little or no additional/specialized staff.
@vu72 Just to be clear (I know that I have stated this before), Valpo (at least to my knowledge) has not tapped into its endowment - nor has it taken loans against the endowment (like Marymount). From what I see, Marymount is in a much more precarious situation than Valpo.
Agreed. I was pointing out that others schools with much less endowment are facing dire consequences. The bigger point is we need to get our rears in gear to get Valpo up to speed. Marymount is seeing the success of doing things like improving dorm while Valpo remains in a quagmire in the depths of a ridiculous legal fight. Time is seriously being lost.
