Valparaiso University has extended its commitment date for prospective students to June 1 due to the snafus and delays in FAFSA forms from the Department of Education I mentioned in a previous post. Unfortunately, incoming students will not receive information from the government about federal Pell grants or state O'Bannon grants until April at the earliest. Nobody knows yet how much this will harm enrollment numbers, especially at tuition-driven private universities like Valparaiso for whom financial aid is crucial.
Unfortunately, it appears Valparaiso University's fall enrollment numbers will be deeply influenced by a perfect storm of two negative factors. I am told the screwed up handling of FAFSA by the Department of Education delaying financial aid information to families and the bad publicity arising from the notice of a discontinuation announcement on March 1 are both directly contributing a noticeable negative impact on recruitment of students.
So we are talking a few dozen student difference, or several hundred?
I have heard anywhere from 50-100 students and that the biggest frustration is that numbers were tracking significantly ahead of last year until this happened. Maybe an increase in graduate students(if it happens) can offset some of the loss but this really does set things back. I have co-works who have spouses at other institutions and I guess the only consolation is many are in this boat.
I have heard anywhere from 50-100 students and that the biggest frustration is that numbers were tracking significantly ahead of last year until this happened. Maybe an increase in graduate students(if it happens) can offset some of the loss but this really does set things back.
Same here.
Unfortunately, this is not just a Valpo issue. The FAFSA fiasco is the bigger of the two contributors, IMO, because it is killing the college application/enrollment process nation-wide, not just at Valpo. I’ve heard this same story over and over. Example: a young man I know can’t commit/enroll at either Wisconsin or Minnesota, both of which have accepted him and offer ROTC programs (but with different emphasis), because his FAFSA hasn’t been completed. He and his folks are apoplectic.
FAFSA just this morning released access to corrections. While I do like the formatting and the ease of use of the new form, the deployment was a huge disaster. They deployed the form in early march, then closed the form to deploy in batches to certain people at certain times. Thye did not send any emails or info out to students regarding this closure and late deployment. Fortunately, schools like Valpo and around the country have done away with their fafsa submission date for this year in order to combat this issue
FAFSA has indeed been a disaster. Beyond the aforementioned problems, there was also a release of information regarding students to colleges that was incorrect (I believe in late March). This slowed things down even more.
Another option that some universities have employed, instead of extending the date, is modeling what each student would receive and then informing each student what their estimated aid would be...and committing to making up any difference between the estimate and the actual.
FAFSA has indeed been a disaster. Beyond the aforementioned problems, there was also a release of information regarding students to colleges that was incorrect (I believe in late March). This slowed things down even more.
Another option that some universities have employed, instead of extending the date, is modeling what each student would receive and then informing each student what their estimated aid would be...and committing to making up any difference between the estimate and the actual.
Hopeefully, whichever is higher 😉
The FAFSA fiasco is the bigger of the two contributors, IMO, because it is killing the college application/enrollment process nation-wide, not just at Valpo.
The FAFSA problem is contributing. However, as Beacon92 said about the significant downturn in enrollment estimates: "I have heard anywhere from 50-100 students and that the biggest frustration is that numbers were tracking significantly ahead of last year until this happened." I have been told the same thing as Beacon92. The enrollment numbers were actually ahead of last year until the discontinuance announcements. In addition, my understanding is that the enrollment shortcomings since then have happened more in some colleges than others, with A&S and Christ College apparently plummeting following the March 1 press release.
vulb62 - Yes. Honoring the greater of the two. If the university tells a prospective student $11,000 and FAFSA comes back as $10,000, the university makes up the $1000 difference.
valpopal - I understand your points. I am hopeful that the university AND the Colleges (A&S, Christ College and the other Colleges) have taken on initiatives to counter that exogenous issue. From my perspective, the Deans, senior staff, and faculty need to be contacting and meeting with prospective students in any way possible to reinforce the value of the programs, the value of the university, and establish/advance relationships. One-on-one, small groups, special events. Leverage alumni and other established relationships. Meet in-person whenever possible...make phone calls if that is the only way. These are also the right steps to try to counteract other trends: declining numbers of high school students graduating, less people thinking college is valuable, etc.
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."
@valpopal You make good points, but let's give the school a little credit here.
I have seen a lot more community outreach and partnerships with local businesses. Heck, my waistline doesn't feel all to good from eating the Rangoon Pizza and the Presidents Burger from Peddlers and Radius. Stuff like this did not seem to ever happen under previous admins. I understand building community connections should have been done a LONG time ago, but the fact that this aspect has been recognised as a problem, and steps are being done to get the community and local businesses involved in the school are huge steps in the right direction.
The school also has been making an effort to advertise a lot more, although I guess putting your ads on Sox games is more desperate than true genius marketing given the state of the Sox. Building a brand takes time, and there will be a lot of errors along the way. Honestly, With the backlash from the new motto, I'd expect to see something changed.
This administration seems keen on listening to gripes from the public. They really cannot afford to lose the public at this venture. I know we will be griping about closing underperforming programs, but we should be focusing on efforts to hurt the staff rather than link some semblance of Christianity to an underperforming degree. Isn't it better to try to vouch for the injustices being committed against our fellow man than to be angry because a piece of paper is no longer being offered? I know I am a catholic, but Lutheran and Catholic ideals are very close to one another. Let us be angry and try to change the injustices being committed against the professors rather than focus on the piece of paper. Something I noticed was sorely lacking from the change.org petition was comments on such actions.
@rezynezy I think it helps the athletic department to advertise at Sox games. Think of it this way, Valpo’s records in sports overall are better than the Sox, and relatively speaking make them look successful!
