I saw ValpoPal mention in one of the sports thread an idea that small universities should sue over the FAFSA fiasco and its damage to enrollment/revenue, and I'm interested to see if that materializes.
I'm also wondering if there is any way to fight Common App & U.S. News and World Report? It's probably been around too long now and most colleges must have somehow given their consent to participate? But clearly it ended up just really hijacking the college discernment process as students started throwing apps at all the same Top-20 or Top-50 national universities while everything else became a sea of back-ups. Maybe Common App and the ranking corporations can't be sued because universities comply with them and give them the data, right? But it's too bad regional unis didn't somehow raise some collective resistance earlier on, before all this became such a self-fulfilling prophecy. Common App doesn't even save high school students much time, since most the elite unviersities still require a supplemental application with additional institution-specific essays.
Anyhow, the next month should bring some clarity. Many/most universities moved their commit date till tomorrow 5/15, though admitted students have a little longer (6/1) to commit to Valpo.... and we all know that Valpo's not going to turn away anybody who seeks to enroll on 6/2 or 6/3....
There should be a coalition forming in the coming months to sue over FAFSA. I mentioned in the same thread that one is in the works from what I heard while still in Indy. Realistically I don't see common app as an issue. Sure you may apply to a ton of schools, but the number that actually accept you out of those top 25 and top 50 is lackluster. There is also the price tag issue that students come to realize once they see these schools in their accepted tab. From me and my peers standpoint, it was kinda a waiting game to see what schools would offer in scholarships and choosing the best bang for your buck.
The common app has allowed for the ease in applying which has allowed for a lot of solicitations to increase applications to help decrease acceptance rates. This helps immensely in standings. and ratings. I'm not a lawyer but I'm not sure what schools can sue for because no school is guaranteed enough students to help them hit their budget. I could see lawsuits saying it impacted their options because they couldn't pay without need based aid and so either had to commit blind or let spots at certain universities go and/or were too late to get a spot.
There is a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education "The Dark Art of Enrollment Management" summarizing many of the changes happening in enrollment management, especially over the last 30 years or so. It uses the case of Clemson trying to improve in the rankings, then talks about financial aid leveraging, which looks to maximize net tuition revenue rather than utility.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-dark-art-of-enrollment-management
Some excerpts:
"Initially, colleges tried to outbid their competitors by providing larger and larger amounts of merit-based aid. But over the years, they have adopted far more sophisticated strategies. Working with the consulting firms, many colleges engage in “financial-aid leveraging,” an enrollment-management practice in which analysts determine the precise price points needed to enroll different groups of students without spending a dollar more than necessary. At selective colleges, both private and public, the largest discounts go to the students the college wants the most: typically, the best applicants and those who otherwise can pay full freight and help boost the institution’s bottom line."
"While less affluent students are likely to receive some aid, that aid is increasingly unlikely to meet their financial need. Under financial-aid leveraging, meeting need is considered inefficient and wasteful. To put it bluntly, leaving low-income students with large funding gaps is part of the game plan to help colleges pursue the students they want most: the best applicants, who can help the institutions rise up the rankings, and the wealthiest, who can help them increase their revenues."
I kept thinking about what this means for a school like VU. One implication is that enrollment management has gotten much more sophisticated, and I have no idea if VU has kept pace. Second, some of the best students admitted to VU probably are getting more targeted financial aid offers from other competitors, especially the big state schools. Third, the model of ever-expanding sticker prices (and expanding discounts) has run its course at a place like VU, where there is little room for increases. At a sticker price of $45,000 per year, some families are not even applying because it is considered too expensive, even if the average aid award is half of that amount. I have seen the tuition price issue firsthand with extended acquaintances not even having VU under consideration because it is perceived as unaffordable.
Other thoughts?
95, you are a little low at $45k. This from the Valpo web page on costs for an on-campus undergrad: https://www.valpo.edu/student-financial-services/tuition-fees/undergraduate-students/
@vu72 OK, I stand corrected. I was not looking at the 2024-25 tuition (for next year!) which is now $46,940 at the helpful link you provided.
I do like that there are efforts to potentially appeal to more low-income and local families. IE The Ivy Tech partnership. If schools are no longer appealing to those demographics, and that demographic is a large number of potential enrollees, you could boost the rappor of the school by enrolling through Ivy Tech. I believe boosting enrollment first and foremost is the best path forward for the school at this venture.
All of this makes me very sad for schools like Valpo, which have had a rich history of supporting upward mobility by offering a quality, traditional college education at an affordable price tag.
I will once again put much blame on those d**n rankings, which shape institutional decision making in perverse ways.
Many mid size private Colleges are struggling, not just VU. I don't know if this will solve things long term, but some March Madness success for mens basketball will not hurt the national PR for VU in the short term. it could stop the bleeding with enrollment. I remember how it helped George Mason during its run (yes pre covid, times have changed) I know this is crazy talk here, but if the team makes a run in the tourney, sign him to 2, 3 million a year contract. Maybe he will stay What would his worth be to whole University if enrollment steadily ticks up yearly 2, 3, 4%. for an extended period. What if 4,000 a night Is the normal crowds at the ARC again? Season tix revenue up, concessions etc. A big contract could temp him to stay. Before anyone argues, St. Peters, Elite 8, Butler, UMBC, we know these things are possible. Yes most of those coaches jumped after success. I digress...Good article below
@burnee77 - I’ll like how you think but my feeling is that NCAA basketball is on the downswing in the US. Ratings, interest and overall attendance are down. The power conferences are taking advantage of MIL and the transfer protocol, which is killing mid major conferences making them a minor league. I loathe it but my feeling is that this is reality.
Valpo needs a strategy to run operations compatible to what students require today to be successful. Focus on strengths and make them better. And focus less on programs on survival mode that won’t contribute to a long term successful operation.
@usc4valpo WHile I agree the NCAA is seeing some downtime, I dont think it will last. I made a thread in the CSBBS page about my reasonings and dont quite feel like reposting old stuff. To make a long story short, players not signing their Pro League licensing agreements is going to have an impact on how NIL will be treated in the future, and I believe schools will be drafting contracts for their athletes that prevent transfers from occurring.
@rezynezy - great perspective, but despite this I feel the gap between the haves and have not will increase. Please provide assurance where I’m wrong, as the NCAA is a weak pawn.
I wasn't sure where to post this, but because it ultimately relates to enrollment challenges, I figured this is the best place.
Lutheran-affiliated Wittenberg University in Ohio has proposed a radical remake of the university that would include significant layoffs and changes in how courses are delivered.
From the Chronicle of Higher Education, a piece by reporter Eric Kelderman:
Cash-Strapped Wittenberg U. Envisions a Future With Far Fewer Faculty and Staff
Wittenberg University likely can’t continue operating much longer without deep budget cuts. But the kinds of cuts being considered at the small Ohio institution are causing faculty and some alumni to argue that closure might be better.
A plan, put forward by the university’s president, Michael L. Frandsen, and its board in late July, proposed eliminating 60 percent of full-time faculty and about a quarter of noninstructional staff, and relying more heavily on online course-sharing to teach students.
In a three-page memo, Frandsen described the measures as “an innovative model” that would “maintain the vast majority of existing programs via hybrid learning.” Wittenberg, which enrolled about 1,300 students in the fall of 2023, has traditionally served as a liberal-arts college, and also offers programs in engineering, finance, and health sciences.
...The proposal fundamentally alters the kind of education students at Wittenberg would receive, said Ruth J. Hoff, an associate professor of languages.
The university’s leadership is betting on the premise that students would be happy with a steady diet of online courses, adjunct instructors, athletics, and social opportunities, said Hoff. In that case, students would miss out on the close personal interactions with faculty that have been the hallmark of Wittenberg, she said. The austerity plan, she said, “outsources the heart of what we’re all about.”
Here's the link, though there may be a paywall issue: https://www.chronicle.com/article/cash-strapped-wittenberg-u-envisions-a-future-with-far-fewer-faculty-and-staff
To me, this is the end result of a race to the bottom, a point at which I agree with those quoted or referenced in the full article that a carefully planned closure is better than trying to continue in a mode that takes away the heart of the school.
It is what I dearly hope VU will be able to avoid, that it will be able to retain its core identity as a comprehensive, private university that values a high-quality, undergraduate classroom education and a genuine campus experience.
Wow! I agree that this clearly indicates a race to the bottom that would destroy Wittenberg's brand. I frankly don't understand what the President and the Board are thinking.
Two points:
1. I wonder where Wittenberg's key stakeholders (beyond faculty, staff, students) are with this. Wittenberg last reported an endowment of ~$110M, which probably comes mostly from alums. If I were an alum of Wittenberg and they said they were considering this direction, I would immediately contact them and demand all of the principle of my endowed donation be returned. Additionally, I would guess that committed donations in estates would go to nearly zero.
2. The last sentence of David81's post is spot on regarding Valpo. This is why I take such a strong position in favor of selling the art - because it is not linked to the core identity.
The FAFSA rollout has been one disaster after another. Beyond how this has created unnecessary challenges for prospective students, their families, and universities, another frustrating aspect of this is that no one in the US Dept of Education will lose their job over this.
With the first day of classes one week from today and the fall faculty workshop tomorrow, the bad news rumor in campus discussions is that we can expect maybe as much as a 10% decrease in incoming freshmen, but the good news is that there should be no decrease in the number of new transfer students. There are various valid factors cited in the recruiting results, but speculation is that the disparity between meeting freshmen and transfer goals might indicate the FAFSA "disaster" as having a contributing role for fewer incoming freshmen.
