Bradley Financial Trouble

[WoodlandWarrior]

Check out the PJStar basketball forum re Bradley. There is an interesting link indicating serious financial trouble for the school.

 

[topiarydan]

https://week.com/2020/01/30/bradley-university-looking-at-program-cuts-reallocation-of-resources/

 

[Reggie Redbird]

Definitely an opportunity for ISU to reach out to Bradley to help these students and offer opportunities in a growing physics program, a vibrant theatre program and a great CAST. They would stay local to central IL; have greater opportunities to be in programs with resources; and we could end up cheaper for a lot of these students.

With 41 theatre majors, I wonder how many faculty they have and how many productions they do in a year. I'm sure they have talented faculty and students. Also, if ISU were to take on many of these theatre majors, it may offer the opportunity to hire on one of their professors and purchase some of their materials/sets/costumes/technology. Seriously, it could be a win-win for all parties.

 

[TBS_20]

Lets put them out of business!

 

[SgtHulka]

i smell a hostile takeover in their future

 

[gobirds85]

The article does not address the 800 pound gargoyle in the room. bu is looking at the possibility of a significant reduction in incoming students and that is where the $$$ lies. Many families are realizing these middle of the road private schools do not offer any advantage over good public universities. They cost considerably more but the ROI is not there in the end. This state still has three really solid public universities at lower costs and I believe more Illinois private schools will feel this pinch. Just last week, as it was pointed out to me by a fellow poster here, Mel, that MacMurray College closed it's doors after almost a century and a half. More shoes will fall.

 

[BIGfan]

Even with no money in the bank they beat ISU twice last season.

 

[WoodlandWarrior]

I had not heard about MacMurray. Thanks for the information.

 

[gored birds]

sounds like every school is in financial trouble now.

 

[Bird Friend]

The time is ticking for watchmaker U.

 

[topiarydan]

MacMurray had a Sophomore LB that I think could play at ISU - might not be a starter but a solid player - good size 6'2 and was head and shoulders above the competition they played

 

[TIMMY]

MacMurray had a Sophomore LB that I think could play at ISU - might not be a starter but a solid player - good size 6'2 and was head and shoulders above the competition they played

Love to see a kid like that get a chance if he wants it.

 

[JHBird]

The article does not address the 800 pound gargoyle in the room. bu is looking at the possibility of a significant reduction in incoming students and that is where the $$$ lies. Many families are realizing these middle of the road private schools do not offer any advantage over good public universities. They cost considerably more but the ROI is not there in the end. This state still has three really solid public universities at lower costs and I believe more Illinois private schools will feel this pinch. Just last week, as it was pointed out to me by a fellow poster here, Mel, that MacMurray College closed it's doors after almost a century and a half. More shoes will fall.

I just heard on the radio what Wesleyan is facing some economic hardships with potential layoffs...so you are spot on. I think falling enrollment was one of the culprits.

The good thing about ISU is that it has been ranked continuously as a good value for what you pay. So that might mitigate things here somewhat. It's still tough to see how bad it's hitting other schools like IWU. I was always impressed with their campus; they seemed to of had a lot of money, so the news kinda shocked me there.

 

[gobirds85]

The article does not address the 800 pound gargoyle in the room. bu is looking at the possibility of a significant reduction in incoming students and that is where the $$$ lies. Many families are realizing these middle of the road private schools do not offer any advantage over good public universities. They cost considerably more but the ROI is not there in the end. This state still has three really solid public universities at lower costs and I believe more Illinois private schools will feel this pinch. Just last week, as it was pointed out to me by a fellow poster here, Mel, that MacMurray College closed it's doors after almost a century and a half. More shoes will fall.

I just heard on the radio what Wesleyan is facing some economic hardships with potential layoffs...so you are spot on. I think falling enrollment was one of the culprits.

The good thing about ISU is that it has been ranked continuously as a good value for what you pay. So that might mitigate things here somewhat. It's still tough to see how bad it's hitting other schools like IWU. I was always impressed with their campus; they seemed to of had a lot of money, so the news kinda shocked me there.

The issue with IWU is that they are VERY small, I believe in the 2000 range. I have no idea what their endowment looks like but I know they began a more aggressive fund raising campaign last year well before this current issue hit us. They need an incoming class in the 500 range while bu needs 1600-1700. Both numbers might prove to be very hard to attain in the fall.

 

[gobirds85]

Just another question here. If I am out of bounds, then please feel free to delete.

There is a movement on some campuses to ask for tuition rebates/refunds from their school. The student is currently not receiving what they paid for in regards to the whole campus/classroom experience. As a parent who is on the third and final child, I think this idea has a ton of merit. My daughter has had a few educators simply phone in the on line work, one didn't even make it to the first two classes. Is this what I paid for? Nope.

Thoughts for you guys on this?


Side note-she is at an out of state university.

 

[WoodlandWarrior]

While I very much enjoyed my four years at ISU and appreciated the education received, I also believe there is considerable merit to online education, particularly from a cost perspective. The traditional brick and mortar college experience is cherished by many, but there is no question that costs have gotten out of hand. Student debt is astronomical. I strongly support a parental financial strategy of two years at junior college and then either transfer or degree continuance online. My employer readily acknowledged and accepted via tuition reimbursement my own graduate degree (online) from the Florida Institute of Technology. IMO colleges and universities have done a terrible job in managing costs over the past 20-30 years and have added unnecessary layers of administrative positions. It is outrageous for young people to be a 22 year old graduate starting life with a heavy debt burden.

 

[BTbird]

Just another question here. If I am out of bounds, then please feel free to delete.

There is a movement on some campuses to ask for tuition rebates/refunds from their school. The student is currently not receiving what they paid for in regards to the whole campus/classroom experience. As a parent who is on the third and final child, I think this idea has a ton of merit. My daughter has had a few educators simply phone in the on line work, one didn't even make it to the first two classes. Is this what I paid for? Nope.

Thoughts for you guys on this?

Side note-she is at an out of state university.

Yes, I think there is a lot of Merit your argument. Online classes are not the same experience and should be delivered at a cheaper price. The challenge with the universities giving back money is that their costs are mostly fixed. They still have to pay for the buildings, professors, added infrastructure to support E-learning etc. I can't see schools giving much back in tuition this year.

 

[gobirds85]

While I very much enjoyed my four years at ISU and appreciated the education received, I also believe there is considerable merit to online education, particularly from a cost perspective. The traditional brick and mortar college experience is cherished by many, but there is no question that costs have gotten out of hand. Student debt is astronomical. I strongly support a parental financial strategy of two years at junior college and then either transfer or degree continuance online. My employer readily acknowledged and accepted via tuition reimbursement my own graduate degree (online) from the Florida Institute of Technology. IMO colleges and universities have done a terrible job in managing costs over the past 20-30 years and have added unnecessary layers of administrative positions. It is outrageous for young people to be a 22 year old graduate starting life with a heavy debt burden.

I agree with you 100% and have had this conversation with many parents in the past few months. My point is that for the parents, like my wife and I, who paid for the whole enchilada and are not receiving it, should there not be some recourse?

I spent my first year at Moraine Valley CC, not because of $$$ but because I was a rebel without a clue and my family wasn't going to send me anywhere until I pulled my head out of my azz. I think the two year JUCO route is pretty solid and it looks like this will be becoming more and more prevalent as our economy falls into the abyss.

 

[gobirds85]

Just another question here. If I am out of bounds, then please feel free to delete.

There is a movement on some campuses to ask for tuition rebates/refunds from their school. The student is currently not receiving what they paid for in regards to the whole campus/classroom experience. As a parent who is on the third and final child, I think this idea has a ton of merit. My daughter has had a few educators simply phone in the on line work, one didn't even make it to the first two classes. Is this what I paid for? Nope.

Thoughts for you guys on this?

Side note-she is at an out of state university.

Yes, I think there is a lot of Merit your argument. Online classes are not the same experience and should be delivered at a cheaper price. The challenge with the universities giving back money is that their costs are mostly fixed. They still have to pay for the buildings, professors, added infrastructure to support E-learning etc. I can't see schools giving much back in tuition this year.

Sadly, I believe you are going to be correct on this point. I am hopeful we can some reduction in next year's tuition bill. We are down to nine payments and then we are done. I will not be contributing $1 to her university, even as their alumni association contacts me on a monthly basis. I tried to explain to them that neither my wife or myself are alums. They don't seem to understand that.

 

[Bird Friend]

Just another question here. If I am out of bounds, then please feel free to delete.

There is a movement on some campuses to ask for tuition rebates/refunds from their school. The student is currently not receiving what they paid for in regards to the whole campus/classroom experience. As a parent who is on the third and final child, I think this idea has a ton of merit. My daughter has had a few educators simply phone in the on line work, one didn't even make it to the first two classes. Is this what I paid for? Nope.

Thoughts for you guys on this?

Side note-she is at an out of state university.

Yes, I think there is a lot of Merit your argument. Online classes are not the same experience and should be delivered at a cheaper price. The challenge with the universities giving back money is that their costs are mostly fixed. They still have to pay for the buildings, professors, added infrastructure to support E-learning etc. I can't see schools giving much back in tuition this year.

Sadly, I believe you are going to be correct on this point. I am hopeful we can some reduction in next year's tuition bill. We are down to nine payments and then we are done. I will not be contributing $1 to her university, even as their alumni association contacts me on a monthly basis. I tried to explain to them that neither my wife or myself are alums. They don't seem to understand that.

As the parent of a student/alum, you are considered family. That's why they contact you and will continue to do so. ISU cannot afford to ignore any paths to gaining funds. I am an alum, the spouse of an alum, and the father of an alum. Took a few years to convince them that they only needed to contact me once, rather than three times for each campaign message.

As for the online experience, I obtained my masters (not at ISU) thru a combo of online and on campus classes. Some professors are really good at online teaching. Some try hard. Some suck. But the same is true for physical classroom teaching. Universities are notoriously bad for actually teaching profs how to teach. Then again, many profs wouldn't take well to being told how to teach "their" material. Ego often comes with the doctoral distinction (believe me, I grew up around academics who stressed their "superior" knowledge . . . though it just told me which were idiots).

Keep in mind that many of the professors were thinking the same thing the students were, "hey, I didn't sign up for this." Like some students, those profs probably were unprepared to take on this new reality, and some were unwilling. Additionally, it was a very quick turnaround for them to adjust how they presented their material.

All that said, you should contact the appropriate dean to make them aware of professors who've "phoned it in". But also make them aware of professors who've exceeded expectations.