The Fora: A Higher Education Community

Quote from: spork on March 11, 2024, 10:50:22 AMFontbonne U. will close.

Fontbonne was included on this list from 2018.

Not a surprise, but they hadn't been front-of-mind lately. I know a number of people who work there. This is tough news.

Because of various articulations, almost half our English classes could be taught by high school teachers in a dual enrollment program.  It is not clear that these folks will even need a master's degree.  (We have a very nice, very weak chair with a big beard.  I love the guy...but he has all the force of a chipmunk...)

The admin is considering a Rosetta Stone online option for all foreign languages.

And the admin is experimenting with "academic cooperators" who do some of the recruiting and all of the grading as college instructors teach the classes en masse.

They did build a new surface parking lot last year, so at least there's that.

1) wouldn't your accreditors balk at having a bunch of BA'd hs teachers teaching college classes?

2) Rosetta Stone, Babel, etc.-- piss-poor substitutes for real, whole-orbed fl instruction.

3) wouldn't the idea of hiring graders for en masse (or any) college classes violate the real professors' academic freedom?

Quote from: kaysixteen on March 11, 2024, 07:39:01 PM1) wouldn't your accreditors balk at having a bunch of BA'd hs teachers teaching college classes?

Yes. 

I looked up the state laws today.  They are a bit confusing, but it looks like a master's is the minimum requirement although for some classes a master's in any discipline is sufficient as long as their is coursework in the subject area being taught.

Quote2) Rosetta Stone, Babel, etc.-- piss-poor substitutes for real, whole-orbed fl instruction.

3) wouldn't the idea of hiring graders for en masse (or any) college classes violate the real professors' academic freedom?

Yes and Yes.  I guess.

But college is too expensive.  These are cost-cutting measures, I am sure.  This is what happens. 

https://www.northernnewsnow.com/2024/03/12/northland-college-risk-permanent-closure-amid-funding-shortfall/

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2024, 09:24:06 AMSt. Norbert is now cutting all assistant professors in the humanities (apart from theology), and ending healthcare coverage for emeritus faculty over 65.

I didn't see from the article you linked where it says that they were eliminating most of their liberal arts positions.  Though it would hardly be surprising if that's who they're getting rid of.  But they're starting more sports teams to attract those who want to go to college to play sports, and they're breaking ground for an expanded business school, to compete with all the hundreds and hundreds of other business schools around the country.  All they need now is a new e-sports program, and a pharmacy school if they don't already have one.

Quote from: selecter on March 12, 2024, 02:37:02 AMhttps://www.northernnewsnow.com/2024/03/12/northland-college-risk-permanent-closure-amid-funding-shortfall/

Let's see, Northland has programs with special focus on Native American nations and environmental sustainability.  So they've at least tried to do something distinctive, instead of the standard axe-all-liberal-arts, build-a-new-business-school, try-to-cater-to-youths with pathetic dreams of playing sports in collegestudent-athletes playbook.  Unfortunately it looks like seeking out a genuinely different and innovative mission hasn't worked for them. 

It's hard to see where they're going to get that $12 million they're looking for.  Now that they've admitted what trouble they're in, they're likely to have even more trouble recruiting enough students to stay in business. 

The article dryly observes that they are calling 2024-2025 a "transition year" without explaining what that means. 

I recently had a chance to visit the campus of Henderson State University, which has appeared several times on this thread.  Looked like they were having a pretty normal spring day.  I couldn't help noticing something, though.  Their student housing includes two high-rise dorms built many years ago (My father laid the bricks on them, BTW--he's got some interesting stories to tell about that).  One is located across the highway from the main campus.  That dorm's parking lot was vacant when I visited, despite the rest of the campus being open and occupied.  Looks like they've put that building out of service and consolidated their remaining residential students in other on-campus housing.  That's a big chunk of their housing that's now standing vacant.  And not a great many years after they built a nice pedestrian bridge across the highway from the main campus, too.

Quote from: apl68 on March 12, 2024, 10:34:43 AMLet's see, Northland has programs with special focus on Native American nations and environmental sustainability.  So they've at least tried to do something distinctive, instead of the standard axe-all-liberal-arts, build-a-new-business-school, try-to-cater-to-youths with pathetic dreams of playing sports in collegestudent-athletes playbook.  Unfortunately it looks like seeking out a genuinely different and innovative mission hasn't worked for them.

Sorry to see this one not work out! Northland's challenge may fit in a different familiar category: having a distinctive mission to serve students who can't afford tuition and not having a huge independent funding stream to provide equivalent revenue.

Quote from: apl68 on March 12, 2024, 10:23:39 AM

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2024, 09:24:06 AMSt. Norbert is now cutting all assistant professors in the humanities (apart from theology), and ending healthcare coverage for emeritus faculty over 65.

I didn't see from the article you linked where it says that they were eliminating most of their liberal arts positions.  Though it would hardly be surprising if that's who they're getting rid of.  But they're starting more sports teams to attract those who want to go to college to play sports, and they're breaking ground for an expanded business school, to compete with all the hundreds and hundreds of other business schools around the country.  All they need now is a new e-sports program, and a pharmacy school if they don't already have one.

It didn't. That came from a current faculty member being cut.

Quote from: apl68 on March 12, 2024, 10:23:39 AM

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2024, 09:24:06 AMSt. Norbert is now cutting all assistant professors in the humanities (apart from theology), and ending healthcare coverage for emeritus faculty over 65.

I didn't see from the article you linked where it says that they were eliminating most of their liberal arts positions.  Though it would hardly be surprising if that's who they're getting rid of.  But they're starting more sports teams to attract those who want to go to college to play sports, and they're breaking ground for an expanded business school, to compete with all the hundreds and hundreds of other business schools around the country.  All they need now is a new e-sports program, and a pharmacy school if they don't already have one.

Pharmacy enrollment has crashed over the last 5-6 years.  Over the last 30 years, every 2 bit bible college that could not make payroll opened a program.  Every town big enough to need 2 hookers opened a program.  In the early 90's there were ~ 75 pharmacy schools.  Now there are ~ 150.  Pass rates on national board exams at some of these places hover in the 60% range and a few are in the 50's. And board pass rates across the country have dropped for nearly all colleges as entrance standards get lower and lower in a dog fight to fill seats with tuition paying bodies.

Prospective students eventually figured out that a career of getting screamed at by patients upset about their insurance was not all that attractive. Add in the demographic cliff, and opening pharmacy school does not look like a smart move these days.

Quote from: secundem_artem on March 12, 2024, 12:14:02 PM

Quote from: apl68 on March 12, 2024, 10:23:39 AM

Quote from: Parasaurolophus on March 11, 2024, 09:24:06 AMSt. Norbert is now cutting all assistant professors in the humanities (apart from theology), and ending healthcare coverage for emeritus faculty over 65.

I didn't see from the article you linked where it says that they were eliminating most of their liberal arts positions.  Though it would hardly be surprising if that's who they're getting rid of.  But they're starting more sports teams to attract those who want to go to college to play sports, and they're breaking ground for an expanded business school, to compete with all the hundreds and hundreds of other business schools around the country.  All they need now is a new e-sports program, and a pharmacy school if they don't already have one.

Pharmacy enrollment has crashed over the last 5-6 years.  Over the last 30 years, every 2 bit bible college that could not make payroll opened a program.  Every town big enough to need 2 hookers opened a program.  In the early 90's there were ~ 75 pharmacy schools.  Now there are ~ 150.  Pass rates on national board exams at some of these places hover in the 60% range and a few are in the 50's. And board pass rates across the country have dropped for nearly all colleges as entrance standards get lower and lower in a dog fight to fill seats with tuition paying bodies.

Prospective students eventually figured out that a career of getting screamed at by patients upset about their insurance was not all that attractive. Add in the demographic cliff, and opening pharmacy school does not look like a smart move these days.

Yes, your comments in recent years about the proliferation of pharmacy schools made it evident that there was some kind of pharmacy major bubble going on that was bound to pop.  Trying to start a pharmacy major seems to have become as much a part of the standard trying-to-save-a-declining-SLAC playbook as amping up business majors or starting new sports teams.

I guess starting a pharmacy program was, or at least seemed to be, a relatively low-cost STEM program that schools that couldn't start a physics or nursing or medical program thought they could tackle to try to stay competitive in a world where all the students are heading into either STEM or business.  And I guess it was sold to prospective students as an in-demand STEM field that was perceived as easier to go into than nursing or what have you. 

The average youth only seems to be aware of about half a dozen or so careers that require a college education, and being a pharmacist is evidently one of them.  That or being a doctor or nurse, which is too haaaaaaard, or a teacher, which everybody knows is a drag, or law school, which is not in right now, or, if all else fails, being a business major.

Quote from: AmLitHist on March 11, 2024, 12:05:00 PM

Quote from: spork on March 11, 2024, 10:50:22 AMFontbonne U. will close.

Fontbonne was included on this list from 2018.

Not a surprise, but they hadn't been front-of-mind lately. I know a number of people who work there. This is tough news.

Over 20 sports teams with 650 undergraduates might have broken their budget.   

University of New Hampshire to end 'unsustainable' English/Journalism major

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/13/metro/unh-englishjournalism-major-unsustainable/?s_campaign=bdc:globewell:trending&s_campaign=bdc:globewell:trending

Rowan University -- what are they doing right or is this just a fluff piece? (I know this is the polar opposite of what this thread is about but I'm curious -- mods feel free to move this elsewhere.)