FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

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Mr.MIAC

Analysts predict contraction of the education sector over the next couple decades. Which of these institutions are most susceptible to merger or closure?

Augsburg
Bethel
Carleton
Concordia
Gustavus
Hamline
Macalester
SJU/CSB
St. Kate's
St. Mary's
St. Olaf

OldAuggie

Quote from: Reverend MIAC, PhD on April 14, 2019, 11:09:09 AM
Analysts predict contraction of the education sector over the next couple decades. Which of these institutions are most susceptible to merger or closure?

Augsburg
Bethel
Carleton
Concordia
Gustavus
Hamline
Macalester
SJU/CSB
St. Kate's
St. Mary's
St. Olaf

I will chime in here because I was also told by someone on the Augsburg faculty that there will be some contraction in the near future and I agree, it is coming. I have mentioned this before and some here know about this new image of Augsburg I am sure but AUG changed their name to Augsburg University recently and opened the Hagfors Center for Science, Business and Religion after raising about $50M. This building is  state of the art and actually shifts the center of campus toward the buliding and will open up a lot of green space when they tear down the current science building which was outdated even when I was there in the early 80's.

https://www.augsburg.edu/hagforscenter/

Per Augsburg faculty, this move was designed to "keep up" with UST as best they can in the competition for students. The new level has changed the quality of athletes I think as the winter sports this year had great seasons. Men's hockey, wrestling, basketball, soccer and women's hockey and basketball all were competitive in the MIAC with wrestling winning it all this year again Nationally which makes #13. Wrestling had I think 7 All Americans and went 4 for 4 in the individual National Championships, Booker Coplin won the top individual award for men's D3 Basketball this year https://athletics.augsburg.edu/news/2019/3/19/mbb031919.aspx as well as All American. Despite UST's dominance we are winning recruiting battles in everything but football right now.

Overall I think this effort saved Augsburg because it was about to be gobbled up by UST in this competition for students. I don't want to speculate on which other schools will suffer in the future because that is not my place. I am passive/aggressive per my soon to graduate college senior daughter and I saw Rev throw that out there too. Both Rev and her are a lot smarter than I am so it must be true. At least I am not lacking enough to guess who is going to contract. Must be due to my age.
MIAC champions 1928, 1997

TheChucker

Quote from: Reverend MIAC, PhD on April 14, 2019, 11:09:09 AM
Analysts predict contraction of the education sector over the next couple decades. Which of these institutions are most susceptible to merger or closure?

Augsburg
Bethel
Carleton
Concordia
Gustavus
Hamline
Macalester
SJU/CSB
St. Kate's
St. Mary's
St. Olaf

I hate to say it, but my undergrad alma mater Concordia might be the most at-risk if they don't change their business model away from traditional undergraduate liberal arts. Enrollment was almost 3,000 when I attended in the 80s and is now barely above 2,000. The ELCA has also declined significantly which can't help.

The school needs to supercharge its business school and offer specific high quality graduate degrees in something like accountancy, HR, finance, real estate, etc. A generica MBA wouldn't hurt either, but there's tons of competition there. Strong business schools attract male students which Concordia needs. The F-M area has a strong business community to intgegrate with.

The school needs to supercharge its nursing and healthcare programs with specific high-demand graduate degrees. For example, I think there's a massive opportunity in fields like Doctorate of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, graduate degrees in nurse practitioner, etc. These graduate programs are highly profitable and also increase demand in the undergraduate levels (I know, my daughter is going through this process now). They have pre-professional undergard degrees in these areas, but the school won't excel there until they develop a grad school path.

The school needs to start offering degrees student want (especially males) in the STEM fields including graduate degrees. Crosstown NDSU is already very strong here, so Concordia needs to be focused and offer niches it can compete in. The just opened a brand new science center, yet the school still doesn't offer any engineering related degrees. It offers the same old generic degrees in biology, chemistry and physics. That does nothing for differentiation.

The school has differentiated itself with its language education for a long time, but I'm not sure how many students that actually pulls in. I've heard they actually contracted several languate classes recently due to enrollment issues.

The school needs to figure out how to deliver profitable online education. This is growing exponentially and highly profitable.

In short, Concordia still has strong brand presence in the Red River Valley and has a beautiful campus and really should be a growing premier educator (undergrad and grad) in its area, but it's stuck in the old residential 4-year liberal arts school mold. They don't have the massive endowments like St. Olaf, Carleton or Mac to survive large downturns. I read leadership's strategic plans for the school and there's a lot of blah blah blah about adapting with the times but no concrente plans for actual change.

The school has incredible athletic facilities (auditorium can host over 5,000 for basketball games, Olson Fieldhouse for indoor track, Jake Christiansen Stadium holds 7,000 in permanent seating) that would be the envy of many D2 schools but it all seems to be going to waste because leadership won't move the school beyond its old model.

MUC57


On a non-football, non-UST subject -

TIGER WINS THE MASTERS ⛳️ 🏌 🏆
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

Pat Coleman

Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 14, 2019, 02:11:14 AM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 12:01:29 AM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 13, 2019, 10:19:39 PM

Not sure what d3hoops is using to source those enrollment numbers but UST has been over 6000 and mostly stable for a bit. And every source I see shows St Kate's over 3000. Current numbers would have them higher on a student per sport basis so why aren't they more successful?

They are not over 6,000 in full-time undergraduates, which is what we report out, based on the school's filing with the U.S. Department of education.
Thanks. The discrepancy must be full-time vs part time as every stat I could find shows them around 6200.
I'm not clear why full time is the relevant number as it's not necessary to be full time to maintain athletic eligibility (source: JErdmann in the ATN Podcast)

If you only need a class or two to finish your degree then you are eligible if taking those classes. I think you can understand that that is a very limited number of people.
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

hickory_cornhusker

Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 02:55:20 PM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 14, 2019, 02:11:14 AM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 12:01:29 AM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 13, 2019, 10:19:39 PM

Not sure what d3hoops is using to source those enrollment numbers but UST has been over 6000 and mostly stable for a bit. And every source I see shows St Kate's over 3000. Current numbers would have them higher on a student per sport basis so why aren't they more successful?

They are not over 6,000 in full-time undergraduates, which is what we report out, based on the school's filing with the U.S. Department of education.
Thanks. The discrepancy must be full-time vs part time as every stat I could find shows them around 6200.
I'm not clear why full time is the relevant number as it's not necessary to be full time to maintain athletic eligibility (source: JErdmann in the ATN Podcast)

If you only need a class or two to finish your degree then you are eligible if taking those classes. I think you can understand that that is a very limited number of people.

Matt Leinart was probably the most famous use of this rule when he played his senior year at USC while taking ballroom dance as his final class.

OzJohnnie

#91851
Six weeks of Game of Thrones discussion for those that follow on the boards. No spoilers, of course. I will only say this: my hope that Jaime Lannister is actually Azor Ahai remains alive (if on life support).  Also this, Sansa is the only one bad ass enough to beat Cercie at the Game.

(Oh, and if Cercie were running St Olaf then not only would UST be expelled from the MIAC this week but the entire Board of Trustees would find their heads on pikes over O’Shag stadium.)
[  

OzJohnnie

On a semi-serious note regarding GoT (and I know a few here follow) there's quite a bit of complaining that the show is declining. Perhaps, but I don't see it. The first five seasons were extremely engrossing character development series where the action moved the characters forward, the story almost secondary (and often quite slow).  Now the action moves the story forward and the character development is set. Either the characters we have can deal with the bad dudes or not, but there is no time remaining for characters to grow. The dead are walking. The heroes have the tools available to them and they'll either live (a couple) or die (almost everyone) by what they have.

So I'm actually not unhappy with that change. It's necessary to bring the sorry to a conclusion.
[  

Pat Coleman

Quote from: hickory_cornhusker on April 14, 2019, 09:54:40 PM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 02:55:20 PM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 14, 2019, 02:11:14 AM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 12:01:29 AM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 13, 2019, 10:19:39 PM

Not sure what d3hoops is using to source those enrollment numbers but UST has been over 6000 and mostly stable for a bit. And every source I see shows St Kate's over 3000. Current numbers would have them higher on a student per sport basis so why aren't they more successful?

They are not over 6,000 in full-time undergraduates, which is what we report out, based on the school's filing with the U.S. Department of education.
Thanks. The discrepancy must be full-time vs part time as every stat I could find shows them around 6200.
I'm not clear why full time is the relevant number as it's not necessary to be full time to maintain athletic eligibility (source: JErdmann in the ATN Podcast)

If you only need a class or two to finish your degree then you are eligible if taking those classes. I think you can understand that that is a very limited number of people.

Matt Leinart was probably the most famous use of this rule when he played his senior year at USC while taking ballroom dance as his final class.

Which is why I referenced that in the podcast. :)
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

jamtod

Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 15, 2019, 08:29:04 AM
Quote from: hickory_cornhusker on April 14, 2019, 09:54:40 PM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 02:55:20 PM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 14, 2019, 02:11:14 AM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on April 14, 2019, 12:01:29 AM
Quote from: jamtoTommie on April 13, 2019, 10:19:39 PM

Not sure what d3hoops is using to source those enrollment numbers but UST has been over 6000 and mostly stable for a bit. And every source I see shows St Kate's over 3000. Current numbers would have them higher on a student per sport basis so why aren't they more successful?

They are not over 6,000 in full-time undergraduates, which is what we report out, based on the school's filing with the U.S. Department of education.
Thanks. The discrepancy must be full-time vs part time as every stat I could find shows them around 6200.
I'm not clear why full time is the relevant number as it's not necessary to be full time to maintain athletic eligibility (source: JErdmann in the ATN Podcast)

If you only need a class or two to finish your degree then you are eligible if taking those classes. I think you can understand that that is a very limited number of people.

Matt Leinart was probably the most famous use of this rule when he played his senior year at USC while taking ballroom dance as his final class.

Which is why I referenced that in the podcast. :)

Thanks for the clarification on this. I missed the part about this being on a rare exception basis, so it makes more sense that full-time enrollment would be the driving factor.
Also in that light, not surprising that St Kate's has a significant part-time undergrad enrollment.

Ron Boerger

Quote from: Reverend MIAC, PhD on April 14, 2019, 11:09:09 AM
Analysts predict contraction of the education sector over the next couple decades. Which of these institutions are most susceptible to merger or closure?

Augsburg
Bethel
Carleton
Concordia
Gustavus
Hamline
Macalester
SJU/CSB
St. Kate's
St. Mary's
St. Olaf

In addition to enrollments and other factors, one measure of a school's resilience would be its acceptance rate.   A school with a very high acceptance rate has one less knob they can turn to increase a declining enrollment; one with a low acceptance rate has, presumably, higher demand and can by adjusting standards increase the number of qualified students and thus the net number of students actually attending. 

Assembled from Google via "<College> Minnestota Acceptance Rate 2018".   Most came from the US News college site, a couple from the schools themselves.

Bethel University : 83%
College of Saint Benedict : 81%
Saint John's University : 80%
St. Catherine University : 70%
Hamline University : 69%
Gustavus Adolphus College : 68%
Saint Mary's University : 64%
Concordia College : 55%
Augsburg University : 59%
St. Olaf College : 36%
Macalester College : 39%
Carleton College : 21%

(University of St. Thomas : 84%)


OzJohnnie

I've often wonder what "Acceptance Rate" actually measures.  Does it measure the number of applications that receive an offer letter?  The number of offer letters when a student says 'Yes'?  Or a combination of the two.
[  

MUC57

Quote from: OzJohnnie on April 15, 2019, 10:03:12 AM
I've often wonder what "Acceptance Rate" actually measures.  Does it measure the number of applications that receive an offer letter?  The number of offer letters when a student says 'Yes'?  Or a combination of the two.

Oz

Glad you asked. I also have wondered what it means but was afraid to ask. I'll look for the answer. 🎓
I'm old! I get mixed up and I forget things! Go Everybody! 🏈 ☠

AO

Quote from: OzJohnnie on April 15, 2019, 10:03:12 AM
I've often wonder what "Acceptance Rate" actually measures.  Does it measure the number of applications that receive an offer letter?  The number of offer letters when a student says 'Yes'?  Or a combination of the two.
Number of applicants that are accepted.  The percentage of students who choose to enroll after being offered is the yield rate.  So you can make your acceptance rate look good by making it easy for students who might be denied to apply, but your yield rate might reveal that relatively few students had you as their top choice.  Bethel has a higher acceptance rate than Augsburg but their yield rate is about 10 points higher.

hazzben

Quote from: OzJohnnie on April 15, 2019, 04:36:48 AM
On a semi-serious note regarding GoT (and I know a few here follow) there's quite a bit of complaining that the show is declining. Perhaps, but I don't see it. The first five seasons were extremely engrossing character development series where the action moved the characters forward, the story almost secondary (and often quite slow).  Now the action moves the story forward and the character development is set. Either the characters we have can deal with the bad dudes or not, but there is no time remaining for characters to grow. The dead are walking. The heroes have the tools available to them and they'll either live (a couple) or die (almost everyone) by what they have.

So I'm actually not unhappy with that change. It's necessary to bring the sorry to a conclusion.

There are people, usually critics writing for the media, who feel the need to nitpick everything. Most have probably never read the books (I have) and realized the monumental task before the show runners, producers, and writers. Martin's source material is glorious, but only really works in a written medium, and even there it was often too detailed and tedious for the casual, .2 sec attention spans of modern readers.

By and large, they've done a brilliant job with one of the most complex plots/stories of all time. It started in Winterfell, began spreading through the 7 Kingdoms, then to the ends of the world. Adding characters with depth and plot complexity along the way. And now it's driving towards the end. Total agreement on your assessment regarding characters Oz. They've been developed as much as we can hope, now they have to battle the Night King.

I think part of the hate is that people who hadn't read the books didn't realize until the end of Season 1 that any character was fair game for death. This wasn't Lord of the Rings, where Aragorn or Frodo weren't going to die. Unless it was a 'fake death' like Gandalf (full geek cards showing here  ;D). It happened time and time again, and it was shocking time and time again. But now the end is being set. If people are going to complain about too much action, they haven't had a clue what this show has been building towards. It's gonna be some Saving Private Ryan type action ... and it needs to be to do justice to what we've been waiting for.

Having said that, they always rag on the season premier in GoT. As usually, they set the table for the season. And set it well they did, IMO. They reminded us of where everyone is at, and started in motion all the political tension that's at the heart of whether Westeros can prevent the Long Night. And this is Martin's (and the showrunners genius). LOTR is epic, poetic, and literature. GoT is gutty and real, War of the Roses skullduggery, showing the watching world what's really going on in the hallways of power. Whether it was with swords and poison a thousand years ago, or with pen and twitter today. You might not like admitting how the sausage is made, but most of us can't turn away either. I can't wait, even as I prepare to mourn the end of this epic show and its characters.