WIU Layoffs

[rocki]

After reedling many of the posts on this topic, I actually wrote President Mindrup this morning and received a response earlier: I started off by saying I was a alumnus with degrees in '06 (BA) and '13 (MA) and mentioned I bleed purple and gold. I was saddened by the layoffs (esp. with library staff, as I worked in the library as an undergrad and grad). I mentioned that I have heard recruiters are no longer on campus at local schools and about the reduction in academic standards, and I was concerned about the state and future of Western.

She thanked me for taking time to share my concerns and observations and is pleased Western has many alumni who care about Western. She said they had to make cuts to ensure financial stability and sustainability. They are using different forms of data to best target the biggest impact they can make in recruiting. They have also changed policies to ensure classes are retained and remain strong academically. She met with many students at Thompson Hall who are excited and eager to start. She again thanked me for my time and invited me to keep in touch.

PS: I had a phone conversation with an alum friend of my and mentioned Macomb is getting a Chipotle; not to be a negative Ned but can Macomb and Western support a Chipotle when we already have a Qdoba in the Union (I think the area could support a Chic-Fil-a if it wasn't in the Union). IMO, it would have made sense to get these things when the population was bigger, when I was at Western, there were about 10,000 student on campus.

Please let me know your thoughts. 
 

 

Not sure. I know Chubby's is closing - selling their building, or hoping to. Still, with Chipotle being a chain, they might be able to make a go of things. It's much different having a chain to pull from rather than being a mom and pop shop trying to do everything on your own. Kind of like how WalMart can continue to be successful after local mom and pop stores were shut down by them. I'm Macomb born and bred, so I really am missing all the businesses and stuff that was here when I was growing up (and back when I was on campus, we were in the area of 15 to 16 thousand, so I'm talking the real "hey days"). Yeah, I'm old. Hey Days of May old, Big Wheel races old, Gaffers and Chances Are old....those were the days, my friend.

[sealhall74]

Western's "hey days" of the late 60s and 70s resulted from 3 things IMHO:

1) Post-WWII baby boom (lots of kids wanting to go to college)
2) Vietnam War (lots of kids looking for a draft deferment)
3) A certain "party school" reputation coinciding with a lower drinking age for much of that time period.

History could certainly repeat itself and trigger another surge in enrollment but I am not holding my breath.  Lots more competition in play these days.

My two cents for what its worth.  For a prospective student, while student to faculty ratio is important, so too is student to non-faculty ratio.

I pulled this off the internet so take it with a grain of salt:

According to a Forbes report, the top 50 schools in the United States have a ratio of one non-faculty employee to every four students, compared to one faculty member to every 11 students. This means that the top schools have three times as many non-faculty employees as faculty members, when looking at the ratio per student. 

Obviously, we are not top 50 but where do we stand or anticipate standing on the this matter come the upcoming fall term?  I would hope we would be not too far off in both ratios.




 

[ST_Lawson]

Not sure. I know Chubby's is closing - selling their building, or hoping to.


 

They are, but from everything I heard, the university's difficulties were really just an excuse. Chubby's had struggled with issues for a while and even if the university was doing fine, they would likely have had to close anyway. At most, the layoffs were just the "straw that broke the camel's back" but weren't really the primary issue.
 

[Neckfansince71]

Great insight from someone else who bleeds Purple and Gold!  Mindrup is absolutely the real deal!  We finally are turning the corner.  Two points I would like to make.  1) Academic standards have risen!  2) University counselors are still visiting schools and “college nights!” at high schools around the burbs and orher metropolitan areas!

[wiu712]

WIU Interim President:  "A year of significant change ahead".
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/tspr-local-news/20 ... ange-ahead
 

[wiu712]

Fall 2024 University Assembly:


 

[wiu712]

"We stand together in a whirlwind of change": WIU administration outline the year ahead.
From WGEM News:
https://www.wgem.com/2024/08/16/we-stan ... ear-ahead/
 
 

[may know]

Western's "hey days" of the late 60s and 70s resulted from 3 things IMHO:

1) Post-WWII baby boom (lots of kids wanting to go to college)
2) Vietnam War (lots of kids looking for a draft deferment)
3) A certain "party school" reputation coinciding with a lower drinking age for much of that time period.

History could certainly repeat itself and trigger another surge in enrollment but I am not holding my breath.  Lots more competition in play these days.
 

Everything here explains it best. This is happening on a national level. There’s just simply less college students to go around and more (online) colleges to choose from. It’s a bubble bursting and many schools are resigned to this fate no matter their leadership. 

[rocki]

Western's "hey days" of the late 60s and 70s resulted from 3 things IMHO:

1) Post-WWII baby boom (lots of kids wanting to go to college)
2) Vietnam War (lots of kids looking for a draft deferment)
3) A certain "party school" reputation coinciding with a lower drinking age for much of that time period.

History could certainly repeat itself and trigger another surge in enrollment but I am not holding my breath.  Lots more competition in play these days.

My two cents for what its worth.  For a prospective student, while student to faculty ratio is important, so too is student to non-faculty ratio.

I pulled this off the internet so take it with a grain of salt:

According to a Forbes report, the top 50 schools in the United States have a ratio of one non-faculty employee to every four students, compared to one faculty member to every 11 students. This means that the top schools have three times as many non-faculty employees as faculty members, when looking at the ratio per student. 

Obviously, we are not top 50 but where do we stand or anticipate standing on the this matter come the upcoming fall term?  I would hope we would be not too far off in both ratios.




 

 

Oh, I'm not denying any of that. I'm also not denying that todays students are different than we were back in the day - for example, the lack (or apparent lack) of interest in the sports teams. Hanson Field was packed every Saturday home game (and that's before we were Division 1, as well), basketball was well attended, and other sports had their draws as well. It is indeed a different world, and I will be forever grateful mine was the way it was.
 

[meganeck]

After reedling many of the posts on this topic, I actually wrote President Mindrup this morning and received a response earlier: I started off by saying I was a alumnus with degrees in '06 (BA) and '13 (MA) and mentioned I bleed purple and gold. I was saddened by the layoffs (esp. with library staff, as I worked in the library as an undergrad and grad). I mentioned that I have heard recruiters are no longer on campus at local schools and about the reduction in academic standards, and I was concerned about the state and future of Western.

She thanked me for taking time to share my concerns and observations and is pleased Western has many alumni who care about Western. She said they had to make cuts to ensure financial stability and sustainability. They are using different forms of data to best target the biggest impact they can make in recruiting. They have also changed policies to ensure classes are retained and remain strong academically. She met with many students at Thompson Hall who are excited and eager to start. She again thanked me for my time and invited me to keep in touch.

PS: I had a phone conversation with an alum friend of my and mentioned Macomb is getting a Chipotle; not to be a negative Ned but can Macomb and Western support a Chipotle when we already have a Qdoba in the Union (I think the area could support a Chic-Fil-a if it wasn't in the Union). IMO, it would have made sense to get these things when the population was bigger, when I was at Western, there were about 10,000 student on campus.

Please let me know your thoughts. 
 

 

Thanks for sharing, I'm glad to hear you received a response. It sounds like they have a plan, rather its just all talk or if they really is another story. I hate to see the layoff but if enrollment is down something had to be done. I asked before, but do the teachers/professors have a proposal to save money if they didn't do the layoffs.