Western BOT wants action now !

[rocki]

Several worrisome numbers in that WIUM-FM article:

$12 million deficit.

Overall enrollment down 6.7%.

52% freshmen retention rate.

Kirk Dillard said that there will be "massive changes here that I don’t think people have ever seen at this institution”.
 

 

Definitely disturbing, but considering we were pretty much taking anyone and everyone and enrolling them, I don't know how skewed the overall enrollment and freshman retention rate might be. I know they got rid of some underperforming classes/majors before, but seems like there needs to be more weeding of the curriculum. (Yeah, I'm old and think of the new fancy schmancy classes are stupid)
 

[meganeck]

I thought the enrollment numbers were trending up

I know nothing obviously, but I don't see them dropping sports right now, after switching conferences.
 

[Neckfansince71]

WIU invested in the Hope Scholarship program which brought more students from Chicago to the plains of Macomb.  But the Hope Scholarship group failed to inform WIU and others (EIU, NIU, etc.) that these student really lacked the ability to navigate through a 4 year college program.  And at some point, these students stopped going to class because someone wasn't baby sitting them and they arrived at the end of the semester with 0.00 grade points.  They were given the opportunity to come back for the 2nd semester because the money was there for them.  In fact, when WIU started making phone calls to parents about this they were rebuffed with "I want my Joey to get the college experience and its not up to me to worry about them going to class."  Click!  Most of the Hope scholars will be going to school closer to Chicago like UIC and Loyola this Fall.  From what I have heard, we do have 6 students coming back or just started at WIU but they will be closely monitored and will be expected to attend class.  But our retention numbers got hammered by this situation and it seemed to me that AS did not identify this problem until it was too late and students had already received their money for the spring.  She also noted that it was difficult to get faculty to participate in mentoring because they were still teaching from home and not available for a face to face.  This needs to be fixed and I think that KDillards words were right on the money.  

Folks, I love WIU and I want to see it thriving once again.  Lets get it solved and move on.  Oh, the BOT's understand just how important athletics can be to an educational program.  Success leads to notoriety and positive press along with pride in our institution.  We are in the OVC to stay.  jc
 

[leatherneckcountry]

I thought the enrollment numbers were trending up

I know nothing obviously, but I don't see them dropping sports right now, after switching conferences.
 

 

That’s what I thought too 

[Neckfansince71]

Is WIU on the 4.00 system for grades or the 5.00?
jc

[wiu712]

Western is on the 4.00 GPA system.

Amber Schultz to lead UW-Oshkosh Enrollment Management:
https://uwosh.edu/today/117164/evans-to ... anagement/ 
 

[sealhall74]

I thought the enrollment numbers were trending up

I know nothing obviously, but I don't see them dropping sports right now, after switching conferences.
 



 

That’s what I thought too 


 

I could see them dropping a sport or two and replaciing it with rifle as the OVC has rifle.  A bunch of ROTC cadets could become the nucleus of it to start off the program.  Most of them already get some scholarship dollars as well as a monthly stipend so there would be that savings too - sort of killing 2 birds with one stone if you will. Also the season is not that long so considerably less travel would be required.  For example, UT Martin has only a 7 game schedule leading up the OVC championship.
 
 

[sealhall74]

WIU invested in the Hope Scholarship program which brought more students from Chicago to the plains of Macomb.  But the Hope Scholarship group failed to inform WIU and others (EIU, NIU, etc.) that these student really lacked the ability to navigate through a 4 year college program.  And at some point, these students stopped going to class because someone wasn't baby sitting them and they arrived at the end of the semester with 0.00 grade points.  They were given the opportunity to come back for the 2nd semester because the money was there for them.  In fact, when WIU started making phone calls to parents about this they were rebuffed with "I want my Joey to get the college experience and its not up to me to worry about them going to class."  Click!  Most of the Hope scholars will be going to school closer to Chicago like UIC and Loyola this Fall.  From what I have heard, we do have 6 students coming back or just started at WIU but they will be closely monitored and will be expected to attend class.  But our retention numbers got hammered by this situation and it seemed to me that AS did not identify this problem until it was too late and students had already received their money for the spring.  She also noted that it was difficult to get faculty to participate in mentoring because they were still teaching from home and not available for a face to face.  This needs to be fixed and I think that KDillards words were right on the money.  

Folks, I love WIU and I want to see it thriving once again.  Lets get it solved and move on.  Oh, the BOT's understand just how important athletics can be to an educational program.  Success leads to notoriety and positive press along with pride in our institution.  We are in the OVC to stay.  jc
 

 

Seems like a Catch 22.  Allow more riskier students in.  More will fail and possibly impact others who initially were not at risk.
 

[ST_Lawson]

I thought the enrollment numbers were trending up
 

They have been the last year, but retention is taking a pretty big hit this fall. Like Necksfansince71 mentioned (and it was also discussed in one of the BOT meetings), there were a decent number of students here who literally did not go to class at all. They were here to party and have the "college experience" (minus the class part, I guess) for a year with the "free money", then go home. Many of them have pretty rough situations at home, so I can't really say I blame them for wanting to get out of where they live, but I don't really understand why they didn't want to at least do enough to stay here and weren't even willing to try. Go to most of your classes, try a bit, see if you can keep your GPA just high enough to not get kicked out, get to be away from home for more than just the one year.

Because this has never been a thing before (a number of students just getting straight 0.00 GPA for an entire year and not even trying), the policy hadn't been set up to address that, so it fell under the old policy. This was essentially "If you get a bad semester/overall GPS, you go on Academic Probation. If you go another semester without improving, then you go on Academic Suspension and must leave for at least 1 semester". This led to students who had zero GPA from fall, being allowed to continue in the spring. They are trying to push through (it takes a while because I think it has to go through faculty senate, which doesn't meet during the summer) an updated version of the policy which will allow them to put students who get a straight zero GPA for a semester directly on suspension without taking the extra semester for probation. Just FYI, the students do also get "early warning notifications" during the semester for any class that they are not doing well in, so the students know. If they are not willing to even try, then they will not be allowed back in the spring. Like I said, this is not official yet, but I think they hope to have it in place prior to the start of this fall semester.

For reference (enrollment):
2020 - 7,490
2021 - 7,455
2022 - 7,643

[Neckfansince71]

In the past I would have been sitting here frustrated with things going on at WIU.  That's probably why I spent 6 years on the alumni board and have worked as the Leatherneck Club Liaison in the Chicagoland area.  But the BOT's demands and Kirk Dillards reference to a "mandate" from the governor makes me feel like we are going to get this thing called WIU straightened out for good.  There is a demand for change which can no longer be ignored by all parties involved.  

I am going to say this one more time.  The BOT is well aware of the benefits of a thriving athletic department and its effect on the culture on campus.  Paul Bubb has a mandate to!  Move WIU forward, join the OVC, evaluate and upgrade our facilities.  The CPA is rocking with a very very large foundation of mucho concrete.  jc
 

                                                         "Change is a commmmming!"