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Post by bigdobber on Jul 4, 2014 9:19:23 GMT -5
It would seem to me that the long term survival of St. Bonaventure requires a new model. It's not happening with the old model if we are struggling to reach our attendance goals. A combination with another school seems like a good move. The additional areas of study should open the school up to more students. St. Johns has a campus in Queens, Staten Island and on Long Island in Sayville. Fifty years ago I believe they were in Brooklyn. My sister went to an all girls Catholic school in Philly (Immaculata) which had to become coed to get enrollment up. Olean is just not that sustainable on it's own going forward. Why all the negative posts. Sr. Margaret and the Board have looked at all the positives and negatives and think this could be a good move. One thing is clear. The status quo is not working so change is needed.
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Post by 5and23 on Jul 4, 2014 9:32:39 GMT -5
It would seem to me that the long term survival of St. Bonaventure requires a new model. It's not happening with the old model if we are struggling to reach our attendance goals. A combination with another school seems like a good move. The additional areas of study should open the school up to more students. St. Johns has a campus in Queens, Staten Island and on Long Island in Sayville. Fifty years ago I believe they were in Brooklyn. My sister went to an all girls Catholic school in Philly (Immaculata) which had to become coed to get enrollment up. Olean is just not that sustainable on it's own going forward. Why all the negative posts. Sr. Margaret and the Board have looked at all the positives and negatives and think this could be a good move. One thing is clear. The status quo is not working so change is needed. Well said.
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Post by sbu79 on Jul 4, 2014 9:55:43 GMT -5
You may notice, dobber, that all the negative posts are coming from one persona. Except for jh's most recent concern over name and majors, the majority of posts have been of the "let's wait until we know more" vein, and many, like yours, acknowledge that without adapting to the realities of today's world, SBU is on tenuous footing at best.
It's unfortunate that postings that completely ignore facts that have been openly communicated but that are, instead, filled with innuendo and just plain false statements continue to give the impression that "a number" or people are vehemently opposed to this study.
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Post by bigdobber on Jul 4, 2014 11:17:31 GMT -5
Sr. Margaret has made many positive moves. She seems to be focused on getting the school in a better position for the long haul. I believe that the key for any private school is to continue to have higher academic rankings. This can take years to obtain. The ability to have Hilbert College as a Buffalo feeder just seems like a good idea. Universities having multiple campuses is very common and with the wave of online universities, students want choices. We will benefit from Sr. Margaret's forward thinking. I didn't realize that the negative poster was one person. Another way to get the university in a better position would be a return to national prominence on the hardwood. Schmidt needs to deliver after two so so years since Andrew. I think he has the roster to do that. I also think he has the coaching acumen to do that. Looking forward to the upcoming season.
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Post by oldschool on Jul 4, 2014 13:07:30 GMT -5
Can someone with access to data please show me a series of successful enrollment years that reflect successful D1 men's basketball seasons at SBU? I don't need correlation. Causation would be fine. If you present another school, please don't tell me about Gonzaga, George Mason, VCU or any other school, unless it is in the middle of nowhere with no commuter market and no major metro market closer than 70 miles from the campus.
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Post by bva on Jul 4, 2014 14:22:21 GMT -5
Short of a Final Four appearance, there is no statistical significance!
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Post by jh on Jul 4, 2014 15:55:25 GMT -5
Can someone with access to data please show me a series of successful enrollment years that reflect successful D1 men's basketball seasons at SBU? I don't need correlation. Causation would be fine. If you present another school, please don't tell me about Gonzaga, George Mason, VCU or any other school, unless it is in the middle of nowhere with no commuter market and no major metro market closer than 70 miles from the campus. So your assumption is that the school name (marketing) getting out in front of millions in a positive light (one of only 64 schools out of 1000s of colleges) does not makes a bit of difference ? I think you wish to "do not tell me about gonzaga, george mason vcu etcc" because they disprove your assumption big time. There are books written about the impacts - look at Xavier and what they did. This is not new... I'm sure someone on this board must work in marketing and can tell the positive impact getting your name out there would have when selling/promoting a product. You have not mentioned the positive impact it has on alumni donations either - or should we research and spoon feed you those numbers as well?
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poot
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Post by poot on Jul 4, 2014 16:15:54 GMT -5
Poot - You are like the British Army in the colonies - you see the world upside down. Hilbert is struggling financially. Its endowment of is roughly one tenth of Bonas, its campus is outmoded (no modernization plan is in the planning stages, most of its students are on the associate degree path, and its President is a good friend of Sr. Margaret's). There are no upside benefits to Bonas in an operational sense, financial sense, or academic sense other than those already contained in our current working arrangement for grad level courses at the Hilbert Campus. Firstdev - your concerns are absolutely valid, but the information upon which you rest them is completely inaccurate. Hilbert has exactly 9 students enrolled in associates programs which is .006 of its total enrollment. For FY 2011-2012, the financial responsibility composite score, which ranges from -1 to +3, was a 3.0 for Hilbert and 2.9 for SBU (Dept. of Ed). As to modernization, I don't know what you mean. They've built new dorms and academic buildings within the last 7 years, all classrooms are "smart," etc.
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Post by Pinnum on Jul 4, 2014 17:36:13 GMT -5
Short of a Final Four appearance, there is no statistical significance! All the evidence I have seen says the second week is when significant returns begin. This would mean the sweet 16.
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poot
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Post by poot on Jul 4, 2014 19:10:15 GMT -5
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Post by bva on Jul 4, 2014 21:17:18 GMT -5
Ok, I amend my previous statement to "short of the Sweet 16 ...."
Look no further than 2012, when the Bonnies won the A-10 tournament, participated in the NCAA tournament "Second Round," and had a first-round NBA draft pick (who is still playing in the NBA). While this was too late to effect the 2012 freshman class, the next year which should have provided the "bumper crop" resulted in the lowest number of entrants in years. And the primary reason for the bounce-back in 2014 is likely attributable to the free computers they gave away in the Spring.
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poot
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Post by poot on Jul 4, 2014 22:15:02 GMT -5
Ok, I amend my previous statement to "short of the Sweet 16 ...." Look no further than 2012, when the Bonnies won the A-10 tournament, participated in the NCAA Round of 64 tournament, and had a first-round NBA draft pick (who is still playing in the NBA). While this was too late to effect the 2012 freshman class, the next year which should have provided the "bumper crop" resulted in the lowest number of entrants in years. And the primary reason for the bounce-back in 2014 is likely attributable to the free computers they gave away in the Spring. While the article is helpful, it doesn't invalidate your assertion. There's a big difference between increased applications and increased enrollment.
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Post by bva on Jul 4, 2014 22:43:55 GMT -5
Granted, a successful season on the hardwoods may increase alumni donations! What is the current amount of alumni donations each year (25,000 alumni * 20% giving rate * $300 contribution = $1.5 mil.) Let's assume a 10% increase in alumni donations following a "succesful" season. Using the number above, this would generate an extra $150,000. If all that money went to scholarships, it would pay tuition for 4 additional students, half-scholarships would pay for 8 extra students, etc. However, some of that money will be used for other purposes, including right back into athletics (i.e. coaching raises). Thus, there is still likely little direct effect on enrollment from basketball "success."
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Post by bva on Jul 4, 2014 23:15:57 GMT -5
Here are my recommendations for increasing enrollment:
1) Expand recruiting in the midwest: The women's basketball and soccer teams are attracting many of their new recruits from this territory. The common refrain from these student-athletes is the "beautiful campus" and coming from smaller urban and rural areas they are less put-off by the remote location. What would be the cost to staff several college fairs in midwestern metro areas ... or are we already doing this? Just one student would likely yield 10x the cost. Moreover, host several "discounted" bus trips to campus from these areas to take advantage of that "beautiful campus" that must be seen, then fallen in love with.
2) In conjunction, existing alumni chapters should be challenged to provide personal service, such as recruiting students. Various types of recognition could be bestowed for these effots.
3) Begin a fundraising campaign that specifically focuses on "gifting stock." For every 10 people that gift $25,000 in stock, $250,000 can be used for scholarships -- much more than the impact a successful basketball season has on total alumni donations!
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Post by bva on Jul 4, 2014 23:50:04 GMT -5
Just clicked on the SBU banner marketing to transfer students for Fall 2014. Took me to Transfer students on the SBU website, where it denotes a 63% graduation rate as a reason to transfer to SBU -- not very reassuring and not an appropriate comparison for transfer students (assuming this is a university-wide measure for all matriculating students). Sent an e-mail to contact, noting it should instead emphasize graduates' placement rate!
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