|
Post by hollywoodkek on Jun 29, 2006 14:49:34 GMT -5
I agree- i don't think that Bonas does a very good job at Marketing themselves---I came from a Rochester area school and only two students from my graduating class, including myself, and none from the other school across town went. Most of my class has never even heard of the school- which is rediculous considering its still a semi-local school.
Im in the marketing department of the business school and I'd like to see our classes do something about this--help promote the school as part of our grades or something.....
....hey, id be into it
|
|
heemeehead
Freshman Member
Don't Forget Scumbag!
Posts: 96
|
Post by heemeehead on Jun 29, 2006 15:12:32 GMT -5
The school should market one thing--the new fitness center. TO chicks, they could say, the freshman 15 are a thing of the past.
I was in there for the first time a couple weeks ago at the alumni reunion and it was outstanding. More pictures of it belong on the school website.
As far as the academic standards--bonnieball--how the hell do you guage if the academic standards have fallen since the time you spent time at bonas, if you spent time in a classroom at all?
Is it the fact that you spent more hours, typing and retyping, on an old-school typewriter, than you would have with a modern computer, making you feel this way? If you had Dr. Brislane, you might have spent days at the old typewriter instead of enjoying a rollerblaze around the River Trail, thinking about the next assignment.
|
|
|
Post by captainron on Jun 29, 2006 15:12:59 GMT -5
They also need to get their academic standards back. Yeah and the first thing they can do is get rid of that stupid Clare College crap.
|
|
MrSmiff
Sophomore Member
Go Bonnies, Bills, Sabres
Posts: 136
|
Post by MrSmiff on Jun 29, 2006 15:16:08 GMT -5
Always Remember: Bonas is not "In the middle of Nowhere"
Bonas is In the Middle of Everywhere.
As far as the high acceptance rate goes, I think it is fine. There is no down side to admitting a student who didn't have great grades in high school. If they are accepted to Bonas and perform well then good for them. If they do poorly and fail out then the school takes their first tuition check and kicks them out. I don't see the problem.
|
|
|
Post by magnusbu on Jun 29, 2006 15:51:38 GMT -5
The scandal was more than just the basketball team. Let's see, our president was involved, a board member committed suicide, and many alumns were disgusted. Don't try to tell me that this negative publicity didn't have some effect on incoming students. Another big item that contributes to the lack of incoming students is the quality of living quarters on campus. Bonas knew this pre 2002 and had plans to upgrade in the near future. I'm guessing that these upgrades would have taken place a lot sooner had the scandal not happened. Note: The scandal cost us a lot of money. A third point that effects incoming numbers is the alternative schools and their costs. State schools are a lot cheaper to attend and we keep raising tuition. My point is that when some kids are deciding on where to attend college, you better believe they look at positive and negatives with a school. Negatives = administrative scandal which was all over major sports networks and news networks. Think of all the high school kids that heard this message. So lets say only 10% of possible applicants knew about or cared about the scandal and it effected their decision to attend Bonas. Bonas enrollment = about 2500. Well that 250 kids right there.
|
|
|
Post by mikenice on Jun 29, 2006 18:14:11 GMT -5
I know how much the scandal hurt. I'm aware that it cost us a lot of money to do upgrades, etc. But, right now, the incoming classes... I doubt any of them, who were 13 or 14 at the time, know the scandal unless someone tells them.
You're right, it completely hurts the school as far as recruiting. Why? because they are hurting in the pockets. The reason big state schools don't drop in enrollment after their scandals is because they have deep pockets. Just look at some private schools... you really think Duke will be hurting for applicants in the next couple years? I think they've endured a little more dragging through the mud. They have some more money though... and also a much stronger academic reputation.
So, I'll buy that the scandal hurt our recruiting efforts because we lost tons of money that would have upgraded our facilities and been spent on better recruiting services. I won't buy the fact that kids heard about a scandal and decided not to come.
How many kids would visit or check out a school... really like the facilities, atmosphere, curriculum of their choice... then say to themselves, "I dunno, they did have a scandal involving the basketball team? Nah, I'm not going there"
The sad state of our college athletics is that scandals involving athletics is so commonplace that nobody thinks of it in THAT high of a regard. Athletics is so out of hand most people don't even associate athletes with the student body. So when they get in trouble (aside from the Duke Lacrosse story.... maybe) nobody associates those athletes, coaches, AD's with the rest of the school. I believe that's how most people feel.
|
|
|
Post by bonafide on Jun 29, 2006 18:41:39 GMT -5
Scandal+lousy dorms+rural area+lousy recruiting+marginal academics+increased competition from other less expensive schools= decreased enrollment. Can't do anything about the scandal, rural area or increased competition but correcting the lousy recruiting is an instaant no brainer...start marketing the place and seriously beef up the recruiting effort. The entire area west of Syracuse should be absolutely primo SBU recruiting turf. As far as tuition goes....how about significantly REDUCING tuition for incoming freshmen and making up the difference by significantly INCREASING the number of new admissions.
Rog/Fal simply needs to be torn down. It has far outlived its useful life and is a disgrace. A new, large, state of the art dorm MUST be built within the next several years if there is to be any hope of increasing enrollment. A lot of thought also should be given to the future of Dev. Yes, Dev holds many memories for alumni. At the same time it is a 75 year old structure that is monstrously costly to heat and maintain to say nothing of its complete lack of amenities.
Last, kill Clare College. Just kill it. Bring back the solid and rigorous curriculum that SBU built a good academic reputation on for decades.
Do these things and they will come. Keep things the way they are and I give SBU 7 years max before it folds. Count on it!
Aloha.
|
|
|
Post by hollywoodkek on Jun 29, 2006 20:33:52 GMT -5
I agree, I have lived in Robinson for the last two years, and even though I like it there, and I like the people around me, its like a jail cell. I dont think that they should make it into suites or anything like that- I just think a brand-new, modern CLEAN up to date dormitory would help the school tons.
They will never get arid of Dev. Never. It has too much history and too much of the school is tied around it.
|
|
|
Post by hollywoodkek on Jun 29, 2006 20:35:42 GMT -5
I also dont think that the clare college needs to be distroyed--just revamped. all colleges now a days have core curriculum requirements, and thats fine. I just think Clare college with its unnecessary 3 course sequence and not a lot of choice makes it a little worse. I think that if they re thought it out....maybe have 6 classes required, and you can choose from the list that they have? or something like that.....it would cause a lot less stress for getting into the right section for the better teacher for Natty World or Comp and Crit...
|
|
|
Post by bonafide on Jun 30, 2006 1:36:14 GMT -5
Hollywood...I lived in Fal nearly 40 years ago and the Rob/Fal dorm was sorry back then...I just can't imagine what it must be like now. Quite awhile ago I did some work on a project involving renovating an old hotel to house the homeless and I had a whole lot of data available to me. Out of curiosity I compared the approximate square footage of my two man dorm room in Fal to the MINIMUM square footage requirements for a shared cell in the federal prison system. And guess what...the dorm room in Fal came up short. It's stuff like the lousy dorms that turn prospective students, and their parents, off.
I also attended a Catholic high school in Rochester. There were something like 15 of us from that particular high school who entered SBU as freshmen. 15! The Catholic high schools in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Erie, Cleveland and Pittsburgh should be veritable pipelines of new SBU admissions. But those pipelines are dry. Again, the recruiting has been just awful. Last, will the Administration EVER listen to the consumers (students/former students) about Clare College? You make an excellent point about Clare, Hollywood. Many other current and former students have also made cogent suggestions about Clare College that have been totally ignored.
I fear for the future of St. Bonaventure University. The "fixes"that Sister Margaret is implementing seem to be either band-aids or heavily watered down versions of plans concocted by Wickenheiser and crew. I feel that a whole new post-scandal vision is needed for St. Bonaventure University that I don't believe the present Administration is capable of producing.
|
|
|
Post by cosmonautlaunchpad on Jun 30, 2006 6:47:19 GMT -5
Always Remember: Bonas is not "In the middle of Nowhere" Bonas is In the Middle of Everywhere. As far as the high acceptance rate goes, I think it is fine. There is no down side to admitting a student who didn't have great grades in high school. If they are accepted to Bonas and perform well then good for them. If they do poorly and fail out then the school takes their first tuition check and kicks them out. I don't see the problem. Agreed. I know a close friend of mine who was a perennial C student in high school. He graduated Bonaventure with around a 3.5 and moved on to law school where he also graduated with flying colors. High acceptance rates really don't mean anything. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Students that can't cut it that are accepted get weeded out in the first 2 or three sememesters.
|
|
|
Post by mrbonaventure on Jun 30, 2006 7:07:55 GMT -5
From Cosmonaut last post-- "Agreed. I know a close friend of mine who was a perennial C student in high school. He graduated Bonaventure with around a 3.5 and moved on to law school where he also graduated with flying colors. High acceptance rates really don't mean anything. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Students that can't cut it that are accepted get weeded out in the first 2 or three sememesters."
For once I couldn't agree with you more Cosmonaut. You have finally posted something worthwhile.
|
|
|
Post by sneakers on Jun 30, 2006 7:14:06 GMT -5
Always Remember: Bonas is not "In the middle of Nowhere" Bonas is In the Middle of Everywhere. As far as the high acceptance rate goes, I think it is fine. There is no down side to admitting a student who didn't have great grades in high school. If they are accepted to Bonas and perform well then good for them. If they do poorly and fail out then the school takes their first tuition check and kicks them out. I don't see the problem. Agreed. I know a close friend of mine who was a perennial C student in high school. He graduated Bonaventure with around a 3.5 and moved on to law school where he also graduated with flying colors. High acceptance rates really don't mean anything. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Students that can't cut it that are accepted get weeded out in the first 2 or three sememesters. What you say is true, and it is great that kids get a second chance to perform academically if they hadn't hit their stride in high school. I also know a lot of kids that have benefited from this and now have successful careers. However let's not kid ourselves, there is a huge downside to having low academic standards! Parents are very involved in the selection of a college for their kids. Parents (and kids that have some vision at that age) look at college as a very, very expensive investment in their children. One that will, or will not, pay dividends for decades. Colleges that have increased their academic standards see huge growth in applications (I can give you many, many examples of this happening). Colleges who let their academic standards slip lose applicants and have a much harder time getting accepted students to enroll. For proof of that just look at our beloved SBU. Lower enrollment obviously leads to less money which leads to less investment in the school both in terms of facilities as well as programs, quality faculty, activities, etc. All of that leads to even fewer applicants and enrolled students. Right or wrong, the folks making decisions about where a kid should go to school (including parents, coaches, guidance counselors, etc.) equate academic standards with a strong alumni network, an ability to get a good job out of college, the ability to succeed in their careers, etc. Being a Boston businessman I cannot argue with that. Alumni of schools such as BC, Holy Cross, Babson and BU (not to mention MIT and Harvard) have extremely strong alumni networks and they look after their graduates for their entire careers. Employers automatically have a positive disposition to hire these graduates as the academic reputation of their schools rub off on their graduates. I loved my time at SBU, but I doubt my children will apply to Bonas when the time comes as there are many more advantages in attending colleges with higher academic standards. Sorry, but it is the truth. That is why it is so important that SBU turn this around. This requires a commitment not only to improve the bricks an mortar (which is also very important), but to improve their academic standards. I hope and pray that they can turn this around and bring Bonas back to the middle of the pack academically.
|
|
|
Post by cosmonautlaunchpad on Jun 30, 2006 7:43:35 GMT -5
Sneakers, I agree with what you are saying in most of your message, but the point that you or others have failed to make is that how does having a high acceptance rate = low academic standards? So maybe admissions aren't that picky. But once a student is accepted, I think the academic standards they are held to are on par with other universities.
And Universities should assist students with employment. And as a recent grad, Bonaventure does a fine job of this. But most of the responsibility in finding employment falls on the student. It is their responsibility to find interviews and most importantly network.
And there seems to be a conflict with your stance. Everyone says not enough students are enrolling, yet in the same breath you seem to be saying the Univeristy needs to be more selective. Before the University could ever get more selective, while maintaining enrollment, they need to increase their marketing efforts. That's something I definitely agree with.
|
|
|
Post by keystone on Jun 30, 2006 7:51:07 GMT -5
Is academic standards and high admission rate the same thing? Can't you raise the quality of academic programs and still have high admission rates? My opinion is that they are separate issues and we can raise academic standards and keep admission rates high which would both be beneficial.
I guess I am a little biased when I hear all this talk about our low academic standards, I was a finance major and a MBA at Bonas and I feel our program is very strong compared to the other business majors I work with. I don't really know which programs everyone is claiming are weak but most of my business major friends are doing pretty well.
I agree that we do need a stronger alumni network though, we tried to get involved in our network down here in the DC area and it seems like they really don't do anything. There are about 15 of us here that were friends in college and would be more then willing to be more involved as well. Better leadership for the local chapters would go a long way
|
|