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Post by agibson on Feb 6, 2009 6:55:23 GMT -5
Along the lines of the locked thread in a different section,to what extent is Valpo a regional university?
When I was on campus (late 90's, and 2005-2006) it had sort of a mixed feel. It seemed like it had a large regional base. And a significant outreach to international students (with Interlink, Hugh McGuigan, and Holly Singh seeming to do an admirable job). And, on top of that a significant national draw among a few groups. I'd count Lutherans, and Christ College among those groups. From vu72's numbers, it seems like athletics might also have a significant national (and international) draw.
But, I don't have numbers to back any of this up.
It seems like there ought to be numbers by state, or at least region. And numbers of international students.
But, googling around I wasn't able to quickly turn up much.
Wikipedia suggests "only" one-third are from Indiana. Valpo's own web page seems to try to emphasize the diversity, students "from most states and more than 40 other countries".
But, surely Valpo's student base is dominantly regional? Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, maybe Ohio, Wisconsin?
Anyone have numbers?
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Post by vuweathernerd on Feb 6, 2009 15:40:38 GMT -5
i think the number of states represented is 48. and internationally our students are from 30ish different countries. the majority of the students here are from within about 500 or 600 miles though. you hit all the big ones.
typhoon may have or be able to get some more detailed information.
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Post by vu72 on Feb 6, 2009 15:52:08 GMT -5
My numbers from yesterday were that we had ATHLETES from 28 states and 12 countries.
My recollection is the President Heckler said in one of his speeches that we had students from 57 countries. I'll try and check with admissions
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Feb 7, 2009 4:21:20 GMT -5
Yes, we have students from nearly 60 countries, I was told. And yes, most Valpo students come from the 5 Horizon League states, but we have quite a few from other states like Minnesota, New York, and Nebraska. Just to give you an idea, about 35% of Valpo's students come from Indiana, while another 30% come from Illinois. Combined, that's only 65% of Valpo's students, which suggests that Valpo could possibly be a national school. Take Michigan State University, for instance. I think most people would consider it to be a national school, but almost 90% of the students come Michigan. Sounds far more regional than Valpo. It's all about perspective. Overall, yes I would say that Valpo is a "midwest" regional school, but we draw from around the country pretty well.
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Post by 78crusader on Feb 7, 2009 9:20:48 GMT -5
One of my daughters recently attended a function for high school seniors at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. This is a school of 1,600 students. Wartburg is well thought of, I think, both in Iowa and elsewhere. There were maybe 160 kids at this event. All of these kids had either expressed an interest in attending Wartburg or had already been admitted at the school. All but 5 of the kids was from Iowa.
So, it's all relative. Are we as "national" as, say, Wheaton? No. But compared with most schools our size, I'd say we do pretty well in getting kids from all over.
What I don't quite understand is VU's determination in bringing in so many international students. I think it detracts from our Lutheran, Christian heritage. Are these kids Christians? If not, then are we to become a university of many "faiths", or will we remain a school of the one, true faith?
That's the way I feel about it. Sorry.
Paul
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Feb 7, 2009 10:01:08 GMT -5
What I don't quite understand is VU's determination in bringing in so many international students. I think it detracts from our Lutheran, Christian heritage. Are these kids Christians? If not, then are we to become a university of many "faiths", or will we remain a school of the one, true faith? That's the way I feel about it. Sorry. Paul I understand, and somewhat agree with you. That is something I think is being overlooked, and it is something that President Heckler must decide. Lutherans already account for only about 35% of the students at Valpo, and the percentage has been steadily dropping as far as I know. If President Heckler wants Valpo to continue to be a Lutheran university, he has some work to do. |
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Post by valpofan56 on Feb 7, 2009 12:33:06 GMT -5
Take Michigan State University, for instance. I think most people would consider it to be a national school, but almost 90% of the students come Michigan. Sounds far more regional than Valpo. It's all about perspective. Nobody could seriously think Michigan State is a national university (especially not as an undergraduate university)! This goes for just about every state school. There is a reason it's called a state school, because residents pay taxes to the school and therefore are preferentially given easier admission and lower tuition, resulting in a significant portion of the students being from in-state! |
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Post by rlh on Feb 7, 2009 18:22:13 GMT -5
Why is this a relative discussion? Every university has it's "prized" programs. I find it amusing that people fight over such things. In the real world, I really don't think these things matter a whole bunch...can you do the job is the key
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Post by valpospartan on Feb 7, 2009 22:36:37 GMT -5
Take Michigan State University, for instance. I think most people would consider it to be a national school, but almost 90% of the students come Michigan. Sounds far more regional than Valpo. It's all about perspective. Nobody could seriously think Michigan State is a national university (especially not as an undergraduate university)! This goes for just about every state school. There is a reason it's called a state school, because residents pay taxes to the school and therefore are preferentially given easier admission and lower tuition, resulting in a significant portion of the students being from in-state! MSU certainly isn't a national university, since 89% of the students come from all 83 counties in the State of Michigan, but the remaining 11 % are from all 50 states in the U.S. and about 125 other countries. By the way, it's study abroad program is the largest of any single-campus university in the nation, offering more than 200 programs in more than 60 countries on all continents including Antarctica. |
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TD
Recruit
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Post by TD on Feb 9, 2009 22:57:39 GMT -5
McMurdo Station? Our pastor and Valpo graduate, Bill Yates, is serving as an Air Force chaplain there right now. Since it's the winter months (June to August) that are coldest in the southern hemisphere it's not as bad there right now. Only -45 degrees with wind chill of -80 degrees at Amundsen-Scott Airport (the only way in since the icebreakers couldn't get down the channel this year) in the warmer months. yow! |
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Post by agibson on Feb 10, 2009 5:05:30 GMT -5
Take Michigan State University, for instance. I think most people would consider it to be a national school, but almost 90% of the students come Michigan. Sounds far more regional than Valpo. It's all about perspective. Nobody could seriously think Michigan State is a national university (especially not as an undergraduate university)! This goes for just about every state school. There is a reason it's called a state school, because residents pay taxes to the school and therefore are preferentially given easier admission and lower tuition, resulting in a significant portion of the students being from in-state! Yeah, interesting point. I wonder where US News is going with its label of "regional university". Does it only use that for certain private schools? Or maybe even only for certain masters-level schools? |
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Post by agibson on Feb 10, 2009 5:15:35 GMT -5
OK - weird. Just one of many idiosyncracies of the US news rankings, I guess.
For some programs (PhD granting universities, bachelors only schools with more than half of their students graduating in the liberal arts) the rankings are national. For others (masters-granting universities, bachelors-only schools with less than half of their students graduating in the liberal arts) the rankings are regional.
Of course all have programs in the midwest (#8 Chicago, #'s12 Wash U and Northwestern for PhD granting; #8 Carleton, #14 Grinell for liberal arts; #1 Creighton, #2 Xavier, #3 Valpo for Midwest masters; #1 Taylor, #2 Ohio Northern, #3 Augustana Sioux Falls for non-liberal arts bachelors). But, they're not compared across divisions. *shrug*
I suppose I should have heard of Ohio Northern?
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Post by agibson on Feb 10, 2009 5:17:12 GMT -5
Their description of Valpo's "Mission" is actually pretty interesting. It's not entirely clear to me whether Valpo wrote it, or US News. Reads perhaps like a collaborative effort, which would seem strange:
All American colleges and universities bear a family resemblance to one another as they come from a common set of ancestors in Europe and colonial America. Within that larger family, Valparaiso University belongs to a small and distinctive group. It is neither a large research university nor a small liberal arts college. At the same time that it promotes a basic liberal arts curriculum, it features strong undergraduate colleges of Engineering, Nursing, and Business Administration, a professional direction lacking in the conventional liberal arts college. Conversely, the University is not a cluster of professional colleges which merely pays lip service to the liberal arts. Education in the liberal arts is the foundation of every academic program, and the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest unit in the University, carries on many vital programs of its own. This combination of liberal and professional studies of such variety within an institution of modest size is rare in American higher education. Broad enough in curriculum and in variety of programs to be a university, still Valparaiso University emphasizes undergraduate teaching in the manner of the traditional small college, with many small classes and strong individual guidance. While the University focuses on undergraduate education, it maintains a modest graduate program as well as a fine law school. Valparaiso University is also a founding member of the Associated New American Colleges, a national consortium of small to mid-sized colleges and universities that are committed to the ideal of integrating liberal and professional studies. Valparaiso University's unique status as an independent Lutheran University supplies the rationale for this special combination of liberal and professional studies. No church body has control or authority over the University, which is owned and operated by the Lutheran University Association. Valparaiso is therefore both free and responsible to realize an educational ideal informed by the best traditions of Lutheran Christianity and of liberal and professional studies.
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