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Post by agibson on Jun 16, 2009 3:32:51 GMT -5
There are several institutions in the midwest that maintain their strong Christian heritage and admit only Christian students. Taylor, Wheaton, Calvin. All of these schools are thriving. We have to ask -- why? I'm really not sure how to approach this discussion. You're really suggesting that Valpo should make students sign some sort of a statement of faith before admitting them? I think Valpo's a much richer place for its international students, Christian, Muslim, and otherwise. I'd think that people of faith would look favorably on a faithful, practicing Muslim student. The Muslim and Christian communities obviously have a long ways to go in terms of mutual understanding, and Valpo can make a start at that. Perhaps the Christian students will learn something of Islam, perhaps the Muslim students will learn something of Christianity. I would have thought that a person of faith might even prefer faithful Muslims (not that all Muslims are faithful, any more so than all Christians) to less faithful students with some historical association with Christianity. As for these other schools, I don't turn up anything quickly on google. I have some historical dealings with Wheaton's "Pledge". I think of it more as governing behavior, rather than beliefs. But, I can imagine that it makes some belief statement as well. (Odd that it doesn't get a mention on their wiki....) I don't remember the same at Calvin. Not sure about Taylor. Your vision of Valpo seems dangerously close, to my imagining, to the Bob Jones' of the world. Valpo has a strong Lutheran identity. It has students from a range of backgrounds. Valpo struggles with how to maintain, and enact, its Lutheran heritage and identity. I think that struggle's a reasonable place to be. I suspect that Valpo's Lutheran (and Christian) heritage and identity are more evident than those of many other Lutheran-affiliated schools.
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Post by 78crusader on Jun 16, 2009 7:24:01 GMT -5
The points everyone have raised here are quite valid. What I don't know about VU, and its students, could fill a battleship. And perhaps I have a vision of Valpo circa 1974 that doesn't exist anymore...or maybe never existed in the first place. I think VU is a special place because of its Lutheran and Christian heritage. And I'd like VU to maintain that heritage. I question how recruiting students of non-Christian faiths furthers that heritage. That's what I'm trying to say. And I think it's a valid concern. VU, which touts its Lutheran heritage, has in the last 30 years gone from 50% Lutheran to 26% Lutheran. Is that a good trend? There is something to be said for recruiting persons of the Muslim faith. Perhaps there can be some real interaction between Christians and Muslims on the VU campus. That would be a good thing. But...does that really happen? I would leave it to the current VU students on this board to address that question. I can say that when I've been on campus I have seen no social interaction whatsoever. Paul
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Jun 16, 2009 8:36:04 GMT -5
I think it is unfair to say we are actively recruiting Muslim students. When the Saudi government said they wanted to sponsor a certain number of students to go America to study, VU jumped in. I'm not sure of all of the reasons, but the Saudi government is paying for FULL tuition for these students. Just FYI.
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Post by vu72 on Jun 16, 2009 9:03:34 GMT -5
While we're discussing "slippery slopes", I'm wondering 78's view of having a Confucius Institute at Valpo.
I'm certain some, if not all of the Chinese visiting professors are not Christian. We send students to study in China, clearly NOT a Christian nation.
The institute is one of maybe 20 such places in the country. It puts Valpo in a special league that does not include Notre Dame, Purdue or Indiana let alone Calvin, Taylor or Wheaton.
So what does it do for our students? In particular, it gives business and engineering students an inside track to a better and faster understanding of the Chinese and their way of doing things. China represents the largest market potential in the world.
Are we to avoid such places because they aren't Christian? Shall we prevent a closer understanding of China because their visiting profs may not buy into our brand of something? My answer is of course NO. In particular, for a school of Valpo's size, it gives us a unique advantage and a selling tool for new students. This is just one of several such advantages that Valpo has.
I further wonder what the "pledge" of places like Bob Jones, Wheaton or Liberty might encompass. Do you need to be "born again"? A position rejected in Lutheranism. Is drinking prohibited? How about dancing?
Are we going to be in the world or isolated from it? Do we take advantage of a chance to bring the Christian perspective to the forefront or stay in our ivory castle to avoid such conflicts?
We won't solve this on this board but is certainly worthy of an intellectual debate.
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Post by stlvufan on Jun 16, 2009 11:03:52 GMT -5
The points everyone have raised here are quite valid. What I don't know about VU, and its students, could fill a battleship. And perhaps I have a vision of Valpo circa 1974 that doesn't exist anymore...or maybe never existed in the first place. I think VU is a special place because of its Lutheran and Christian heritage. And I'd like VU to maintain that heritage. I question how recruiting students of non-Christian faiths furthers that heritage. That's what I'm trying to say. And I think it's a valid concern. VU, which touts its Lutheran heritage, has in the last 30 years gone from 50% Lutheran to 26% Lutheran. Is that a good trend? There is something to be said for recruiting persons of the Muslim faith. Perhaps there can be some real interaction between Christians and Muslims on the VU campus. That would be a good thing. But...does that really happen? I would leave it to the current VU students on this board to address that question. I can say that when I've been on campus I have seen no social interaction whatsoever. Paul I think what you do have your finger on is the fragile nature of American Christianity in the 21st century. I don't doubt for a minute that your concerns are genuine (in case I gave the contrary impression at any time). I just think that if indeed your concerns are prophetic, then we already had a huge problem even before the first muslim student embarked on VU on-campus education. And I don't for a minute dismiss that possibility. My only point would be that simply reversing the enrollment trend back to Lutheran students is like trying to lock the barn door after the horse has already escaped. If our Lutheran identity can be so easily disintegrated with the influx of muslim students (or for that matter, students of any other non-Christian religion; interestingly enough, at least muslim students share our monotheism and even our god, though certainly not our salvation story), then our Lutheran identity is -- to begin with -- built on what the old Lutheran hymn referred to as "sinking sand". And *that* then is what we should be dealing with. Maybe this is what you are sensing? Possible?
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Sept 29, 2009 21:30:05 GMT -5
The official numbers are out, and here are some of the highlights:
Total students: 4070 (most in 25 years) Undergrad: 2893 Law: 599 Grad: 579
New Freshmen: 672 % of applicants admitted: 81.8%
ACT midrange: 22-29 Average GPA: 3.25
Retention rate: 84% (national average: 78%)
Indiana residents: 37%
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manu
Recruit
Posts: 42
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Post by manu on Sept 29, 2009 22:44:45 GMT -5
That seems like a low GPA for a school of Valpo's quality. I know that schools like Butler have set much higher standards and that may be why they are ranked higher. I think Valpo should take a look at their standards and focus on getting a higher quality student. Butler's system seems to be working.
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Post by jj on Oct 2, 2009 12:16:41 GMT -5
Just received my copy of the CRESSET and noted that in the next issue the topic of "Lutherism and the Furture of the University" will be addressed by Mark Schwehn. Should be an interesting read.
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Nov 3, 2009 22:44:26 GMT -5
Last year this time, we had 1,227 applications. This year we have 2,040 applications, an increase of 66%. Sorry for not contributing as much as I used to, but I'll try and poke in when I have information. This information is publicly available on www.valpo.edu/van
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Post by agibson on Nov 4, 2009 4:19:53 GMT -5
Sounds great! I lose track of the numbers?
How many applications do we normally get in a year?
I think we usually splash around number of enrolled students, and acceptance rate, but I'm not sure if we normally see the number of applicants (or number of accepted students).
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Nov 4, 2009 10:26:31 GMT -5
Sounds great! I lose track of the numbers? How many applications do we normally get in a year? I think we usually splash around number of enrolled students, and acceptance rate, but I'm not sure if we normally see the number of applicants (or number of accepted students). Not sure of those other numbers, but I want to say that last year we had about 3800 applications. Either way, interest in VU is on the rise, 66% higher to be exact.
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Post by agibson on Nov 4, 2009 10:59:02 GMT -5
From my distant perspective it's all tea leaves. 66% sounds like a big change, and encouraging. But, I suppose that it could be there's not _more_ interest, just earlier interest. But, if people closer the business, like yourself, are excited then I'll be excited too At least tentatively.
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Post by 78crusader on Nov 5, 2009 22:40:47 GMT -5
Okinawa-- To what do you guys over in Admissions attribute the increase in apps? There's no way to know for sure, I realize, but you guys have to have some ideas about the reason(s) for the increase. I always kinda thought the union construction negatively impacted not only the 07-08 recruiting class, but also had a carryover effect for the 08-09 class. What are the most frequent observations you hear from parents/prospective students? Paul
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Post by okinawatyphoon on Nov 6, 2009 0:39:31 GMT -5
Okinawa-- To what do you guys over in Admissions attribute the increase in apps? There's no way to know for sure, I realize, but you guys have to have some ideas about the reason(s) for the increase. I always kinda thought the union construction negatively impacted not only the 07-08 recruiting class, but also had a carryover effect for the 08-09 class. What are the most frequent observations you hear from parents/prospective students? Paul There are a number of reasons, but some that I am not so familiar with. I can tell you that we have tried different strategies for marketing and targeting students, and the Valpo "personal touch" has always been a big push in admissions. We also hired two additional admissions counselors, and the new VP for enrollment will be coming as well. One of the reasons stated publicly on the website has to do with this class of students being "on top of deadlines and the admissions process", but I think that could be said of any class. But other than that, I really don't know very much.
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