I remember Cal stating how surprised he was to see how nice the campus & surrounding area actually was. He had in his mind an urban, concrete campus & had no idea it has the green spaces, trees, etc… We have a nice campus that traveling fans never see. Perhaps if they did, their impression of the school might be different?

(03-05-2023 06:13 PM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  I remember Cal stating how surprised he was to see how nice the campus & surrounding area actually was. He had in his mind an urban, concrete campus & had no idea it has the green spaces, trees, etc… We have a nice campus that traveling fans never see. Perhaps if they did, their impression of the school might be different?

SMH clueless

(03-05-2023 12:34 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 05:46 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 05:25 PM)ncrdbl1 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 01:41 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=...jzCpDgsnFG

Very interesting read. Increasing enrollment, increasing admission requirements, continued investment in academic, research, campus infrastructure and athletics.

Below is a summary:

The University of Memphis revealed its new strategic plan on March 1. The plan, which covers 2023-28, has seven objectives focused on nearly every aspect of running a university.

The strategic plan’s targets also have sub-goals with more specifics on how the largest university in the metro plans to achieve the ambitions of its new five-year plan, from enrollment to hiring and retainment, alumni relations, and finances.

Below is a breakdown of each of the 2023-28 Strategic Plan's pillars.

Enrollment, access, and national recruitment
The first goal concerns enrollment and access. The University of Memphis and many other colleges across the country are facing an “enrollment cliff” starting in 2025, when the nationwide population of college-age young adults is predicted to drop off by 15%.

The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability.

“Our objective is to eliminate financial barriers for qualified students to matriculate and remain at the U of M,” the plan states. “Affordability is a key (but often underappreciated) element of student success. At the University of Memphis, we have always excelled at making our education accessible and affordable. A high proportion of our students have typically come from low- or modest-socioeconomic backgrounds, so we know how to serve these students. In our efforts to improve access and affordability, we consider much more than our tuition and fees. We also consider opportunity costs (of attendance), unmet need, financial literacy, and accumulation of debt and ability to service that debt after graduation.”

Part of increasing enrollment also includes getting STEM, health, and business students to account for a third of graduates; increase online program enrollment globally; and create a “contrasted” experience at the Jackson-based U of M Lambuth campus that differentiates it from the main campus.

Student life, housing, and sports
The entire second pillar is a sprawling review of the student viewpoint, from the on-campus experience to alumni relations.

Enhancing the on-campus experience starts with new affordable housing options both on and off campus. The plan points out that student satisfaction both improves academic outcomes and increases retention.

“Living on-campus/near campus strongly correlates with academic success and with more on-campus engagement while at a university and after graduation," the plan stated. "To ensure long-term housing excellence, we are developing a balanced set of metrics for current and future housing that considers not only financial self-sustainment, but also housing quality, maintenance, and student satisfaction.”

This pillar also says that it plans to have “second to none” security and safety, new and diverse dining options, and a plan to more deeply integrate Memphis into the student experience.

The pillar also points out a desire for top-tier athletics. A large part of the conversations the Board of Trustees held while selecting a new president was Power 5 Conference sports. A section dedicated to sports is clear that the university is seeking competing in the top conferences in college athletics as a tool for recruiting, advertising, and fundraising.

The metrics provided with Goal 2 also point out that current football and men’s basketball attendance are both below pre-pandemic levels.

“We understand that our sports programs are important to national brand recognition and to garnering support — financial and otherwise — that will propel us to the top ranks of U.S. public research universities.”

Graduation, academics, and non-degree programs
The third section of the plan is focused on day-to-day academics and graduation.

The university wants to focus on High Impact Practices, which are experiential learning methods. The highest kind is internships, which the University believes it excels at and hopes to continue to succeed at.

It also wants to focus on other High Impact Practices. The ones it wants to emphasize include undergraduate research, study abroad, learning communities, capstone courses and projects, collaborative (semester-long) assignments and projects, ePortfolios, and service and community-based learning.

The school also wants to increase its four-year and six-year graduation rates and the number of nationally recognized programs at U of M.

It also details wanting to create more pathways into the school. That includes one day “creating a preschool-to-PhD ecosystem.” For now, the university is focused on improving relations with technical schools and two-year schools and expanding non-degree job training programs.

“Our objective is to vastly expand our non-degree programs, working closely with corporate partners and students to ensure our offerings align with their needs,” it reads. “We understand that our students are entering an ever-changing working world where they will more frequently change jobs and even careers. These transitions often necessitate additional training, which means higher education is becoming a continuum requiring universities to provide a full range of instructional options that meet students where they are in their careers and in their lives.”

Research and retaining R1 status
The fourth goal is all about maintaining the university’s newly acquired R1 top-tier research status, as well as climbing to become a nationally recognized research university.

The subgoals mostly fall into categories of increasing partnerships, resources, visibility, impact, and streamlining.

The university desires to share resources and cooperate with all sorts of different organizations of all types, from corporate to other institutions.

The university also wants to increase its research capacity through new resources, such as attracting new faculty, growing the graduate population, and improving existing research space and infrastructure.

“To these ends, we are modernizing laboratories, including installing advanced climate control where needed. Instrumentation is also being updated or replaced, accompanied by funded sustainment/sharing plans that include technical support, scheduled maintenance/replacement, and shared access protocols. In some cases, research space is being renovated, reconfigured, and consolidated to maximally support multi-uses and higher utilization.”

The visibility and impact of research is also key. Several of the goals point out that STEM and health research will be focused sectors. The university is also intent on being a part of local impact, both by tracking and publishing the work it does that brings jobs to the area, as well as being an active recruiter for new companies.

Hiring, staff retention, and pay
The fifth goal is centered around staff, faculty, and other university employee hiring, retention, and pay.

The university is seeking to get wages more in line with peer institutions and perhaps even beyond that. As of Fall 2021, the latest available data, the university is at 93% of faculty salaries compared to its peers and at 86% for the same stat at aspirant institutions.

Hiring and recruiting are both being streamlined, and onboarding is being revamped. That also means making the salary and benefits package more competitive, increasing visibility of available positions, and “identifying and addressing impediments to hiring candidates from historically underrepresented groups.”

The goal also details that it wants to increase professional development opportunities, create well-defined paths to leadership positions, and retain and recognize staff and faculty.

Efficiency vs. effectiveness
The sixth goal is all about finding a balance between efficiency, such as lowering costs and effectiveness, such as good outcomes.

The section covering this aspiration mostly covers how different departments can be made more efficient or effective.

A wide variety of studies are being conducted now looking at the university’s operational model, organization, and processes.

The university also wants to reduce legacy regulation, to “realize the full potential of self-governance,” saying that the previous Board of Regents era of the U of M have led to a legacy of overregulation that is now holding back the school.

The goal also details that the university is preparing how to implement, track, and judge the success of the strategic plan.

“Strategic Plan Operationalization (Phase 4) will be developed after the Strategic Plan is approved by the Board of Trustees,” a note reads. “This operationalization consists of 1) development of a detailed University Action Plan; 2) formulation of University Key Performance Indicators (i.e., metrics), or KPIs, with annual targets; and 3) creation of Unit Plans that align with and support the University’s Strategy. These documents will support, but are separate from, the Strategic Plan.”

Finance: revenues and expenditures
Goal 7 focuses on how the university plans to monetize and fund the ambitious goals.

The goal makes clear that with other goals focusing on increasing academic standards and recruitment/enrollment pressures, tuition and fee increases are unviable to raise funds in the short term.

The university wants to get its funding from the State of Tennessee more in line with other R1 institutions in the state. The only other public R1 institution in the state is the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which gets significantly more funding from the statehouse. Vanderbilt also has an R1 classification but is a private school.

The school also wants to diversify its income. It is looking at increasing local alumni and company donations, getting more federal research funding, and other forms of community support.

It is also looking to regularly review existing programs to identify and realize efficiencies to allow for money to be sent elsewhere. It also wants to overhaul the resource allocation model to be more in line with state models.

“Our objective is to continue to adopt best practices in the financial management of our University. Key future financial objectives are 1) to align our financial management actions with the University’s strategy and 2) to infuse financial discipline (e.g., an emphasis on ROI) throughout campus. Important principles of fiscal discipline include transparency, accountability, and consistency."

Your first sentence is interesting. How do they plan on increasing enrollment while increasing requirements for admission?

Our feeder system is one of the worst public education systems in the country. Maybe not Baltimore bad, but still very bad.

Good to see the current and previous President focus more on the reason the university was created.

First, it’s not my sentence. Its copy paste.

If you read the entire document they discuss the challenges of college enrollments and address a gradual shift higher admission standards, increased support for enrollees leading to higher retention and degree fulfillment, increased feeder systems, growth of research, graduate degrees, doctoral attainment, increased regional presence and national recruiting networks, staff to support.

One of our limitations has been perception as a local commuter college identity which is true of our roots but doesn’t reflect where we are now and where we have the potential to be in 5 years (the 5 year plan).

Having spent 13 years in enrollment management at the UM I can share our biggest problem was lack of vision and sustaining the proven systems that promote growth in numbers and quality. I think we are better positioned to Sustain the efforts after the foundation Rudd built and Hargrave says he wants to advance.

Short answer, increasing enrollment and standards simultaneously are counterproductive or counterintuitive.

From what was said I get the impression that we going to be focusing outside the metro area for undergrad enrollment.

Our image as a commuter school has held us back for decades.

We're a tier 1 research university but our image is still that of a teacher's college.

It is imperative not only for the University but for the metro area that we change that image.

EVERYTHING is about image.

Right now we're seen as a poor commuter school.

While nationally 38% of students receive PELL grants our enrollment is around 46%.

True or not we have a poor academic image in the eyes of upper-level schools.

Need to upgrade that image without ignoring our responsibility to the community.

You are half right but you ignored the explanation about the core coming from the mid-south. Always will and must be a priority. There is room for growth to keep sone home that have traditionally gone out of town. Some of that is image.

This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

(03-04-2023 02:50 PM)AlonsoWDC Wrote:  This thread has a high potential for Miserablism.

Indeed! Just as with any thread that contains complex sentences.

(03-06-2023 01:02 AM)NDTiger Wrote:  

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

(03-06-2023 08:42 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 01:02 AM)NDTiger Wrote:  

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

How recent is this map? It shows it as version 1.3. It does show an area for fraternities as #30 on the map. The current Lambda Chi Alpha house is owned by the university and rented from it. So, if this is the current map, it is showing a fraternity row area. It would appear the eventual goal is to expand the U of M all the way west to Highland Avenue.

(03-06-2023 10:06 AM)DallasTiger Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 08:42 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 01:02 AM)NDTiger Wrote:  

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

How recent is this map? It shows it as version 1.3. It does show an area for fraternities as #30 on the map. The current Lambda Chi Alpha house is owned by the university and rented from it. So, if this is the current map, it is showing a fraternity row area

I saw #30 on the legend, but I didn’t initially see it plotted on the map.
I believe thw KA & Sigma Chi houses are owned privately through their house housing associations.

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

No, there has been short term efforts just not sustained. We also have not been ready to make good use of an expanded recruiting effort. Our story, our physical appearance, our infrastructure, our R-1 status, our remake of faculty of note, are a better story to tell than 10 years ago. Global UM gives us a greater national outreach. Rudd’s leadership put us in a better place to be competitive in all areas. We’ve never been ready to compete on the national level but can be if we sustain progress.

One of the things I’m emphasizing in the restart of an alumni chapter is we’ve got to be better with messaging to and engagement of alumni. We can’t continue to settle for being the second or third choice for our core recruiting ground if we want be competitive on the regional and national level.

Covid stirred the pot and exposed faster what futurist have been saying for decades. The traditional college approach had to change from the great post WW2 expansion. Labor markets change at lightning speed. We are not making new kids at the same pace we did historically. Our population is more diverse. Our population is more mobile. Kids learn differently and interact differently.

If the trend continues the colleges that are more selective will continue to thrive. Schools prepared to embrace technological changes and labor market shifts will thrive. And a growing number of smaller underfunded colleges will close their doors.

Memphis for all its warts had many resources and is positioned well for the next 20 years. Poverty, improved education and crime will be our challenges. The UM is positioned well to help move the region forward and benefit from an improved image.

(03-04-2023 08:56 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 06:09 PM)Alanda Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 01:41 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

Necessary. Life happens so some will still withdraw, but losing over 1/4 of your students to withdrawing is not good. I've said it before, but it's not fair to the kids nor the school.

Got any idea why the withdrawals occur? I can help out if you want it.

I believe some are kids who have the intelligence to graduate from a four-year college, but developed either lots of bad habits and/or not enough good habits as they went through school growing up. Or they may not develop any habits at all and were able to get by strictly through their intelligence. This leads to them having either a poor foundation or none at all when they get to college. Because of this underachieving they were barely able to qualify for college. However once the weight of what comes from college hits they "collapse" due to how their foundation looks and end up leaving.

Others did everything they could growing up and their best is also just enough to qualify. Once they get in they learn pretty quickly that their best isn't enough to make it through 4+ years and they eventually drop out.

Raising the admission standards will hopefully allow them to find their direction faster instead of losing one or two years languishing in a place they did not need to be in the first place. And then for the school it will help improve the graduation rate. At the same time in the future local kids who might want to go to Memphis will have to work based on those higher standards so that may help them build better foundations.

As for help I think the question is "How do you prepare a kid for college when they are already in college?" I don't have an answer for that right now. About the only thing I can think of is more effort to catch these kids before they reach that point. If something is already in place at the school, then there needs to be constant reminders placed to let students know that they can talk to someone to help them in their situation. To see if moving to another school, like focusing on an associate degree, is the best option or do they need help building a better foundation to so they can eventually graduate. If there isn't anything in place then maybe create it and promote it. Increased standards should help cut a lot of that down, but there are still plenty who have been or will be in school before they are fully in place. But it could be helpful even after for those life situations as well.

Overall from what I've seen on my own and from what others have said Memphis needs to continue to improve structure/organization. People are coming on here and talking about the lack of contact from the school with their children. Better structure should keep that from happening. That is a major problem that needs to be added to the strategic plan. It needs to be fixed along with the other changes mentioned.


Something else that will help is the effort Tennessee has been putting in to get standards up from the beginning of kids education. But it's still going to take work. Like look at this.

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functi...ility.html

Quote:No federally prescribed accountability system. Under No Child Left Behind, schools and districts either hit or missed their objectives – using this system, the Tennessee Department of Education estimated that 80 percent of schools would be identified as “failing” in 2015. Tennessee’s waiver changed the pass/fail system into a continuum of school district designations, ranging from In Need of Improvement to Exemplary. As under the waiver, Every Student Succeeds gives states the authority to develop their own accountability systems and interventions.

That was only seven years ago though it says Tennessee started their program in 2012. So this wasn't just a Shelby County problem, this was a statewide problem. Here are the 2022 links for what they have put in place. These also show where the schools fall at.

2022 School Accountability

2022 District Accountability

2021-2022 Accountability Protocol (gives info on the system, 69 pages)

With Shelby County most of the elementary schools are doing well, but things fall off once it gets to most of the middle schools and high schools. Considering the timing of all this I don't think that is a surprise. The older kids didn't get to fully grow up under these newer practices. If things are working properly more of these schools should improve as current and future elementary kids move up to middle and high school. For the university it's going to be a few more years before the kids that went through the gamut of the new system are college bound. So by then hopefully more of these kids that apply will be ready for the new standards, the rigors of college, and will be able to work through to the end.

(03-06-2023 05:33 PM)Alanda Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 08:56 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 06:09 PM)Alanda Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 01:41 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

Necessary. Life happens so some will still withdraw, but losing over 1/4 of your students to withdrawing is not good. I've said it before, but it's not fair to the kids nor the school.

Got any idea why the withdrawals occur? I can help out if you want it.

I believe some are kids who have the intelligence to graduate from a four-year college, but developed either lots of bad habits and/or not enough good habits as they went through school growing up. Or they may not develop any habits at all and were able to get by strictly through their intelligence. This leads to them having either a poor foundation or none at all when they get to college. Because of this underachieving they were barely able to qualify for college. However once the weight of what comes from college hits they "collapse" due to how their foundation looks and end up leaving.

Others did everything they could growing up and their best is also just enough to qualify. Once they get in they learn pretty quickly that their best isn't enough to make it through 4+ years and they eventually drop out.

Raising the admission standards will hopefully allow them to find their direction faster instead of losing one or two years languishing in a place they did not need to be in the first place. And then for the school it will help improve the graduation rate. At the same time in the future local kids who might want to go to Memphis will have to work based on those higher standards so that may help them build better foundations.

As for help I think the question is "How do you prepare a kid for college when they are already in college?" I don't have an answer for that right now. About the only thing I can think of is more effort to catch these kids before they reach that point. If something is already in place at the school, then there needs to be constant reminders placed to let students know that they can talk to someone to help them in their situation. To see if moving to another school, like focusing on an associate degree, is the best option or do they need help building a better foundation to so they can eventually graduate. If there isn't anything in place then maybe create it and promote it. Increased standards should help cut a lot of that down, but there are still plenty who have been or will be in school before they are fully in place. But it could be helpful even after for those life situations as well.

Overall from what I've seen on my own and from what others have said Memphis needs to continue to improve structure/organization. People are coming on here and talking about the lack of contact from the school with their children. Better structure should keep that from happening. That is a major problem that needs to be added to the strategic plan. It needs to be fixed along with the other changes mentioned.


Something else that will help is the effort Tennessee has been putting in to get standards up from the beginning of kids education. But it's still going to take work. Like look at this.

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functi...ility.html

Quote:No federally prescribed accountability system. Under No Child Left Behind, schools and districts either hit or missed their objectives – using this system, the Tennessee Department of Education estimated that 80 percent of schools would be identified as “failing” in 2015. Tennessee’s waiver changed the pass/fail system into a continuum of school district designations, ranging from In Need of Improvement to Exemplary. As under the waiver, Every Student Succeeds gives states the authority to develop their own accountability systems and interventions.

That was only seven years ago though it says Tennessee started their program in 2012. So this wasn't just a Shelby County problem, this was a statewide problem. Here are the 2022 links for what they have put in place. These also show where the schools fall at.

2022 School Accountability

2022 District Accountability

2021-2022 Accountability Protocol (gives info on the system, 69 pages)

With Shelby County most of the elementary schools are doing well, but things fall off once it gets to most of the middle schools and high schools. Considering the timing of all this I don't think that is a surprise. The older kids didn't get to fully grow up under these newer practices. If things are working properly more of these schools should improve as current and future elementary kids move up to middle and high school. For the university it's going to be a few more years before the kids that went through the gamut of the new system are college bound. So by then hopefully more of these kids that apply will be ready for the new standards, the rigors of college, and will be able to work through to the end.

There are some students who make it the college doors and are simply not able to do the work but that number is small. Colleges, including the UM, try to guide students to community college where academic recovery is a mission. Success there is a pretty good predictor of potential to graduate.

Having worked in both K-12 and higher Ed in the classroom, counseling and administration I have been exposed to a vast array of reasons students do not perform well and do not complete degrees.
Finances are still an obstacle even though associate and technical credentials can be achieved with little to no cost.
People who grow up in poverty face challenge many others do not face. Transportation is a major issue in a large area and marginal public transit options.
Women especially face family obligations.
Many first generation students face social and cultural challenges even to the extent that people them they will never exceed.
Legal barriers come into play.
Obligations of work, family, and any number of socioeconomic challenges weigh heavy on part time students.
Part-time students often do not have emotional resources to fight the battle to the end.
Language barriers come in to play for some.
There is an answer for every challenge and some make it through. Adults go back after years away and succeed. People wade through the quagmire of issues to succeed but it’s simply not as simple as how smart you are or how good your school was was.
Things many of us take for granted have to be discovered or fought for by others.
I was a first generation student who was told I needed to farm or work in a factory because my family didn’t have the money to pay for college. I was taught a strong work ethic and to never quit something you start. It took me longer but I eventually ended up with 4 degrees and no debt. I moved to Memphis with only what would fit in the back of a pick up, found a job at the TG&Y on summer Ave and duplex on the corner of Macon & Maria because State Tech didn’t have dorms. I worked my through an AA,BS, MS and my doctoral degrees motivated by one counselor in high school that told me to work in a factory. Still I had some things a lot of kids I worked didn’t have. Never underestimate the value of resilience. From the football field to the classroom to life I simply don’t quite.

There is not one answer to why students drop out. Often it’s many things and sometimes they can’t tell you why. For some it’s as simple as they don’t believe they can or they just belong.

We are really appealing at the graduate level. I’m skeptical about recruiting nationally— or recruiting top tier local students— at the undergrad level.

We aren’t exactly a destination school. I’m seeing most top students at local schools opt to go elsewhere. R1 status is absolutely great at the graduate level, but high school seniors don’t care about that— they just want a college experience. Sure, there are trickle-downs from the status to the experience, but it’s not enough to move the needle.

The Liza Fletcher murder on campus definitely didn’t help perception locally or nationally. The number one concern I hear from parents who send their kids elsewhere is safety.

The problem is not so much recruiting against other schools— it’s recruiting against the city and its reputation. People largely come to Memphis in spite of the city— not because of it.

(03-06-2023 06:12 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 05:33 PM)Alanda Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 08:56 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 06:09 PM)Alanda Wrote:  

(03-04-2023 01:41 PM)Tigerx3 Wrote:  The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

Necessary. Life happens so some will still withdraw, but losing over 1/4 of your students to withdrawing is not good. I've said it before, but it's not fair to the kids nor the school.

Got any idea why the withdrawals occur? I can help out if you want it.

I believe some are kids who have the intelligence to graduate from a four-year college, but developed either lots of bad habits and/or not enough good habits as they went through school growing up. Or they may not develop any habits at all and were able to get by strictly through their intelligence. This leads to them having either a poor foundation or none at all when they get to college. Because of this underachieving they were barely able to qualify for college. However once the weight of what comes from college hits they "collapse" due to how their foundation looks and end up leaving.

Others did everything they could growing up and their best is also just enough to qualify. Once they get in they learn pretty quickly that their best isn't enough to make it through 4+ years and they eventually drop out.

Raising the admission standards will hopefully allow them to find their direction faster instead of losing one or two years languishing in a place they did not need to be in the first place. And then for the school it will help improve the graduation rate. At the same time in the future local kids who might want to go to Memphis will have to work based on those higher standards so that may help them build better foundations.

As for help I think the question is "How do you prepare a kid for college when they are already in college?" I don't have an answer for that right now. About the only thing I can think of is more effort to catch these kids before they reach that point. If something is already in place at the school, then there needs to be constant reminders placed to let students know that they can talk to someone to help them in their situation. To see if moving to another school, like focusing on an associate degree, is the best option or do they need help building a better foundation to so they can eventually graduate. If there isn't anything in place then maybe create it and promote it. Increased standards should help cut a lot of that down, but there are still plenty who have been or will be in school before they are fully in place. But it could be helpful even after for those life situations as well.

Overall from what I've seen on my own and from what others have said Memphis needs to continue to improve structure/organization. People are coming on here and talking about the lack of contact from the school with their children. Better structure should keep that from happening. That is a major problem that needs to be added to the strategic plan. It needs to be fixed along with the other changes mentioned.


Something else that will help is the effort Tennessee has been putting in to get standards up from the beginning of kids education. But it's still going to take work. Like look at this.

https://comptroller.tn.gov/office-functi...ility.html

Quote:No federally prescribed accountability system. Under No Child Left Behind, schools and districts either hit or missed their objectives – using this system, the Tennessee Department of Education estimated that 80 percent of schools would be identified as “failing” in 2015. Tennessee’s waiver changed the pass/fail system into a continuum of school district designations, ranging from In Need of Improvement to Exemplary. As under the waiver, Every Student Succeeds gives states the authority to develop their own accountability systems and interventions.

That was only seven years ago though it says Tennessee started their program in 2012. So this wasn't just a Shelby County problem, this was a statewide problem. Here are the 2022 links for what they have put in place. These also show where the schools fall at.

2022 School Accountability

2022 District Accountability

2021-2022 Accountability Protocol (gives info on the system, 69 pages)

With Shelby County most of the elementary schools are doing well, but things fall off once it gets to most of the middle schools and high schools. Considering the timing of all this I don't think that is a surprise. The older kids didn't get to fully grow up under these newer practices. If things are working properly more of these schools should improve as current and future elementary kids move up to middle and high school. For the university it's going to be a few more years before the kids that went through the gamut of the new system are college bound. So by then hopefully more of these kids that apply will be ready for the new standards, the rigors of college, and will be able to work through to the end.

There are some students who make it the college doors and are simply not able to do the work but that number is small. Colleges, including the UM, try to guide students to community college where academic recovery is a mission. Success there is a pretty good predictor of potential to graduate.

Having worked in both K-12 and higher Ed in the classroom, counseling and administration I have been exposed to a vast array of reasons students do not perform well and do not complete degrees.
Finances are still an obstacle even though associate and technical credentials can be achieved with little to no cost.
People who grow up in poverty face challenge many others do not face. Transportation is a major issue in a large area and marginal public transit options.
Women especially face family obligations.
Many first generation students face social and cultural challenges even to the extent that people them they will never exceed.
Legal barriers come into play.
Obligations of work, family, and any number of socioeconomic challenges weigh heavy on part time students.
Part-time students often do not have emotional resources to fight the battle to the end.
Language barriers come in to play for some.
There is an answer for every challenge and some make it through. Adults go back after years away and succeed. People wade through the quagmire of issues to succeed but it’s simply not as simple as how smart you are or how good your school was was.
Things many of us take for granted have to be discovered or fought for by others.
I was a first generation student who was told I needed to farm or work in a factory because my family didn’t have the money to pay for college. I was taught a strong work ethic and to never quit something you start. It took me longer but I eventually ended up with 4 degrees and no debt. I moved to Memphis with only what would fit in the back of a pick up, found a job at the TG&Y on summer Ave and duplex on the corner of Macon & Maria because State Tech didn’t have dorms. I worked my through an AA,BS, MS and my doctoral degrees motivated by one counselor in high school that told me to work in a factory. Still I had some things a lot of kids I worked didn’t have. Never underestimate the value of resilience. From the football field to the classroom to life I simply don’t quite.

There is not one answer to why students drop out. Often it’s many things and sometimes they can’t tell you why. For some it’s as simple as they don’t believe they can or they just belong.

I agree with your examples and that there is no one answer. But some challenges have a larger impacts on people than others. And I have a very tough time believing the number is small for those who make it to college but aren't able to do the work. The withdrawal numbers at Memphis are much higher than the norm. Some if not half of the things you list would fall under my foundation example. And others fall under the "life happens" category that I mentioned. Obviously all of these are life situations, but when I use the phrase I mean the things that happen during college that force a withdrawal. Your foundation that allowed you to accomplish your goals gives an opposite example of what I was talking about before. Those that don't come in with that kind of foundation are not going to have the drive that you had to succeed. Also I don't know when exactly you did all of that, but I'm working under the assumption that cost of living and tuition were different compared to now. It's not as easy for a high school graduate to earn enough to pay for both living expenses and school tuition while going to school.

I posted this link in a thread before. It apparently updates each year they get new numbers. In this it compared Memphis to the other full members in AAC before three leave. These numbers are based on an eight year time frame from when they first enrolled with a school.

For the group of students in that year's survey 27% at Memphis withdrew. That includes both full-time (24%) and part-time (37%). Second was Tulane at 15% and UCF third at 13%. Memphis had double the percentage of UCF who was third. For full-time only Memphis doubled USF who was second at 12%. For part-time only Temple was second at 27%. Tulane's situation is unique compared to the other schools so I will not use them for comparison. Wichita State was the closest comparable school to Memphis and they were at 20% overall, 18% FT, and 27% PT . And the student group the year before for Memphis was at 32%. Things aren't happening that much during college to cause such high numbers.

East Carolina is the only school that had a higher acceptance rate than Memphis (88% vs 85%). The year before that was flipped (84% vs 82%). However ECU had a withdrawal rate of 9%. Cincinnati's AR was third at 76%. The rest were 45%-71% (Tulane 11%). Memphis had the lowest rate of return after the first year at 79%. The others were 83% or higher.

When looking at test scores for the ACT and SAT, Memphis was the only school to accept SAT scores from someone or someones with a 490 in Math and 500 in Reading. And along with ECU the only ones to accept an ACT at 19.

I'm sorry but when I look at all of this I highly doubt there aren't that many being accepted into Memphis that can't handle college studies. The acceptance scores are too low and the withdrawal rates are too high.

What percentage of students at the UofM transfer into the school after the successful completion of two years of JUCO?

(03-06-2023 10:12 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 10:06 AM)DallasTiger Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 08:42 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 01:02 AM)NDTiger Wrote:  

(03-05-2023 11:48 PM)DallasTiger Wrote:  This says a lot:
"The U of M aims to see both its enrollment and enrollment quality increase. Admission standards are to be increased incrementally, a step the plan acknowledges as another “downward force” on enrollment. The immediate goal of those moves is to stabilize the new standards in the next year or two, before the enrollment cliff comes.

The U of M is also planning on diversifying its recruitment pool by making a national recruiting push. The school wants to find entry into what it sees as untapped markets, such as adult learners and transfer students. The school also wants to integrate deeper into feeder institutions and programs.

To achieve these goals, the university will spend more on recruiting and marketing, as well as increase access and affordability."

This is the first time I have seen the U of M actually interested in recruiting students from outside the core market. What this also says is that the university plan for a Fraternity Row, will probably come to fruition. If you are going to recruit from outside the area, students will be arriving with no local connections. Fraternities and Sororities enable students to get connected with other like-minded students and also provide a social life and connections with students of the opposite sex via social events.

Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

How recent is this map? It shows it as version 1.3. It does show an area for fraternities as #30 on the map. The current Lambda Chi Alpha house is owned by the university and rented from it. So, if this is the current map, it is showing a fraternity row area

I saw #30 on the legend, but I didn’t initially see it plotted on the map.
I believe thw KA & Sigma Chi houses are owned privately through their house housing associations.

KA sold a portion of their land to Sigma Chi several years ago due to financial hardships & dwindling membership. The KA house was sold a few years ago as they've been pushed off campus. The Sigma Chi house is 100% privately owned and one of the very few remaining that operates independently of the University.

(03-07-2023 08:54 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  What percentage of students at the UofM transfer into the school after the successful completion of two years of JUCO?

I did in 1965, transferring from St. Petersburg JC in Florida. But, I really never encountered anyone else at Memphis State that did the JC transfer route. So, I am interested in seeing if this is a significant number. I am guessing that a lot of Shelby State students transfer to the U of M.

(03-07-2023 10:51 AM)Unbreakable04 Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 10:12 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 10:06 AM)DallasTiger Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 08:42 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 01:02 AM)NDTiger Wrote:  Where is the Fraternity and Sorority row explicitly shown on the campus master plan? I believe it was eliminated 10yrs ago. Was originally planned to be a rather large, revamped area where the few Greek houses currently are. Agreed it would be a nice addition and much needed, if done right.

I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

How recent is this map? It shows it as version 1.3. It does show an area for fraternities as #30 on the map. The current Lambda Chi Alpha house is owned by the university and rented from it. So, if this is the current map, it is showing a fraternity row area

I saw #30 on the legend, but I didn’t initially see it plotted on the map.
I believe thw KA & Sigma Chi houses are owned privately through their house housing associations.

KA sold a portion of their land to Sigma Chi several years ago due to financial hardships & dwindling membership. The KA house was sold a few years ago as they've been pushed off campus. The Sigma Chi house is 100% privately owned and one of the very few remaining that operates independently of the University.

KA’s are still oncampus & still in the same house.

What happens to the privately owned Sigma Chi house if the university decides to start executing the master plan on the west side? Can the university purchase it via eminent domain?

(03-07-2023 11:08 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-07-2023 10:51 AM)Unbreakable04 Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 10:12 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 10:06 AM)DallasTiger Wrote:  

(03-06-2023 08:42 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  I believe it was scrapped. The current KA House looks like it will be replaced with a pedestrian corridor & the Sigma Chi house looks like it is the future home of a research park. I assume both will eventually be kicked off campus.

https://www.memphis.edu/masterplan/pdf/2...campus.pdf

How recent is this map? It shows it as version 1.3. It does show an area for fraternities as #30 on the map. The current Lambda Chi Alpha house is owned by the university and rented from it. So, if this is the current map, it is showing a fraternity row area

I saw #30 on the legend, but I didn’t initially see it plotted on the map.
I believe thw KA & Sigma Chi houses are owned privately through their house housing associations.

KA sold a portion of their land to Sigma Chi several years ago due to financial hardships & dwindling membership. The KA house was sold a few years ago as they've been pushed off campus. The Sigma Chi house is 100% privately owned and one of the very few remaining that operates independently of the University.

KA’s are still oncampus & still in the same house.

What happens to the privately owned Sigma Chi house if the university decides to start executing the master plan on the west side? Can the university purchase it via eminent domain?

Good to hear about KA, I knew at one point they were looking for a buyer and going off campus, but if they're still active and in the same house, that's great. The University needs as many on campus fraternities as possible, they're doing everything they can to push them completely out.

I don't foresee eminent domain being an option since the University has punted on embracing Greek life, in general. If they did try, quite the legal battle would ensue and I do not think the outcome would be favorable to the University considering that house was independently financed with zero University involvement.

I think the idea of a Greek Row would do wonders for the University but again, with the leadership in place abandoning fraternity/sorority life (colleges in general with it being strictly male/female), it is a long shot.

(03-07-2023 08:54 AM)Marc Mensa Wrote:  What percentage of students at the UofM transfer into the school after the successful completion of two years of JUCO?

Good question. This was about the closest I could find, but it doesn't give that specific info.

https://www.memphis.edu/oir/data/public_...origin.php

What you're looking for might only be accessible to faculty.