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So Va.Pilot reports today that ODU has falling enrollments. ODU now has to cut their Athletic budget by $843K because of it. Also today ...US News and World Report published their University rankings and ODU rankings have fallen. I hope this is awake up call to the Administration at ODU. The University cannot sustain this course. ODU Administration needs to have a frank conversation with Govenor and State Legislator to step up the state contribution to the University or the University needs to change its admissions approach and bring in many more out of state students.
We are letting in people that have no chance of graduating. Raise the standards! Higher GPAs to get in. They claim diversity and including all students, I don't care where they came from or what they look like. Stop letting in dumb students
They need to market their discriminators... engineering, dental hygiene, business, and strong salaries compared to our peers. Instead, the marketing is all about "diversity" whatever the hell that means. Time to drain the swamp and bring in some new blood across the board. It's only going to get worse as the value of a college degree keeps sliding. They have no choice but to take anyone that applies. They are overleveraged and have too many programs and departments that should go away. The problem is by no means unique to us either.

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Shameful of the state to not allow the biggest metro area outside of Northern Virginia to have a competitive university.

Yeah keep taking tax dollars from HR and sending them to other localities like Harrisburg or Williamsburg. Most people who have heard of W&MC don't even realize it's a state school. Why does it need any public money at all?

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"At ODU, the problem runs deeper. More students are taking classes online, and online students pay minimal student fees."

I have a number of classes that are only offered online. The school is sort of shooting themselves in the foot this way.
Though I'm not sure how that works because online classes have additional tech fees.

On the plus side the university has seen more interest in the engineering school. I am part of Dr. Adam's Engineering Ambassador program. We have more events planned for this year than last year to recruit potential students (visiting local high schools) as well as having to add additional days and times for show and tells on campus the college of Engineering as there is a waiting list that keeps growing.

If ODU was playing the long game to prepare the kids for a future with automation where just about every job can and will be automated. It needs to increase enrollment in STEM fields and cut back on the liberal arts stuff. I understand that it is important to have those kinds of people around, but it will be difficult to get donations if your grads are unemployed.
Exactly. Engineering, math and science is the future. Not art, music and psychology. ODU preaches the stem thing but is not excelling in it in the state of VA. ODU needs an image and culture change on the academic front.
(09-12-2017 08:10 PM)GhentFan Wrote: [ -> ]"At ODU, the problem runs deeper. More students are taking classes online, and online students pay minimal student fees."

I have a number of classes that are only offered online. The school is sort of shooting themselves in the foot this way.
Though I'm not sure how that works because online classes have additional tech fees.

On the plus side the university has seen more interest in the engineering school. I am part of Dr. Adam's Engineering Ambassador program. We have more events planned for this year than last year to recruit potential students (visiting local high schools) as well as having to add additional days and times for show and tells on campus the college of Engineering as there is a waiting list that keeps growing.

If ODU was playing the long game to prepare the kids for a future with automation where just about every job can and will be automated. It needs to increase enrollment in STEM fields and cut back on the liberal arts stuff. I understand that it is important to have those kinds of people around, but it will be difficult to get donations if your grads are unemployed.
I agree. I graduated with a Mech E. degree this summer and I have to say the engineering program is quality. I doubt any public school outside of MIT level will offer a significantly better curriculum. The reason for this is we are accredited by ABET which designs engineering curricula for all major schools. Even at a school that costs double ODU in tuition the courses and learning objectives will be identical.

To improve ODU's reputation I encourage all engineering students to pass the FE exam upon graduating. The reason is ABET courses meet the FE exam expectations. Passing the exam shows that ODU students are achieving to the same standard as the rest of the country. Part of why VT is so highly regarded is their students are top 3 in exam attempts every year.

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The real issue is that a college degree has been totally de-valued by the flood of college grads into the market and at the same time the price of a college education has sky-rocketed (in part because of athletic fees).

This is totally unsustainable and there is no easy answer here because time after the college grads are coming out into the real world with no work experience, no great opportunities and insane amounts of student debt. You can deny it if you want but it's a real issue that must be addressed. Many of the old timers who don't want to hear this just do not understand the difference between today's work force entrance wages, the job market and the staggering cost of an education none of which are relatable to anything anyone over 50 ever experienced.
(09-12-2017 08:47 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote: [ -> ]The real issue is that a college degree has been totally de-valued by the flood of college grads into the market and at the same time the price of a college education has sky-rocketed (in part because of athletic fees).

This is totally unsustainable and there is no easy answer here because time after the college grads are coming out into the real world with no work experience, no great opportunities and insane amounts of student debt. You can deny it if you want but it's a real issue that must be addressed. Many of the old timers who don't want to hear this just do not understand the difference between today's work force entrance wages, the job market and the staggering cost of an education none of which are relatable to anything anyone over 50 ever experienced.
I agree but that should make ODU more attractive to applicants. The shipyard and other defense related employers are always hiring ODU grads. Besides that I know several students/alumni working for Norfolk Southern or other private companies in the area. The College of Engineering advertises local career fairs, recruiting events and internships with great frequency.

How many entities employ greater than 100 people in the greater Blacksburg area? How many VT students have internships or entry level positions year round?

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(09-12-2017 08:31 PM)ODU2017 Wrote: [ -> ]
(09-12-2017 08:10 PM)GhentFan Wrote: [ -> ]"At ODU, the problem runs deeper. More students are taking classes online, and online students pay minimal student fees."

I have a number of classes that are only offered online. The school is sort of shooting themselves in the foot this way.
Though I'm not sure how that works because online classes have additional tech fees.

On the plus side the university has seen more interest in the engineering school. I am part of Dr. Adam's Engineering Ambassador program. We have more events planned for this year than last year to recruit potential students (visiting local high schools) as well as having to add additional days and times for show and tells on campus the college of Engineering as there is a waiting list that keeps growing.

If ODU was playing the long game to prepare the kids for a future with automation where just about every job can and will be automated. It needs to increase enrollment in STEM fields and cut back on the liberal arts stuff. I understand that it is important to have those kinds of people around, but it will be difficult to get donations if your grads are unemployed.
I agree. I graduated with a Mech E. degree this summer and I have to say the engineering program is quality. I doubt any public school outside of MIT level will offer a significantly better curriculum. The reason for this is we are accredited by ABET which designs engineering curricula for all major schools. Even at a school that costs double ODU in tuition the courses and learning objectives will be identical.

To improve ODU's reputation I encourage all engineering students to pass the FE exam upon graduating. The reason is ABET courses meet the FE exam expectations. Passing the exam shows that ODU students are achieving to the same standard as the rest of the country. Part of why VT is so highly regarded is their students are top 3 in exam attempts every year.

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I'm a civil engineering grad. Passed the FE before I graduated. Just got my PE although it took a few tries. That was a hard test
Some of the above posts are the most inane in the history of this board and frankly embarrasses me to be an Old Dominion alum.First, I graduated from the School of Arts and Letters ,I had no interest in cleaning teeth or inspecting bridges, the thinly veiled racism of "drain the swamp " is revolting and , yes I'm over 50 and know the costs of higher education my children graduated from the University of South Carolina and attend UNC
(09-12-2017 09:33 PM)odumon84 Wrote: [ -> ]Some of the above posts are the most inane in the history of this board and frankly embarrasses me to be an Old Dominion alum.First, I graduated from the School of Arts and Letters ,I had no interest in cleaning teeth or inspecting bridges, the thinly veiled racism of "drain the swamp " is revolting and , yes I'm over 50 and know the costs of higher education my children graduated from the University of South Carolina and attend UNC

Cool story.
At one time not too long ago there was some talk about Old Dominion and EVMS joining up which would have been a very big deal for ODU by giving them a medical school affiliation. What ever happened with that? I seem to recall something with William and Mary happened with EVMS instead.
(09-12-2017 09:33 PM)odumon84 Wrote: [ -> ]Some of the above posts are the most inane in the history of this board and frankly embarrasses me to be an Old Dominion alum.First, I graduated from the School of Arts and Letters ,I had no interest in cleaning teeth or inspecting bridges, the thinly veiled racism of "drain the swamp " is revolting and , yes I'm over 50 and know the costs of higher education my children graduated from the University of South Carolina and attend UNC

03-thumbsup
Someone always gets offended over nothing. Everything that has been said is the truth
At least we are cheap and have lots of diversity. That seems to be the highest priority.
(09-12-2017 10:33 PM)monarx Wrote: [ -> ]At least we are cheap and have lots of diversity. That seems to be the highest priority.

There is no such thing as "cheap" college anymore. There are only parents with higher means who can afford to send their kids and not saddle them with debt from the very beginning of their adult lives.

But sure, shoot the messenger, its this boards forte.
(09-12-2017 10:56 PM)Razor Ramon Monarch Wrote: [ -> ]
(09-12-2017 10:33 PM)monarx Wrote: [ -> ]At least we are cheap and have lots of diversity. That seems to be the highest priority.

There is no such thing as "cheap" college anymore. There are only parents with higher means who can afford to send their kids and not saddle them with debt from the very beginning of their adult lives.

But sure, shoot the messenger, its this boards forte.
When the national bubble pops I have a feeling graduating debt free will be a top priority for a lot of students. I predict ODU will receive many more applications at that time.

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I should have said "comparatively cheap". And community college is a tremendous value for the money and pretty close to cheap. So there are those alternatives. That's part of the problem facing ODU. If you read comments from students, they expect more resources and better service for their money. And trust me, most students don't care about the cost of education until after they have graduated. For now they want gourmet food, study abroad trips, personal Career coaches, fancy rec centers, theaters, lazy rivers etc. If you don't rival club med, high achieving kids won't consider you. They are guaranteed loan money to pay for it, and take advantage of that resource for a four year resort lifestyle in many (not all) cases.
(09-12-2017 07:46 PM)cmett003 Wrote: [ -> ]We are letting in people that have no chance of graduating. Raise the standards! Higher GPAs to get in. They claim diversity and including all students, I don't care where they came from or what they look like. Stop letting in dumb students

Right with ya. Plus it would be interesting to see if that approach has been paying off with increased donations to the University. The last 20 years ODU has been on this trajectory so there should be information on the demographics of the donating Alumni population just like there is on admissions. Diversity and Inclusion is the right thing to do as long as it carries through to Alumni donations as well.
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