The unofficial online home for fans of the Western Michigan University Broncos. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-08-2018 09:34 AM)WesternSkillet Wrote:  Just curious, what are some examples that you are thinking with addressing the enrollment issue, band aid fixes, and avoiding the enrollment issue?

I only graduated a few year ago but I thought WMU had about 30K enrollment at one time. Maybe around the early 2000's?

Yes I believe we did have about 30K at one point. (I actually thought we did have 30K when I started at WMU in 2010)

I think some examples of addressing enrollment issues are a lot of new buildings. The affiliation (or ownership, or whatever it is) with Cooley Law School, the new med school, are a couple others. Those are all the ones I know.

(01-08-2018 04:36 PM)brovol Wrote:  Having two kids in college, and being involved with the local high school, I have a sense that GVSU is attractive to kids because it is a newer college, with "fresh" buildings on two nice looking campuses, and they have a variety of sports programs in a vibrant mid-sized city. It is attracting kids who, like most of WMU students, were above average in high school, but who generally dont have the scores to get into UM, or higher level schools. Each will get its share of high achievers, who could have applied to more prestigious schools, but generally the profiles are similar. I think GVSU is on a par with Ferris State, and maybe Oakland (frankly I think Oakland is higher), and It has done a nice job branding itself. I would certainly rather have a degree from WMU, in virtually any discipline, than GVSU, but to be honest, I doubt an employer in California would be able to distinguish either school on someones resume. Most Michigan employers would likely give WMU the nod, and certainly would in most of our more prominent programs, like engineering.

Visting GVSU's campus, it does have tons of newer buildings. I think this is what really attracts students. I know people complain about schools pouring money into new buildings, but that's a huge draw for high school students. The Chemistry Building, the engineering campus, Schneider Hall, the new dorms, and the new apartments are all great buildings. The rest are all really old. The sad thing is, a lot of those buildings are pretty recent - we're talking 5 years old or so. Old Sangren, Miller Hall, Wood Hall, the Bernhard Center, very old buildings that hosted a lot of classes. Not good enough compared to what GVSU offers.

Honestly I think the Bernhard Center student union probably turns a lot of prospective students away. It's just so old and looks and feels very outdated.

I don't think an employer in California would be able to distinguish between a WMU and GVSU degree either. However, I also don't think an employer would distinguish between a WMU or GVSU degree. He'd say they're both great schools and look at extracurriculars to determine hiring.

(01-07-2018 09:11 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  Grand Rapids is also the only part of the state that has seen substantial growth over the past 20 years, and because of sheer proximity that may be fueling GVSU's growth

Definitely.

(01-07-2018 08:02 PM)Hoekjeness Wrote:  GVSU is more like a solid 30 minutes from downtown Grand Rapids. You’re literally going through about 4 towns (GR, Standale, Walker, Allendale) and a dozen or so traffic lights to get there, even if it’s 45-55 MPH after the halfway point.

Also, if we’re calling it “overtaken” solely based on enrollment then Notre Dame is in big trouble. Ridiculous simpleton measurement.

Thing is, WMU and GVSU are comparable in terms of missions.

(01-07-2018 06:27 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  GVSU is the "hip" new school to go to, that's the vibe with college kids these days.

When I was in HS on the east side of the state, I think more kids from my school went to GVSU than WMU. I was the only one in my class to go to WMU right out of HS. For whatever reason, I think they do a better job marketing themselves to kids.

I went to HS in Grand Rapids. Lot of kids had a very high perception of GVSU, like it was a mini UofM. I can think of 3 others in my graduating class who went to WMU. Those who went to CMU weren't much more.

(01-07-2018 06:27 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  GVSU is the big fish in a small pond in sports and that gives them an air of dominance, which translates into a marketing push.

Definitely. They are proud that they're the second most winningest program in the Nation in football.

(01-07-2018 06:27 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  GVSU has more students, but a third of the endowment of WMU. They're a bloated liberal arts school, with a crazy undergrad to postgrad ratio. Despite having a larger overall enrollment, GVSU has far fewer postgraduates. USNWR classifies them as a "regional university", along with schools like U-D Mercy, Lawrence Tech, Ferris, Northern, Siena Heights, Davenport, SVSU. Meanwhile, U-M, MSU, WMU, CMU, EMU, Tech, Wayne State, and Oakland are considered "national universities".

Yes, the article did point out WMU is up with UofM and MSU; whereas GVSU is more comparable with Saginaw Valley ST.

(01-07-2018 06:27 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  Maybe kids in Grand Rapids do see GVSU in a better light. But the rest of the country doesn't.

Hard to say. The college rankings definitely view WMU as higher than GVSU, but not sure about the public in general.

(01-07-2018 06:27 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  It makes me think that it has to do with GVSU not actually being in Grand Rapids. Kalamazoo kids aren't crazy about going to WMU. Mt. Pleasant kids don't like CMU. The girl that lived across the hall from me my freshman year was from Mt. Pleasant and she said everyone that goes to high school there can't wait to get out of that city, and they really don't like Central. But since GVSU is a 20 minute drive from GR, maybe that's far enough away so that the school/city aren't clashing too much? I don't know...just a theory.

This is a huge issue and something both CMU & WMU need to work on. The general public in GR has more pride for GVSU than the general public in Kalamazoo has for WMU.