(09-09-2019 02:14 PM)BigBlueMonarch Wrote: (09-09-2019 01:57 PM)monarx Wrote: Isn't that a drop of about 50 points? I thought we were 215 last year. FWIW, VCU is 160 something. And rankings are definitely goals for most universities. The one I work for literally obsesses over them and has people hired whose job it is to specifically figure out how to work the system to make that happen. At first glance, I can tell you that if ODU could simply get its four year graduation rate to a lowly 40% and get its acceptance rate down to 79% our ranking would skyrocket. That doesn't seem that hard to do if you provide a great, engaged college experience, quality education, admit the right people who can succeed and get them resources they need. Rankings matter to students, to parents, to politicians who provide funding, to alumni who give back, pretty much everyone other than this guy quoted. I realize they are BS, but that's the game being played. And if you aren't playing the game, you're getting left behind... as we can see by looking at GMU and VCU.
Our graduation rate is highly affected by the large number of transfer students into and out of the institution. Mostly because of the large numbers of military who arrive and depart the area on a regular basis. But I agree a grad rate under 40% is well below the national average, and it seems unusually low to me. It is already harder to get into ODU, but I would also caution that demographics do not support ratcheting up the admission criteria. There are few high school grads in the pipeline for the next 6-8 years or so because of the recession. If ODU wants to up its profile, if needs to get out of its backyard and start recruiting for students nationally. I rarely see ODU even in bordering states like Maryland, and Delaware.
Oh I work in higher ed recruitment. 
ODUs 4 year grad rate wasn't just under 40%, it was only 27%. Thats pretty awful. I understand some of the reasons, but if our ranking doesnt improve, military people aren't going to want to come here either. 39-40% is not even great, but is certainly achievable. And what do demographics have to do with our admissions criteria? ODU has much, much more diversity than most schools in Virginia. GMU has even more, but its much more diverse, diversity and their admission standards are higher. And there are plenty of smart people from all demographics who want to go to college. We just need to adjust the product to be able to land them and sell ourselves to them.
I hate seeing ODU rank so low when it has so much to offer. Again, I realize the rankings have little reflection on actual education quality, but most people (and hiring managers) don't. I know people who have literally chosen employees based upon where they went to school and the ranking of that school.
I totally agree that ODU needs to get further out of Hampton Roads, and even out of state for more students. Those are the students that will graduate on time, get engaged with campus life and give back as alumni. I also think if ODU ups its customer service, academic rigor, facilities, and marketing game it can get the students that will raise its graduation rate and giving rate, resulting in more applications, resulting in more selectivity, resulting in higher rankings.
Also, it is harder to get into ODU, but some of that is perception only, because a 3.2 now, is not the same as it was 15-20 years ago. Kids today graduate with way higher than 4.0s due to AP classes.
Lastly, ODU was ranked 263 out of 399 schools, not 1800. So bottom 40%, not top 15%. Just last year we were basically tied with ECU and UNCC, now we are significantly behind them, much less GMU and VCU. This is not good news, its good PR though.
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ODU Brand/Image Improvement Thread
