(04-26-2020 05:04 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 11:24 AM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 10:10 AM)Big Red Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 09:39 AM)niu1980 Wrote:  University of Illinois - Champaign-Urbana - Division I
University of Illinois - Chicago - Division I - No Football
University of Illinois - Springfield - Division II - No Football

NIU - DeKalb - Division I
NIU - Chicago - Division I, II - No Football or Division III - Possibly Football

The neighborhood around Chicago State is very similar to what it was around UIC 20 years ago. Neighborhoods evolve and city universities can do that. Think Northwestern Medicines’s Community Health Clinic at NIU - Chicago evolving into a hospital 30 years from now.

Think big. Hey the doom and gloomers on this board think NIU won’t exist next year. Maybe they’re right. So take a chance, think out of the box, what is there to lose?

The difference between the locations of the two campuses is night and day. Having your chicago footprint be the gateway to the most inaccessible areas in the city is not something to strive for.

If you want to "absorb" a city college, absorb Northeastern Illinois. I have no clue about their financials but at least that school has a good location that could be marketed.

Either way. I guess I'm not sure what people mean by "absorb" Chicago State when the examples given are SIU/SIUe and UofI/UIC/UIS.

To the best of my knowledge, those schools all work pretty independent of each other, especially from an athletics standpoint. I can't imagine SIUe does anything to boost enrollment at SIU (from what I've heard, it actually hurts their enrollment). I know that UofI and UIC partner on some programs (mostly medical, I think) but I'm not sure of the benefit between either of those schools and UIS. Honestly, I thought I heard at one point that the name change to UIS was done for marketing purposes designed to help out the Springfield school and had literally zero positive effects on the other two.

Simply put, I don't even think the people on that CSN board were looking at a map or, it they were, have no clue about the dynamics or size of Chicago (and exactly where Roseland actually is).

Just having a Chicago address wouldn't do anything for NIU just like I'm sure having NIU attached their name does nothing to help out Chicago State.

You make some good points that certainly would be part of any evaluation. Not sure what you mean by an inaccessible location. The location is right off of a major interstate, much like UIC. It is in a neighborhood that many would say go to campus and stay on campus until your school day is done much like UIC was up until 20 to 30 years ago. I understand there would be many risks to an endeavor like this. I am not even saying it should be seriously considered. But talking about it can bring out new ideas, like mentioning a Northeastern as maybe an option.

What if NIU hooked up with a Comcast or an AT&T to promote adding more internet service to more homes in the south and southeast sides of Chicago with discounted rates and promoted the Chicago campus for an online initiative much like Arizona State or Liberty and it became the hub for in person testing, optional supplemental in person classroom work, counseling, academic advisor support, tutoring opportunities, athletic programs, etc.

Someone at Liberty, Grand Canyon and Arizona State said we can grow to 100,000 students by doing this. Those are three completely different institutions, private, for profit, and public. Took a chance.

To answer your question, Chicago State is definitely in the area of Roseland that is most accessible to people not from the area and it's still not that accessable as the red line stop is a good distance away and there's no opportunity to make the stop closer (like they did with United Center and UIC and West Loop, etc.) because that is the absolute last stop on the line. Think about that. Chicago extends as far south in areas all the way to 138th street yet the absolute farthest south you can take the train is 95th street. Metra goes down that way but it's a commuter train that runs every 2 hours on the weekend and on a strict schedule throughout the week.

Needless to say, the campus isn't going to draw from any area than what it does right now, and it's struggling for students in an area that has extreme poverty, almost zero development, and a declining population. The far south side is cut off from the rest of the city in so many ways. Yes, CSU is at the very north end of this isolation area (you could call it segregation) and is an uber drive (if you can get one) from the closest L stop. That's not a selling point.

Thanks for the well thought out response. Maybe if the long planned red line extension was a realty things could be different with also a Huskie bus line from the closes station to campus. Plus a number of other what ifs.

(04-26-2020 05:37 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  [quote='JB04' pid='16794500' dateline='1587918804']
Terrible idea, never would happen anyway.

Yep. The dreamers on this board all smoke some potent stuff. Absorb a college in dire straits in a neighborhood where you risk your life? Ha!!! I have never heard of anything so stupid and ludicrous. NIU should just concentrate on saving itself from extinction.

Facts. People from the Roseland neighborhood don’t want to be in the Roseland neighborhood. I hear DeKalb has gotten a little bit hood, but this ain’t it guys. Now if the students need a home when Chicago State closes down we do need help with enrollment numbers.....

Keep in mind that CSU had less than 200 freshmen last year. And how many could even make our admission standards? Please let us move on from this crazy idea.

(04-26-2020 10:52 PM)NIU75 Wrote:  Keep in mind that CSU had less than 200 freshmen last year. And how many could even make our admission standards?

Not trying to be a downer, but what even are NIU's admission standards anymore?

Serious question

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(04-26-2020 10:54 PM)Stay Cool Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 10:52 PM)NIU75 Wrote:  Keep in mind that CSU had less than 200 freshmen last year. And how many could even make our admission standards?

Not trying to be a downer, but what even are NIU's admission standards anymore?

Serious question

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First, breathe through one nostril. Then, breathe through the other nostril. Then, breathe through both nostrils. If you can do all three, you’re accepted. Welcome to NIU!!

(04-27-2020 07:34 PM)brandsxb Wrote:  The upside of absorbing Chicago State University
It has a cool name.

The downside:
It is in financial trouble.
An administration that has had a series of scandals.
Two years ago the freshman class had approximately 25 new students, no one wanted to go there.
It is located in a troubled part of Chicago

(04-26-2020 09:09 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  Why in the hell would NIU want to absorb Chicago State? That is the most stupid idea of the century. A failing university in a dangerous area is not on President Freeman’s Christmas list.

I agree with that. She already has one failing university that continues to decline every single year. Does merging another problem into NIU help that?

They had actually righted the ship at NIU before this pandemic happened. After close to a decade of declines, enrollment had stabilized and was projected to increase slightly in coming years. Freshman retention was improved. They just finished a real nice renovation of the student center, the food sustainability development on west campus is on the way and they got funds approved to plan a new health sciences building, hopefully for the center of campus. So while enrollment is not nearly what it was, the arrow was pointed ever so slightly up at NIU when this happened. This is new territory for everyone but I have a lot of confidence in the current leadership in DeKalb. They will get through this too.

(04-26-2020 07:49 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 05:37 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  [quote='JB04' pid='16794500' dateline='1587918804']
Terrible idea, never would happen anyway.

Yep. The dreamers on this board all smoke some potent stuff. Absorb a college in dire straits in a neighborhood where you risk your life? Ha!!! I have never heard of anything so stupid and ludicrous. NIU should just concentrate on saving itself from extinction.

Facts. People from the Roseland neighborhood don’t want to be in the Roseland neighborhood. I hear DeKalb has gotten a little bit hood, but this ain’t it guys. Now if the students need a home when Chicago State closes down we do need help with enrollment numbers.....

Perhaps the answer is to flip this script.
Some on here constantly ***** about the geographical name being a limiting factor, so how about Chicago State absorbs NIU and relocates to DeKalb. Just sub the letters CSU under the Huskie logo and suddenly we're talking the associated benefit of a major city in the name. The "new CSU" is suddenly in a much safer place with a bigger campus plus better athletic facilities. The old NIU could also get a quick cash infusion via a reduced price to sell the Chicago campus location as a the site for the Obama presidential library.

(04-29-2020 03:49 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 07:49 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 05:37 PM)niu1980 Wrote:  

(04-26-2020 03:12 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  [quote='JB04' pid='16794500' dateline='1587918804']
Terrible idea, never would happen anyway.

Yep. The dreamers on this board all smoke some potent stuff. Absorb a college in dire straits in a neighborhood where you risk your life? Ha!!! I have never heard of anything so stupid and ludicrous. NIU should just concentrate on saving itself from extinction.

Facts. People from the Roseland neighborhood don’t want to be in the Roseland neighborhood. I hear DeKalb has gotten a little bit hood, but this ain’t it guys. Now if the students need a home when Chicago State closes down we do need help with enrollment numbers.....

Perhaps the answer is to flip this script.
Some on here constantly ***** about the geographical name being a limiting factor, so how about Chicago State absorbs NIU and relocates to DeKalb. Just sub the letters CSU under the Huskie logo and suddenly we're talking the associated benefit of a major city in the name. The "new CSU" is suddenly in a much safer place with a bigger campus plus better athletic facilities. The old NIU could also get a quick cash infusion via a reduced price to sell the Chicago campus location as a the site for the Obama presidential library.

If Northern Illinois is a name that is a hinderance, I'm not sure how calling the school Chicago State....when it would be located in DeKalb....would help much. It's not like Chicago State has name recognition outside of the city for anything other than having the worst D-I basketball program in the country.

But yeah, I mean, I'd love to hear how you think changing NIU to CSU would benefit the university.

And, on a side note, I'm sure the Obama Foundation (or whatever it's called) is chomping at the bit to purchase land south of 95th street that has no connection to any public transportation other than a 40 minute ride on the bus that doesn't even drop off at the campus.

(04-29-2020 04:58 PM)Big Red Wrote:  If Northern Illinois is a name that is a hinderance, I'm not sure how calling the school Chicago State....when it would be located in DeKalb....would help much. It's not like Chicago State has name recognition outside of the city for anything other than having the worst D-I basketball program in the country.

But yeah, I mean, I'd love to hear how you think changing NIU to CSU would benefit the university.

And, on a side note, I'm sure the Obama Foundation (or whatever it's called) is chomping at the bit to purchase land south of 95th street that has no connection to any public transportation other than a 40 minute ride on the bus that doesn't even drop off at the campus.

sar·casm
/ˈsärˌkazəm /

noun: sarcasm; plural noun: sarcasms

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

(05-01-2020 10:00 AM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 04:58 PM)Big Red Wrote:  If Northern Illinois is a name that is a hinderance, I'm not sure how calling the school Chicago State....when it would be located in DeKalb....would help much. It's not like Chicago State has name recognition outside of the city for anything other than having the worst D-I basketball program in the country.

But yeah, I mean, I'd love to hear how you think changing NIU to CSU would benefit the university.

And, on a side note, I'm sure the Obama Foundation (or whatever it's called) is chomping at the bit to purchase land south of 95th street that has no connection to any public transportation other than a 40 minute ride on the bus that doesn't even drop off at the campus.

sar·casm
/ˈsärˌkazəm /

noun: sarcasm; plural noun: sarcasms

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

Of course it was.