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

I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

(09-04-2021 12:57 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

Well, I am glad to hear we are the tallest midget.

What has caused this drop for all of these schools, in particular WMU.

(09-04-2021 01:12 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:57 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

Well, I am glad to hear we are the tallest midget.

What has caused this drop for all of these schools, in particular WMU.

Michigan has a stagnant population and HS enrollment has gone way down across the state. Just look at how many HS football programs have moved to 8-man just this year, or even cancelled their season outright.

More and more colleges are competing for fewer HS students. U-M and MSU are pulling heavily from out of state and international to make up the difference.

College also gets more and more expensive every year, which I'm sure has had an impact.

(09-04-2021 01:44 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 01:12 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:57 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

Well, I am glad to hear we are the tallest midget.

What has caused this drop for all of these schools, in particular WMU.

Michigan has a stagnant population and HS enrollment has gone way down across the state. Just look at how many HS football programs have moved to 8-man just this year, or even cancelled their season outright.

More and more colleges are competing for fewer HS students. U-M and MSU are pulling heavily from out of state and international to make up the difference.

College also gets more and more expensive every year, which I'm sure has had an impact.

I was wondering if this was the case.

I bring this up for a few reasons….

My nephew (lines in MN) did a virtual tour of WMU, which I think many kids do now when they are narrowing down their choices for college.

He thought the school Looked like a joke. He and his parents were literally laughing about it. They were nice to my face, and even gave it the “I am sure it’s really not that bad in person” but it clearly was laughable in comparison to other virtual tours they did.

Interesting. Was it the virtual presentation that was laughable, or the campus itself?

WMU is undergoing a huge facelift and has a weird mix of building styles. Old 60s, brutalist buildings that are falling apart, and then sleek new glass-and-steel buildings. But then the new alumni building is designed in the old brick and mortar style. I've always thought there wasn't much visual identity or cohesiveness on campus. That being said, it certainly holds up to other mid-size public universities in the Midwest. I love campus because it's unique and is partly pedestrian only. Has a more homey vibe.

But, if you're looking at Miami or Northwestern or Notre Dame or whatever, yeah, WMU is gonna look like crap.

WMU has lost its identity. It used to be significantly cheaper than MSU and UM. Now it’s close to same price. IMO that’s why the enrollment is way down. Why would anyone pay around the same price to go there as the big schools? CMU and EMU have the same problem.

These schools are being run by complete morons.

(09-04-2021 02:19 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 01:44 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 01:12 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:57 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

Well, I am glad to hear we are the tallest midget.

What has caused this drop for all of these schools, in particular WMU.

Michigan has a stagnant population and HS enrollment has gone way down across the state. Just look at how many HS football programs have moved to 8-man just this year, or even cancelled their season outright.

More and more colleges are competing for fewer HS students. U-M and MSU are pulling heavily from out of state and international to make up the difference.

College also gets more and more expensive every year, which I'm sure has had an impact.

I was wondering if this was the case.

I bring this up for a few reasons….

My nephew (lines in MN) did a virtual tour of WMU, which I think many kids do now when they are narrowing down their choices for college.

He thought the school Looked like a joke. He and his parents were literally laughing about it. They were nice to my face, and even gave it the “I am sure it’s really not that bad in person” but it clearly was laughable in comparison to other virtual tours they did.

Proudfoot anyone? That freakin’ guy is a joke. $700k for a rebranding we didn’t need but we don’t have decent student recruitment tools. What the hell!!??

(09-04-2021 02:19 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 01:44 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 01:12 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:57 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 12:54 PM)Windycitybronco Wrote:  I recently read that our undergrad enrollment sits at around 18k….is this correct???

What happened to WMU enrollment? It used to be in the high 20’s???

Was there a cause that attributed to this decline?

That's probably correct, but we also have 4-5k grad students.

WMU undergrad has gone down, but so has every school in Michigan except for U-M/MSU. WMU has actually lost fewer students than other schools like CMU/EMU.

Well, I am glad to hear we are the tallest midget.

What has caused this drop for all of these schools, in particular WMU.

Michigan has a stagnant population and HS enrollment has gone way down across the state. Just look at how many HS football programs have moved to 8-man just this year, or even cancelled their season outright.

More and more colleges are competing for fewer HS students. U-M and MSU are pulling heavily from out of state and international to make up the difference.

College also gets more and more expensive every year, which I'm sure has had an impact.

I was wondering if this was the case.

I bring this up for a few reasons….

My nephew (lines in MN) did a virtual tour of WMU, which I think many kids do now when they are narrowing down their choices for college.

He thought the school Looked like a joke. He and his parents were literally laughing about it. They were nice to my face, and even gave it the “I am sure it’s really not that bad in person” but it clearly was laughable in comparison to other virtual tours they did.

Proudfoot anyone? That freakin’ guy is a joke. $700k for a rebranding we didn’t need but we don’t have decent student recruitment tools. What the hell!!??

(09-04-2021 04:35 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  WMU has lost its identity. It used to be significantly cheaper than MSU and UM. Now it’s close to same price. IMO that’s why the enrollment is way down. Why would anyone pay around the same price to go there as the big schools? CMU and EMU have the same problem.

These schools are being run by complete morons.

WMU was the backup school for the kids that didn't get into the Big 10 schools. But with fewer and fewer HS grads to choose from, WMU is feeling the squeeze. Even MSU has lowered their admission standards to keep enrollment up.

Doesn't help that we hire morons like Tony Proudfoot to market the university. And pay them ridiculous salaries to do so. Admin overhead is destroying WMU and colleges everywhere.

I don't think it's been at 20K since the Great Recession. Just haven't been able to recover from that.

There are a LOT of reasons for enrollment problems at WMU. The last decade has seen a perfect storm of declining population, leadership changes, budget cuts, terrible marketing, and International partnerships dissolving. MSU has crushed us by lowering their entry standards in key programs like business and engineering. GVSU has kicked our ass in marketing the GR and Detroit territories.

Budget cuts are consistently made in the enrollment side, and I don't understand why. Our Admissions office is held together with dreams and duct tape. They are so under-resourced, a consulting agency came and took a look and couldn't believe what they saw. WMU Admissions is less than half the size and budget than similar programs around the country. Then they got gutted even more in the last round of cuts. Everything from mailers to high school visits, and on-campus events to daily tours - it's all been cut way back. The guy running enrollment (overseeing Admissions and Financial Aid) has no experience in that world and was only put in as an interim - over 2 years ago. He doesn't know what he doesn't know.

The State of Michigan needs to take a long look at the Higher Education system. They have cut higher ed funding to the bone, which is why tuition has skyrocketed. We also need to be real and ask hard questions. Do we need 15 public universities in this state? Does the U.P. need 3?

(09-04-2021 09:39 PM)broncofan1 Wrote:  There are a LOT of reasons for enrollment problems at WMU. The last decade has seen a perfect storm of declining population, leadership changes, budget cuts, terrible marketing, and International partnerships dissolving. MSU has crushed us by lowering their entry standards in key programs like business and engineering. GVSU has kicked our ass in marketing the GR and Detroit territories.

Budget cuts are consistently made in the enrollment side, and I don't understand why. Our Admissions office is held together with dreams and duct tape. They are so under-resourced, a consulting agency came and took a look and couldn't believe what they saw. WMU Admissions is less than half the size and budget than similar programs around the country. Then they got gutted even more in the last round of cuts. Everything from mailers to high school visits, and on-campus events to daily tours - it's all been cut way back. The guy running enrollment (overseeing Admissions and Financial Aid) has no experience in that world and was only put in as an interim - over 2 years ago. He doesn't know what he doesn't know.

The State of Michigan needs to take a long look at the Higher Education system. They have cut higher ed funding to the bone, which is why tuition has skyrocketed. We also need to be real and ask hard questions. Do we need 15 public universities in this state? Does the U.P. need 3?

The state needs to consolidate programs and make the public universities more specialized. It's the only way for these schools to survive.
I've always thought universities should offer more streamlined paths to degrees focusing more on relevant courses and fewer irrelevant electives. I hated taking electives - complete waste of time and money.

(09-04-2021 04:44 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 04:35 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  WMU has lost its identity. It used to be significantly cheaper than MSU and UM. Now it’s close to same price. IMO that’s why the enrollment is way down. Why would anyone pay around the same price to go there as the big schools? CMU and EMU have the same problem.

These schools are being run by complete morons.

WMU was the backup school for the kids that didn't get into the Big 10 schools. But with fewer and fewer HS grads to choose from, WMU is feeling the squeeze. Even MSU has lowered their admission standards to keep enrollment up.

Doesn't help that we hire morons like Tony Proudfoot to market the university. And pay them ridiculous salaries to do so. Admin overhead is destroying WMU and colleges everywhere.

That’s quite an assumption that “wmu was the backup for kids who didn’t get into the big 10 schools.” May be the case for some. Wmu more so competes with MSU and I and many others I know never wanted to go to MSU for many reasons. Wmu was first choice due to being the right size, location in west Michigan, and good programs. Also don’t forget a large portion of WMU students come from metro Chicago area. In my opinion WMU needs to market more to being the anti MSU. It needs to market that they are the school close to Chicago. And from what I can tell, GVSU has exploded and seems to want to be the school of West Michigan now.

(09-04-2021 04:44 PM)ColinApocalypse Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 04:35 PM)Flashboski Wrote:  WMU has lost its identity. It used to be significantly cheaper than MSU and UM. Now it’s close to same price. IMO that’s why the enrollment is way down. Why would anyone pay around the same price to go there as the big schools? CMU and EMU have the same problem.

These schools are being run by complete morons.

WMU was the backup school for the kids that didn't get into the Big 10 schools. But with fewer and fewer HS grads to choose from, WMU is feeling the squeeze. Even MSU has lowered their admission standards to keep enrollment up.

Doesn't help that we hire morons like Tony Proudfoot to market the university. And pay them ridiculous salaries to do so. Admin overhead is destroying WMU and colleges everywhere.

That’s quite an assumption that “wmu was the backup for kids who didn’t get into the big 10 schools.” May be the case for some. Wmu more so competes with MSU and I and many others I know never wanted to go to MSU for many reasons. Wmu was first choice due to being the right size, location in west Michigan, and good programs. Also don’t forget a large portion of WMU students come from metro Chicago area. In my opinion WMU needs to market more to being the anti MSU. It needs to market that they are the school close to Chicago. And from what I can tell, GVSU has exploded and seems to want to be the school of West Michigan now.

I knew plenty of others that chose WMU over MSU and other major schools but the "backup school" label was probably true more often than not, outside of a few programs.

(09-05-2021 02:48 PM)wmubroncopilot Wrote:  I knew plenty of others that chose WMU over MSU and other major schools but the "backup school" label was probably true more often than not, outside of a few programs.

Seeing that 52% of US college students change their major, I say the MSU assumption is well under 50%. MSU is not great. Yeah has a Much better and bigger athletics following which could be cool. and if you want to relive your high school days with a large portion of your high school class. Wmu should not try to be MSU. WMU is Unique in its own ways.

(09-04-2021 10:38 PM)sketownguy Wrote:  The state needs to consolidate programs and make the public universities more specialized. It's the only way for these schools to survive.
I've always thought universities should offer more streamlined paths to degrees focusing more on relevant courses and fewer irrelevant electives. I hated taking electives - complete waste of time and money.

You're also an anti-vaxxer. WMU should do the opposite of what you suggest, and do whatever it takes to keep people with your ideology off campus.

You should have went to ITT Tech. More your speed.

(09-05-2021 06:12 PM)Charm City Bronco Wrote:  

(09-04-2021 10:38 PM)sketownguy Wrote:  The state needs to consolidate programs and make the public universities more specialized. It's the only way for these schools to survive.
I've always thought universities should offer more streamlined paths to degrees focusing more on relevant courses and fewer irrelevant electives. I hated taking electives - complete waste of time and money.

You're also an anti-vaxxer. WMU should do the opposite of what you suggest, and do whatever it takes to keep people with your ideology off campus.

You should have went to ITT Tech. More your speed.

So I'm an anti-vaxxer even though I've taken both Moderna shots. That was my personal choice for myself but I believe in freedom for everyone to make their own choices and not being forced to put an unproven experimental shot in others. Universities are supposed to be places where all ideas and ideologies are welcomed and debated. Unfortunately they have become places where people like you have forced freedom of thought into submission with cancel culture and Marxist ideology. If you judge my suggestions by their merit, you'd see they make a lot of sense but you won't because you're blinded by radical ideology.

Regardless of whether some people choose WMU over MSU, the numbers indicate that MSU pulls away more admitted WMU students than any other school - and it's not even close.

Streamlining our programs is a must, but we can't become a trade school. The Board and the President need to support our stronger programs (Aviation, Engineering, Business, Fine Arts) and seek opportunities to grow others (health care, Pre-Med, sustainability).

Right now there is nobody at WMU who feels supported by this administration. The VP of Finance, VP of Marketing, VP of Enrollment, and the President are completely and totally out of touch with the rest of the University. WMU is a tough place to be right now. Scores of staff were fired in the budget cuts. Dozens of faculty took early retirement. We lost an immense amount of institutional knowledge. The Admissions budget was devastated.

So, when asked why enrollment numbers are low (including the reasons listed in my last post), I just waive my arms around and say, "all of it".