RE: Enrollment down to 14,364
You're right. NIU/Freeman/STF/whoever cannot solve the general decline in college enrollment, the change in how people view college and a college degree, etc.
Neither can we. Earlier in a rather long post I painted a pretty bleak picture, ... but it was all about NIU. Anyone who wants to do something doesn't have to care about all that "nation-wide" stuff, or UIC and Illinois State. Our focus has to be right here, at NIU.
Those points about Section 8 and safety, etc., will take some guts to tackle, which the currrent university and city leaders do not have. What would happen with a shutdown of Section 8, if possible? Not gonna happen.
But there are other things that can make a difference.
Some examples:
--- when VCB shut down (Feb-Mar 2021) the real estate listing had a higher offer price, I think, but 11 days ago it was $2.695 million. Nobody jumped on an old building though prime BUT it's the potential that makes it valuable. Prospects can read enrollment numbers too. Shake this one up with some adjustments and get some student-centric activity there. Doesn't have to be done by NIU.
--- where is the Glidden Road "grand entrance" to NIU? Back whenever, somebody put an NIU sign in the leased former Illini Tire building, and that was it. Need something better and bigger there so you know where you're at. Can't be hugely expensive, and might help the owners sell instead of lease, if they choose.
--- keep pushing for airport $$. Doesn't matter if you're a Democrat, Republican, Martian or moron. With an existing 7,000-+ runway and a new fence to keep the critters away from all that open space, DKB needs that runway widened from 100' to 150' like the two mains at RFD. Load capacity needs to be increased for bigger jets. It also needs a staffed control tower during peak times, like ARR, which is one reason GA (general aviation) bypasses DKB and its rural airfield automated system.
--- set up "corporate games" at the Convo and offer 50-seat packages to tap into all that I-88 development. The Convo has plenty of room. Get some damn targeted marketing.
I could go on and on but won't (you're welcome). Used to connect closely with planners, developers, specialists, etc., throughout the region. But anyway, how does this help enrollment? Build something. Increase activity. Add convenience. Show forward movement, not just words. As shown above, there are tons of projects sitting there.
Get off the a.
(This post was last modified: 02-07-2023 12:15 AM by pvk75.)
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