(02-06-2023 05:30 PM)HuskieDave Wrote:  

(02-06-2023 04:56 PM)randyfensfanclub1 Wrote:  It's not hard to see, no secret. But there is no magic solution that a school president, AD can solve.

Enrollment makeup, the state of the campus itself is a reflection of the people of the state and their beliefs. In turn, the kids, their parents are making decisions to go elsewhere, based off of those factors on top of cost, education, social value and in some cases, as their parents want and some on here already have..... getting the hell out of Illinois.

Illinois State and UIC are both in Illinois and neither is having an enrollment problem.

Correct.

Why is that? Look inside the enrollment numbers. The campus. Rankings. It's all there.

NIU & DeKalb has to get the Section 8 housing off of campus and Greek Row. Until this happens we will be spinning our wheels. IMO it starts and ends with this issue.

(02-06-2023 05:45 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  NIU & DeKalb has to get the Section 8 housing off of campus and Greek Row. Until this happens we will be spinning our wheels. IMO it starts and ends with this issue.

If this was Family Feud, you would probably be asked "would you like to pass or play?" by Steve Harvey or, if one prefers, Richard Dawson.

But there are a lot of answers up there on the board.

If this were Apocalypse Now, you definitely just won a case of beer.

(02-06-2023 05:45 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  NIU & DeKalb has to get the Section 8 housing off of campus and Greek Row. Until this happens we will be spinning our wheels. IMO it starts and ends with this issue.

People don't like those kinds of things?

It's as simple as creating and marketing services and resources that attract a broad student body. Right now, we aren't doing that. What's to make kids want to attend NIU other than the new dorm and a refinished student center. Me personally, it was about affordability and a thriving party scene.

Now it's expensive and there's a high chance of mugging. I was one of those in here arguing that the lack of safety on campus and in DeKalb was overblown. But data is clearly proving otherwise and is reflective in the enrollment numbers.

Something has to change, it has to be big and it needed to happen yesterday.

Very depressing to read this thread. Sadly, I think NIU's best days are behind them. I fear FBS football in jeopardy.

Greek life is also on life support. Just recently the chapters voted to change tugs to 7v7 from what was 9v9 due to the smaller house sizes.

(02-06-2023 07:36 PM)dogdangit Wrote:  Greek life is also on life support. Just recently the chapters voted to change tugs to 7v7 from what was 9v9 due to the smaller house sizes.

Damn, that stinks....

Starts at the top. I really feel that for the high pay for the university pres and STF should be incentive based. School gets worse and still get raises/same pay.
Freeman makes 450K and enrollment/campus life has gone down. A school hurting for money could use an extra 100k if she doesn’t hit certain criteria. Aggravating to say the least.

The last couple years it has gotten worse all around at NIU and sad to see. I would love to see them put their money where their mouth is and put a good sum of money back into the school.

I think a lot of the criticisms directed towards the university or President Freeman are misguided. Enrollment is going down across the country for systemic reasons unrelated to specific schools. There’s nothing that the school or Freeman can do about the way people look at college in general now. President Freeman also walked into a nightmare financial situation. The school was kneecapped for years under Rauner and it still doesn’t get the funding it deserves.

Man, it sucks getting old. It breaks my heart watching the Midwest get hollowed-out like this.

I just found out today that my beloved EMU baseball team (I played in the mid-90s) will most likely be discontinued after this season, in large part because of enrollment drops.

I wonder what our respective institutions will look like in 30 years?

(02-06-2023 10:34 PM)Rawdog10 Wrote:  I think a lot of the criticisms directed towards the university or President Freeman are misguided. Enrollment is going down across the country for systemic reasons unrelated to specific schools. There’s nothing that the school or Freeman can do about the way people look at college in general now. President Freeman also walked into a nightmare financial situation. The school was kneecapped for years under Rauner and it still doesn’t get the funding it deserves.

Somebody said it before, those are all known issues. We can keep talking about how they are holding us up, or we can work to solve for them. They can keep being the reasons to excuses as to why things get worse, or we can find impossible ways to solve for them, because Huskies never quit.

I personally like Dr Freeman, and I like a lot of people involved with the university. But we can't keep talking about the issues without solving for them. We need the leadership and NIU community to reach deep down and solve for it all. Now more than ever, complacency is NOT an option.

I love this place, but we are drifting further and further from a quality education and experience for future generations.

(02-06-2023 10:11 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  Starts at the top. I really feel that for the high pay for the university pres and STF should be incentive based. School gets worse and still get raises/same pay.
Freeman makes 450K and enrollment/campus life has gone down. A school hurting for money could use an extra 100k if she doesn’t hit certain criteria. Aggravating to say the least.

The last couple years it has gotten worse all around at NIU and sad to see. I would love to see them put their money where their mouth is and put a good sum of money back into the school.

If you truly see what's going on in DeKalb, NIU then you should understand that most of this is out of their control. You visit DeKalb, see the campus, what is and isn't there you see part of the problem. They can't snap their fingers and say look at our beautiful wonderful campus and off campus housing and claim a degree from NIU and the story they create there is better than other options.

Just seems many want to blame someone for expectations not met. Their past they enjoyed there. When in reality, today many, not all, would not go to NIU, have your kid go there for a number of reasons be it your doing or letting your kid make the decision.

People need to face facts this isn't the NIU of 30, probably even 20 years ago. And some high priced President or go getter AD is going to solve any time soon.

Personally, I try to get to DeKalb once a year for a game, got to a road game, maybe a trip to DeKalb for the hell of it and beer nuggets. I see the mess, hear about it from locals or students but try to not get upset, have fun with friends/grads. I suggest others do the same, throw them a buck or 2 if you want. But unless you have political pull, are in charge of academics in Illinois or US, have a few hundred million to change things and can perhaps move the campus to another state (preferably a warm one) I suggest enjoy what you can about NIU. If you can't see anything good, worth while, (I don't basketball any more, so I don't even try) try focusing on something else as it seems a lot of former board posters already have.

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.

(02-07-2023 12:12 AM)pvk75 Wrote:  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.

Does the city of DeKalb even care about the campus? Do the citizens and voters care? Should they?

Seems to be a town facing urban sprawl with this small community with a distinct separation between campus and immediate area , the haves and the have nots. Government subsidies on one side and middle upper class newer housing on the other. I mean do these people even go near the campus?

Seems with all the outskirts growth , namely to the north that’s what matters. The big houses , the retail. That the financial impact of the university has hit a low as far % money from them, students.

(02-06-2023 05:45 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  NIU & DeKalb has to get the Section 8 housing off of campus and Greek Row. Until this happens we will be spinning our wheels. IMO it starts and ends with this issue.

Winner winner, chicken dinner.
Entering Dekalb from the north on Annie Glidden rd. resembles the south side of Chicago replete with discount liquor stores, gas stations, and project type apartment buildings including on campus student dorms!

(02-06-2023 10:34 PM)Rawdog10 Wrote:  I think a lot of the criticisms directed towards the university or President Freeman are misguided. Enrollment is going down across the country for systemic reasons unrelated to specific schools. There’s nothing that the school or Freeman can do about the way people look at college in general now. President Freeman also walked into a nightmare financial situation. The school was kneecapped for years under Rauner and it still doesn’t get the funding it deserves.

UIC and Illinois State are peer institutions, and were dealt the exact same Covid + Illinois-Govt. hand. Those two schools have pushed past those issues nicely, NIU's Freeman and STF continue to this day to use those issues as crutches.

NIU needs more effective leadership, like 3 years ago, at President and AD. Freeman and Frazier both seem like nice enough people, wish them the best, but they are both failures at their posts and have been for some time.

(02-06-2023 02:38 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-06-2023 02:19 PM)HuskiePride12 Wrote:  

(02-06-2023 01:25 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-06-2023 01:04 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I would like to know what marketing NIU is doing to get more students. They need to take an aggressive approach. Or will they say they have no money to mount a campaign to get students to come to NIU? Have they done surveys to determine why students are selecting ISU and UIC over NIU? And if so, are they doing anything about it, or are they just sticking with the COVID excuse?

You hear Dekalb Taylor Municipal Airport is building a new perimeter fence? Also big things happening in downtown DeKalb, as they reduced traffic from two lanes to one. And they are performing another study on a Metra station again.

Everything is turning up Milhouse.

I know you are joking, but the downtown area is a positive towards the community and wish the university would try to promote more down there. I took my brother and dad there after one of the games and they were very surprised how clean/maintained and now modern the whole area looks.

Night and day from a lot of Campus and how the buildings are looking. Need to bring that "communiversity" together as the school doesn't have funds to renovate or modernise really anything. There are bars, entertainment and restaurants that if more students were there would help more funnel money to the city IMO.

Downtown DeKalb is fine, and it is what it is. It is fine for the townies, but there is not much there to attract students, although it's getting better. The marijuana shop opening very soon downtown will certainly help. DeKalb is a conservative town and has not changed all that much. The students today have different interests and demands. When I was at NIU, there were a few bars and clothing, variety, and drug stores downtown, and that's all we needed. An easy walk downtown, and you could go for a drink and do some shopping. Today, that won't do it. But, I don't believe the downtown is the reason why kids are not choosing NIU. It's definitely something else.

I agree about downtown being a welcoming place to people like me but I don't see much there that would attract NIU students. From the perspective of attracting tourists or fans, having two breweries and restaurants downtown helps immensely, but college kids aren't hanging out in breweries. They need a few more boutique style stores to bring people in though.

One thing the downtown strip is sorely missing imo is a local coffee shop. My wife and I were in Sycamore back in October and ate at the Tangle Root location downtown and then stopped into Byers as well. I was kind of in search of some Oktoberfest beers and they both had recently released their versions. Byers was having an Oktoberfest party with live music and German food and stuff. We didn't stick around for it but I was happy to see them do it.

We also stopped into Chilton's, which was underwhelming in their NIU selection, but if you want DeKalb Barbs or Sycamore Spartans gear, that's your place. It also smells like an old place on the inside, which means the clothes all smell like that too. Anyway, there's a nice bookstore down there as well called Robin's Nest and my wife bought 2 or 3 books.

But there was no coffee shop to be found and that is a spot that would attract college kids. The closest one was below the old VCB. It's actually a really nice place and had a handful of students there (and this was the day Vanderbilt was in town). It's called Cast Iron. I highly recommend it and it seemed like a cozy atmosphere for a cold and wintery day. And while it was good to see it near campus, I'd also like to see a coffee shop downtown near the other things there.

(02-06-2023 07:17 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(02-06-2023 05:45 PM)ChicagoHuskie Wrote:  NIU & DeKalb has to get the Section 8 housing off of campus and Greek Row. Until this happens we will be spinning our wheels. IMO it starts and ends with this issue.

People don't like those kinds of things?

It's as simple as creating and marketing services and resources that attract a broad student body. Right now, we aren't doing that. What's to make kids want to attend NIU other than the new dorm and a refinished student center. Me personally, it was about affordability and a thriving party scene.

Now it's expensive and there's a high chance of mugging. I was one of those in here arguing that the lack of safety on campus and in DeKalb was overblown. But data is clearly proving otherwise and is reflective in the enrollment numbers.

Something has to change, it has to be big and it needed to happen yesterday.

Honestly question. Does DeKalb have a crime issue or is the issue mainly on the NIU campus, specifically the old Greek Row area?

I've been downtown and there just doesn't seem to be anything to worry about in that area. The rest of DeKalb is residential and seems pretty quiet as well.

But I do know there are issues in the old Greek Row area and just about any area with a large apartment complex.

Now, I have heard the high school has issues and I know a few people who lived in DeKalb and moved to Sycamore because they wanted their kids in that school system vs DeKalb's. But the school issues could also be attributed to the few pockets of areas of concern.

Needless to say, when that starts to happen and people who have means flee an area or school district, it can have a cascading effect.

(02-06-2023 10:35 PM)holybovine Wrote:  Man, it sucks getting old. It breaks my heart watching the Midwest get hollowed-out like this.

I just found out today that my beloved EMU baseball team (I played in the mid-90s) will most likely be discontinued after this season, in large part because of enrollment drops.

I wonder what our respective institutions will look like in 30 years?

In 30 years, when the Western US and the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Miami become unlivable due to climate change, the Midwest will be where everyone comes to live!

Are there too many state schools to find out of tax dollars? Not saying NIU should close but should there be a consolidation? I know this is a politician tical football but with online schools etc. Are there too many brick and mortar schools? Illinois public schools are some of the most expensive in US.