<p>Today's Trib publshed an article on rising enrollment in 25 area schools... apparently no one from SVC was interviewed (except for the Seminary-unless the writer was confused).. Wasn't one of Towey's "claims to fame" was the rise in SVC enrollment?</p> <p><a href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_690913.html">www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_690913.html</a></p> <p> </p> <div>College enrollment in Pittsburgh region on rise</div> <div> </div> <div> By Bill Zlatos</div> <div>PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW</div> <div>Sunday, July 18, 2010</div> <div> </div> <div>The Pittsburgh area is attracting more college students.</div> <div> </div> <div>The 25 local schools that award bachelor's degrees grew nearly 20 percent from 79,620 to 95,436 students between 1996-97 and the 2008-09 school years, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research.</div> <div> </div> <div>"Considering that the population hasn't grown, it's a pretty big deal," said Bob Grabeck, a project manager at Pitt's center. "It's a good sign that the future workforce will be more highly skilled than it has in the past."</div> <div> </div> <div>Educators say the increase in college students also spurs the regional economy as schools hire more employees.</div> <div> </div> <div>"More students means more students and parents spending," said Esther Barazzone, president of Chatham University. "It's most definitely an economic boon to the region."</div> <div> </div> <div>The surge in college students comes despite a decline in high school seniors. The Pennsylvania Department of Education predicts the number of high school seniors in the state will plummet from 157,023 in 2007-08 to 137,384 in 2014-15, based on birth data and current school enrollment.</div> <div> </div> <div>Colleges responded by drawing more students from out of state. In 1986-87, just 16.1 percent of the college students in the area hailed from outside Pennsylvania, according to the Pitt study. By 2008-09, that figure climbed to 26.7 percent for students elsewhere in the United States. Enrollment of foreign students during that period declined slightly from 1.7 percent to 1.4 percent.</div> <div> </div> <div>Of the 25 schools in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties, 19 posted increases from 1996-97 to 2008-09.</div> <div> </div> <div>Carnegie Mellon University enjoyed the biggest increase in numbers. Its enrollment grew from 7,749 to 10,875 students, a gain of 3,126. CMU spokesman Ken Walters noted that 72 percent of that growth came from graduate students.</div> <div> </div> <div>Chatham experienced the greatest percentage increase during the period, from 801 to 2,184 students. That's an increase of 172.7 percent.</div> <div> </div> <div>Barazzone attributed Chatham's gain to the growth of its graduate programs. Of 2,184 students, more than half are in graduate school.</div> <div> </div> <div>"We're one of the most graduate-intensive institutions around," she boasted. She predicted that Chatham eventually will enroll between 4,000 and 5,000 students as the Shadyside school develops its 388-acre Eden Hall campus in Richland.</div> <div> </div> <div>Matt Long, 27, of Clarion is in the second year of a master's program in occupational therapy at Chatham. He chose the university because of its small classes and location in a medical hub like Pittsburgh.</div> <div> </div> <div>"I love where I'm at and looking forward to going out in the real world and see if I can make a difference," he said.</div> <div> </div> <div>Like Chatham, Seton Hill University more than doubled its enrollment, growing 116.3 percent from 965 to 2,087 students.</div> <div> </div> <div>Seton Hill President JoAnne Boyle credited its growth to opening up the entire university to men, the construction of its Performing Arts Center in downtown Greensburg and the addition of graduate programs, especially in the sciences.</div> <div> </div> <div>"That decision to go coed has more than doubled the pool of students because there was a pool of female students who otherwise wouldn't have considered a school because it was single sex," she said. "Now, instead of having empty dorms, we built two dorms, which are filled to capacity, and we're ... contemplating another new dorm."</div> <div> </div> <div>Anna Bevington, 21, of Delmont is a Seton Hill senior majoring in business and entrepreneurial studies. She likes the school's proximity to home, the small classes and accessibility of faculty.</div> <div> </div> <div>"Once I came here, it was a done deal," she said.</div> <div> </div> <div>Enrollments declined from 1996-97 to 2008-09 at six schools: Carlow University, La Roche College, Penn State Greater Allegheny, Penn State New Kensington, Robert Morris University and St. Vincent Seminary.</div> <div> </div> <div>Ken Service, vice president for institutional relations at La Roche, attributed its decline of 217 students to changes in the Pacem in Terris program. It gives a free education to students from war-torn or developing nations.</div> <div> </div> <div>"In about 2000, there were 300 Pacem in Terris students on campus," Service said. "Now we have three Pacem in Terris students currently here and four applicants for the fall."</div> <div> </div> <div>Service said the program became self-sustaining in 2003 because the McCandless college couldn't afford to pay for so many students.</div>
For what it's worth, my last contact with admissions had SVC hanging in there around 400-425 in the incoming freshman class. I could be wrong. I will say that the admissions staff works hard to keep things going. Further note: From 1996-2009, SVC admissions went from around 1400 to 1800, including grad students. Someone correct me on all this if I'm too high.
<p>Then how come it is that the survey didn't take in SVC.</p> <p>What are the figures now?</p> <p>Among some of the questions asked these days is:</p> <p>How much is the discount?</p> <p>How do the SAT scores stack up against what other schools are allowing? Does SVC have a cut off point for those scores?</p> <p>How many students are there because of a major sport? And, how do they look at their SAT scores?</p> <p>And last but not least...</p> <p>What is the retention rate?</p>
<p>Bernadette,</p> <p>I have been informed from a few that Academic Affairs, specifically the DEAN of Studies, holds the data on SVC's retention rates. If you or ANYONE could locate those numbers from the college or public source, please post that rate. You may have a better chance at winning the PowerBall.</p> <p>The "rumor" is that this past Spring the college lost a considerable amount of current students due to dismissals, lack of funds, etc. My hope is that the Academic Affairs office works incessantly to retain as many students as possible and conducts proper exit interviews. Knowing what your institution is failing to do for students can only enhance your knowledge to make the appropriate changes and increase the retention rate.</p>
<p>One assumes that most schools have good admissions staff. One assumes that they also have marketing directors or vice-presidents who have experience in academe and have been trained for the job. Would Dennis Grace, who holds such a position at SVC, qualify? Would he even be in that position at SVC had it not been for Jim Towey?</p>
Bearcat4EvR, I did see exit interviews at the Catholic high school where I taught from 2000-2005. I don't know how widespread they are, but it would be nice if all private institutions conducted them. They would get a feel for whether or not it was the school or the student who was lacking. After all, private institutions have to sell themselves. In my case, an exit interview would have found me to be an academic version of Laurel & Hardy.
<p>Bearcat4EvR, exit interviews don't happen anywhere? When I left a state institution years ago, they conducted one on me. It was brief, but nontheless they were curious why I was leaving the college. Not sure if that's the norm or what. Regardless, what is SVC's retention rate? Who knows or holds that number? Is that published somewhere like the "Fact-Book?"</p>
I just can't believe exit interviews are done. It's possible they might happen under certain circumstances (a student with a learning or physical disability, etc.) but it's my experience the "exit interview" is one of the deans telling a student they're not welcome back for any variety of reasons, or the student just doesn't show up at the next semester.
There was one point where I was so frustrated with SVC and so forth, without going into detail, that I actually applied to transfer, and was accepted to a R1 school in the south, and when I went to get behavoral and academic disciplinary records faxed to the new school, as I was required to do, both Deans I spoke to were just "what's the number?" and that was that. My folks talked me into coming back between semesters, mostly so I wouldn't lose credits, and I'm glad I didn't leave. But I do remember no one really asked why or even tried to talk me out of it--maybe I was too much of a problem for the prefects.
Thinking of it some more, I also know of another student who just didn't show up the next semester--and the department chair asked me months later if I knew what happened to the student. No one seemed to know. A few years later, I see a news report of the first transfer student to a certain private, prestigious R1 university in the midwest to be valedictorian became news.
Don't know if anyone else noticed that a former SVC student went on to be Notre Dame's valedictorian....
Any private school that does not do exit interviews is missing one tool for improvement. Maybe it is indeed a bad fit for the student and not the institution's fault. Then again, maybe it's case of a student having difficulty adjusting to college life, yet not having available support. Who was it that told the story of Fr. John Murtha's gathering student leaders occasionally and admonishing them to be alert for fellow students who were struggling academic or socially? Fr. John had the right idea, even if he did tell me that the Cleveland Browns were a dirty football team. Just because Joe "Turkey" Jones tried to Plant Terry Bradshaw head first into the turf?