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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 6:51 pm    Post subject: 2 News Articles Reply with quote

AP Newcomb Article (on WWL site):

http://www.wwltv.com/topstories/stories/wwl063006jbnewcomb.11fa0649.html


Fast Company:

WARNING: Reading this article may cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and homicidal urges.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/104/tulane.html
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am particularly touched by the fact that he abolished Newcomb and merged it with Tulane College im part because he thinks he can sell the naming rights.

An article in the Times Picayune says that as of last week we have 948 students for the Fall class and the administration blames it on crime. Of course the deadline for students to send in their deposits is May 1 at virtually every school in the country and the recent mass shooting and sending in of the National Guard was well after that date so it sounds like a grasping at excuses to me. The truth is the Renewal Plan isn't selling.

Now I have to go clean the barf off of my shoes.
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TUgradstudent



Joined: 06 Mar 2006
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

actually, the uptown area near campus saw a pretty dramatic rise in crime from mid March through early May - including one incident where a Tulane student was shot (thankfully it wasn't life threatening - he was shot in the leg). And it did have an affect on freshman enrollment.

The Renewal Plan has nothing whatsoever to do with our lower numbers. It is all about parents not feeling safe about sending their children here because of crime and the threat of another hurricane.
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Lee Hoffman



Joined: 16 Dec 2005
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 9:34 am    Post subject: Question Reply with quote

Here's a question for you. We know that enrollment numbers are down, but what about quality of incoming students? Anybody have a sense as to what the average SAT numbers are?
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is an interesting question and I don't have an answer. I do know that the overall SATs for applicants was down but I would have to think that the number of full and near full scholarships as a percentage of the class is probably up. i.e. my guess is they gave out the same same number of DHS scholarships as before but since the class is much smaller those will tend to bring the average SAT score higher for the class - at least if they kept the criteria for those scholarships the same.

My guess is the really big drop in yield is among the bottom half of the accepted pool where there is little merit money given out. Of course things might be so dismal that they didn't get anyone who isn't getting a major discount and the best took offers elsewhere.

If the SAT scores are down I wouldn't be surprised if the school never announces them. On the other hand if they were up I would expect to be hearing the sound of cradislocating joints as Scott reaches around his fat head to pat himself on the back.
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Lee Hoffman



Joined: 16 Dec 2005
Posts: 24

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:38 am    Post subject: SATs Reply with quote

Well, they have announced them every other year, and I think US News is going to get them, so they're better off announcing them. If they're silent, that will be the most damning statistic of all because I (and others, undoubtedly) will infer that the numbers went off a cliff. I'd be surprised if they weren't down by at least 75 points, just given everything that's happened.

I think that the increase in new students will be at the bottom of the pool, where folks will be happy to take advantage of this opportunity and get a Tulane degree, where 2 years ago the same application would've been laughed at.
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think crime is THE factor. Crime right now is exclusively black-on-black and confined to Central City/7th Ward and Hollygrove. Unlike, say, a suicide bomber in Israel, crime in New Orleans is NOT random. While there have been a few incidents that got a lot of press (the quintuple homicide), most of those came after students made up their minds.

If crime really was IT, then why didn't Tulane take a hit 10 years ago? Crime in New Orleans today is NOTHING compared to what it was 10 years ago. Before Pennington, the crime rate was much higher, drugs flowed in and out of the city, and it wasn't just black-on-black crime. There was a LOT of "spillover" crime. I remember one of my neighbors (along with no less than 5 of his friends) were robbed at gunpoint (an AK-47) while stoop-sitting late one afternoon. No matter how bad it is now, it's not that bad.

I think it's more the city in general (Nagin's re-election, garbage pickup, excruciatingly slow recovery, etc.) than crime. Crime is a factor, but not a first tier one.

One person who deals with Tulane's admissions put it this way: #1: They saw all the horrible images on CNN and haven't seen any of a New Orleans recovery. There has been no big "breath of relief/we're going to make it" moment. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Saints winning the Superbowl is going to be that moment (I can wish, can't I!). #2 When the prospective students talk to people on campus, especially faculty, there is tension as a result of the Renewal Plan. Even if they have no idea where its from, there is a real tense vibe amongst much of the faculty and the prospectives do pick up on it.

A far as the average SAT score, Cowen was expecting a drop of 30 points. But, that was when they were expecting 1,400 students. I have no idea what it will be now.

Cowen also said that they were expecting $70 mil in gift donations for the year. Tulane has averaged 75 mil/year each year for the past 3 years (thank you David Filo). Keep in mind, that average gift donation rate, according to the Wall Street Journal, is the only reason Standard's and Poor decided not to junk Tulane's bond rating. I'm very curious what the Newcomb suit and the Renewal Plan has done to Tulane's fundraising. If they could only get 900-odd students when they were expecting 1,400, what has happened with their fundraising?

You can read his comments in the Senate minutes. Here they are. I'm reposting them on Rapidshare.de because Tulane's links only work part of the time.

http://rapidshare.de/files/25781749/April_Minutes.pdf.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/25781832/Mar_Minutes.pdf.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/25781789/Feb_Minutes.pdf.html


Speaking of the Ain'ts, there is one thing that you have to give them: they have a pretty good PR department. Last year, their slogan was "Faith." This year: "Finally, a Bush we can all agree on."
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 12:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well now that King Scott has spoken and not mentioned the SAT scores I would be willing to bet heavily that they are way down. If the drop was only 30 points or less he probably would have said so.

As for US News rankings, they use the Common Data Set. That data is reported or not reported as the school sees fit and US News has already agreed not to use this years data. So it may or may not become public.

The overall 23% drop in undergraduate enrollment post-katrina represents about $50 million in lost revenue at the typical discount rate.
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Dr. H.



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:51 pm    Post subject: Fall Enrollments Reply with quote

Funny, a typical incoming engineering frosh class would have added 200 or so to the numbers, making up half the shortfall. I can assure you Scott has positioned himself to blame it on the National Guard and outgoing VP for enrollment management, Dick Whiteside.

From parents I've talked to, the renewal plan was the straw that broke the camel's back. They viewed Tulane as a sinking ship.

Johnette
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perturbed1



Joined: 12 Jan 2006
Posts: 87

PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
From parents I've talked to, the renewal plan was the straw that broke the camel's back


Yeah well you can say that around here but there are still plenty of people who will bite your head off if you say anything bad about Scott or his plan.

The Renewal Plan boils down to "Come here and perform community service instead of actually taking classes and you will be a lot better off than if you went to Emory or Vandy or Rice." I wonder why that doesn't sell.

In case you haven't really dug deeply into the renewal plan besides gutting or eliminating a lot of departments it also waters down the core curriculum in the leberal arts and sciences. Dropping the language requirement down to 2 semesters is one example - and this at a time when everyone needs to know more not less about those in the wide world.
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Johnny Crab
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:03 am    Post subject: Three strikes and more...... Reply with quote

BSEE 1989, 1st post here.

All 3 items I've seen mentioned here are the causes of lower numbers and there are some not mentioned.

Returning to college at age 30 was challenging especially since it was to Tulane. During my time there, I spent 1 year with a rented bottom floor apartment(now very near the parking garage thing). I had a night job to help ends meet(cleaning 3 office buildings in Metaire, flexible hours...just be finished by 6 a.m.). In our EE class, which went from a LARGE number down to the number of desks in the humbling place known as THE SENIOR ROOM, one year in paritcular was very bad for crime. 6 murders in 6 months within a 6 block radius of campus. One of my classmates(female) was mugged and very badly beaten but not raped or killed(thankfully). A .45 went with me at all times to and from my night job because of that year AND because I grew up in New Orleans and KNEW the "bad areas" I had to drive through. Displaying the gun and cocking it at a light turned away 3 pathogens one night at 1 a.m. who obviously thought they were going to take my car. They were intelligent enough to realize that baseball bats were not effective in the situation and decided running was better than riding in an ambulance to Charity Hospital. Crime is not the entire issue. Parents didn't pull their children out then.

From Texas, I see this:
1) Only BAD about New Orleans on broadcast media. NOTHING about good.
2) A rebuilding plan that removes the Newcomb name and guts engineering Evil or Very Mad
3) A watering-down of the TOUGH coursework requirements
4) Parents(Tulane grads doing OK) seeing #2 and #3 pulling their "donations" and telling their children "I don't think you'll be going to Tulane like I/we did".
5) A big question mark about the ability of the city to withstand another hurricane and no real answers/solutions.

Indeed, the camel's back may be toast. My Mom graduated from Newcomb, brother from Tulane, sister from Tulane, and I'm a Tulane grad. ALL of us are sad and reaching for barf-bags with what we've seen happen. I remember and will always love the Tulane I knew.


Special thanks to David Derbes(gave us love of learning), Gary Sod(human line printer on a blackboard and EXCELLENT calc teacher), Dr. Hsieh(EM Theory made clear and never too busy to listen/advise), Prof. Martinez(don't dare be late, even 1 second or else!), a host of others, the squirrels at the back doors of Gibson Hall for letting my sons feed them and play with them, the library staff of 1985~89, and my good friends on the janitorial staff.
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wckirby



Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 355
Location: New Orleans

PostPosted: Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wckirby wrote:
There has been no big "breath of relief/we're going to make it" moment.


I think that moment just happened. I was downtown last night and I now know what it's like to have your team in the Super Bowl!

Great article from Michael Smith:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=smith_michael&id=2602942


[/i]
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Clay Kirby
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