HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Southeast


Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #361  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2015, 12:50 AM
atlanta68 atlanta68 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 259
Wink

UA has several things that will likely prevent it from rising much in the rankings for a while. First, a huge part of the US News ranking comes from evaluations by high school counselors, and peer institutions. I think UA suffers from perceptions that overlook current progress. Even in the state of Alabama, high school counselors still give Auburn a higher academic rep rating (Auburn received a 3.9 from high school counselors, while UA received a 3.7). See http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...-1051/rankings for the data.

Clearly, UA needs to do a better job of selling UA to high school counselors in the state of Alabama. Maybe the emphasis has been so much on out of state recruitment, that the in state recruitment has suffered. Last Fall, Auburn enrolled more in state students than UA. That had not happened in quite a long time. Auburn just had another record enrollment this Fall, with 59% coming from within state. UA has yet to release its numbers. Of course, UA still enrolls far more out of state students. So for whatever reason, UA is now enrolling fewer in state students than Auburn. Does the emphasis at UA on Greek life (see the swank Greek mansions) reduce interest among in state students? Has UA, relative to Auburn become too snobby for many in Alabama?


Secondly, it still enrolls too many lower scoring students, which makes it look less selective, and hurts its six year graduation rate. While UA is now enrolling freshman classes with extraordinary test scores (25 % or more of freshman last Fall had an ACT of 32 or higher), it still enrolls too many lower performing students ( 25 % or more of freshman last Fall an ACT of 21 or less). While Auburn does not enroll as many or even as high of a percentage of the top students (ACT of 32 or higher), its bottom 25% have an ACT of a higher number, 23 or less. Other schools, like FSU, have a smaller percentage of the top students but far fewer of the bottom scoring students than either UA or Auburn. And schools like UGA, UF, etc. are like UA, enrolling many of the top students, but very, very few of the bottom scoring students. Since the lower scoring students are less likely to graduate within 6 years, UA has a lower six year grad rate than virtually all major schools in the top 100 of the rankings.

That graduation rate had been improving, but last Fall, it declined slightly. I know UA has implemented programs to address this problem, but it will take time for the results to manifest as this is a lagging indicator. But recruiting fewer of the lower scoring students might be crucial now, to overcome this rut over the long term.

Third, it still has less financial resources than most other schools, at least in terms of state funding and even the tuition it is able to charge. UA still has a lower tuition rate than most other schools. The huge out of state enrollment surely is helping, but UA has had to spend a lot of money up front to accomodate the higher enrollment. The coming capital campaign could help this situation. Auburn just launched theirs. They have a goal of 1 billion! They have already raised almost $ 800 million in pledges.

So to repeat, I think UA needs to increase its admissions standards, enhance its in state recruitment efforts, and get the state to foot more of its bills. I am sure Dr. Bell will see this and move on my recommendations.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #362  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2015, 3:16 PM
chadinhsv chadinhsv is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 148
Quote:
Originally Posted by atlanta68 View Post
UA has several things that will likely prevent it from rising much in the rankings for a while. First, a huge part of the US News ranking comes from evaluations by high school counselors, and peer institutions. I think UA suffers from perceptions that overlook current progress. Even in the state of Alabama, high school counselors still give Auburn a higher academic rep rating (Auburn received a 3.9 from high school counselors, while UA received a 3.7). See http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...-1051/rankings for the data.

Clearly, UA needs to do a better job of selling UA to high school counselors in the state of Alabama. Maybe the emphasis has been so much on out of state recruitment, that the in state recruitment has suffered. Last Fall, Auburn enrolled more in state students than UA. That had not happened in quite a long time. Auburn just had another record enrollment this Fall, with 59% coming from within state. UA has yet to release its numbers. Of course, UA still enrolls far more out of state students. So for whatever reason, UA is now enrolling fewer in state students than Auburn. Does the emphasis at UA on Greek life (see the swank Greek mansions) reduce interest among in state students? Has UA, relative to Auburn become too snobby for many in Alabama?


Secondly, it still enrolls too many lower scoring students, which makes it look less selective, and hurts its six year graduation rate. While UA is now enrolling freshman classes with extraordinary test scores (25 % or more of freshman last Fall had an ACT of 32 or higher), it still enrolls too many lower performing students ( 25 % or more of freshman last Fall an ACT of 21 or less). While Auburn does not enroll as many or even as high of a percentage of the top students (ACT of 32 or higher), its bottom 25% have an ACT of a higher number, 23 or less. Other schools, like FSU, have a smaller percentage of the top students but far fewer of the bottom scoring students than either UA or Auburn. And schools like UGA, UF, etc. are like UA, enrolling many of the top students, but very, very few of the bottom scoring students. Since the lower scoring students are less likely to graduate within 6 years, UA has a lower six year grad rate than virtually all major schools in the top 100 of the rankings.

That graduation rate had been improving, but last Fall, it declined slightly. I know UA has implemented programs to address this problem, but it will take time for the results to manifest as this is a lagging indicator. But recruiting fewer of the lower scoring students might be crucial now, to overcome this rut over the long term.

Third, it still has less financial resources than most other schools, at least in terms of state funding and even the tuition it is able to charge. UA still has a lower tuition rate than most other schools. The huge out of state enrollment surely is helping, but UA has had to spend a lot of money up front to accomodate the higher enrollment. The coming capital campaign could help this situation. Auburn just launched theirs. They have a goal of 1 billion! They have already raised almost $ 800 million in pledges.

So to repeat, I think UA needs to increase its admissions standards, enhance its in state recruitment efforts, and get the state to foot more of its bills. I am sure Dr. Bell will see this and move on my recommendations.
Thanks Atlanta for the analysis. I agree that we need to focus more on the in-state recruitment as well as recruit the in-state counselors. I don't know if we will ever change our peers' minds regarding our reputation. We could have higher scoring kids than Harvard (hypothetical of course) and it wouldn't change people's mindset that we are a redneck school. I also think it's important that we keep our admission standards somewhat low because lets face it the state is educationally challenged when it comes to preparing high school students for college. Kids need a chance to at least make it to college. Maybe we should emphasize students with lower test scores go to community college and then transfer to UA if their grades are good. I just don't want to shut out any in-state kids just so we can move up a few spots in some magazine ranking.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #363  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2015, 3:38 PM
atlanta68 atlanta68 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 259
I meant to write that Auburn now enrolls more Alabamians in its FRESHMAN classes than does UA. UA still enrolls more Alabamians overall. But the trend indicates that that wont be the case over time, unless UA recaptures in state students.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #364  
Old Posted Sep 11, 2015, 6:17 PM
atlanta68 atlanta68 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 259
Quote:
Originally Posted by chadinhsv View Post
Thanks Atlanta for the analysis. I agree that we need to focus more on the in-state recruitment as well as recruit the in-state counselors. I don't know if we will ever change our peers' minds regarding our reputation. We could have higher scoring kids than Harvard (hypothetical of course) and it wouldn't change people's mindset that we are a redneck school. I also think it's important that we keep our admission standards somewhat low because lets face it the state is educationally challenged when it comes to preparing high school students for college. Kids need a chance to at least make it to college. Maybe we should emphasize students with lower test scores go to community college and then transfer to UA if their grades are good. I just don't want to shut out any in-state kids just so we can move up a few spots in some magazine ranking.

I understand the sentiment, but if UA is the state flagship, it is under no obligation to have a low bar for entry. There are plenty of other schools in the state for the lower tier students. However, I like your idea for UA shifting the lower tier students to community colleges and then letting them in once they prove themselves in a cc. That would really help the school's graduation rate, for the only ones counted are the students in the freshman class, not transfers who enter in year 2 or 3.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #365  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 2:56 PM
chadinhsv chadinhsv is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 148
Quote:
Originally Posted by atlanta68 View Post
I understand the sentiment, but if UA is the state flagship, it is under no obligation to have a low bar for entry. There are plenty of other schools in the state for the lower tier students. However, I like your idea for UA shifting the lower tier students to community colleges and then letting them in once they prove themselves in a cc. That would really help the school's graduation rate, for the only ones counted are the students in the freshman class, not transfers who enter in year 2 or 3.
Yeah, you're right about how we should set our standards to something higher. I guess I was thinking about myself ten years ago when I barely got in. I would have hated to go somewhere else when my heart was set for UA. That's an interesting point about graduation rate and not counting transfers in that category. Maybe UA admission should emphasize Shelton State for the lower scoring kids and ways they can transfer to the University.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #366  
Old Posted Sep 14, 2015, 9:48 PM
Electrical Porpoise's Avatar
Electrical Porpoise Electrical Porpoise is offline
---
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Mobile, AL
Posts: 549
The large number of OOS students is directly tied to being able to fund the University. It was in Witt's business plan - more OOS students = more tuition money.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #367  
Old Posted Sep 15, 2015, 3:02 AM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
UA System taps Bonner for eco-devo post, hires prominent Birmingham attorney


Quote:
“I am pleased to announce that Jo Bonner, who previously held a joint appointment in government affairs and economic development, will now focus solely on economic development issues in his role as Vice Chancellor for Economic Development,” said UA System Chancellor Robert Witt. “This is a critically important time in the history of our state, and the UA System is extremely mindful of our leadership role in job creation, industrial recruitment and business retention. We are fully committed to doing everything we can to help Alabama continue to grow.”
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #368  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 12:14 AM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
UA’s MBA Program Moves Up Seven Spots in Forbes 2015 Rankings


Quote:
The University of Alabama’s MBA program at the Manderson Graduate School of Business moved up seven spots from last year to number 49 in the Forbes 2015 MBA rankings.

The Manderson MBA also ranks 4th among the 14 SEC schools and 25th among all public schools. Other SEC schools in the top 50 rankings include Texas A&M, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Florida.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #369  
Old Posted Sep 16, 2015, 12:20 AM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
UA also topped 37,000 this year. Up 2.6% from last

Some interesting notes: the average ACT score from freshman was 26.6 and the average GPA for incoming freshman was 3.6.

Crazy to see how fast its grown. When I was in school, they had reached a record of nearly 24,000.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #370  
Old Posted Sep 25, 2015, 3:38 AM
atlanta68 atlanta68 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 259
UA to study best way to manage its growth

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/articl...te=printpicart

Not a whole lot of specifics, but I don't see how it will be possible to keep the admissions standards the same. The focus seems to be on the need for growth at the graduate level.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #371  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2015, 4:08 PM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
UA is hosting a viewing of the total lunar eclipse

http://m.tuscaloosanews.com/Section/...icle/150929790

Quote:
The free public viewing will begin at 7:30 p.m Sunday at Gallalee Hall's observatory on the UA campus. People can view the moon through UA's computer-controlled 16-inch reflecting telescope.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #372  
Old Posted Oct 3, 2015, 4:09 AM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
UA’s Culverhouse Set to Open Premier Business Analytics Lab Oct. 14

Quote:
The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce will officially open its Business Analytics Lab Oct. 14 at 3:30 p.m. in 250 Bidgood Hall.

The grand opening event will include a ribbon cutting at 3:30 p.m. and analytics demonstrations on two 20-foot video boards from 3:30-5:15 p.m. Lockheed Martin, SAS and Healthcare Business Solutions provided funding and support for the lab, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“This is an exciting time for the College and University as we continue to be a leader in business analytics education,” said Dr. Brian Gray, interim dean, Culverhouse College of Commerce. “Now we have the facilities and technology to bring together faculty, students and businesses to solve real-world, big data problems facing corporations today.”

The Business Analytics Lab will serve as a premier research center for data analytics that provides collaboration and research across government, industry, and academia to help companies anticipate and solve critical problems.

The unique lab setting will augment the traditional classroom experience by focusing on the development and application of analytics technology; strengthening the analytics labor pool to meet industry needs for a diverse workforce; and providing visual, hands-on experiences that represent the foundations for analytics applications and research.

UA President Stuart R. Bell, Dr. J. Michael Hardin, former dean of Culverhouse, and representatives from corporate partners will provide brief remarks and be among those cutting the ribbon to the lab.

The grand opening event will be held in conjunction with the 2015 Business Analytics Symposium Oct. 15-16, at the Bryant Conference Center. The two-day symposium explores the world of analytics with presenters this year from General Motors, ESPN, SAS, Regions, Healthcare Business Solutions and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #373  
Old Posted Oct 8, 2015, 12:31 AM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
Project for Starbucks and Supestore on Paul W. Bryant Drive has broke ground.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #374  
Old Posted Oct 21, 2015, 8:53 PM
Packer16 Packer16 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 235
I know that the new strategic plan, from Dr. Bell, will come in the spring and some of the proposed plans for the future may be altered. I am very happy that there will be a huge focus on doubling the size of the Graduate School, especially in the sciences (Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, etc.). The "indirect cost" dollars that will come in to the University will help recruit and retain outstanding faculty. When implemented, the reputation of the University will rise even higher. I believe the west side of the Bryce property will be prime area for expansion of science and engineering research. The University of Alabama made huge strides with the completion of the Shelby complex. But, when this thing gets rolling, more "state-of-the art" space will be needed. Here's to wishing Dr. Bell is his future planning. I believe he was smart to wait until the spring to do it right and not just rush a plan out to appease a few.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #375  
Old Posted Nov 10, 2015, 11:56 PM
Packer16 Packer16 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 235
Here is a fantastic article that was printed on the 1st page of the New York Times, last week. Enjoy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/sp...ting.html?_r=1
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #376  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2015, 5:10 AM
atlanta68 atlanta68 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 259
Quote:
Originally Posted by Packer16 View Post
I know that the new strategic plan, from Dr. Bell, will come in the spring and some of the proposed plans for the future may be altered. I am very happy that there will be a huge focus on doubling the size of the Graduate School, especially in the sciences (Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, etc.). The "indirect cost" dollars that will come in to the University will help recruit and retain outstanding faculty. When implemented, the reputation of the University will rise even higher. I believe the west side of the Bryce property will be prime area for expansion of science and engineering research. The University of Alabama made huge strides with the completion of the Shelby complex. But, when this thing gets rolling, more "state-of-the art" space will be needed. Here's to wishing Dr. Bell is his future planning. I believe he was smart to wait until the spring to do it right and not just rush a plan out to appease a few.
I hadn't heard that there was an actual goal set to double the grad student population at UA. Where did you see or hear that? That would be amazing if true. I remain skeptical that they will try to reduce the growth in undergrad enrollment. For some reason, many people think that the state flagship should not be too selective. Kinda defeats the purpose of having a flagship IMO.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #377  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2015, 5:18 PM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515

Last edited by TheCapstone; Dec 18, 2015 at 5:30 PM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #378  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2015, 5:32 PM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515






Reply With Quote
     
     
  #379  
Old Posted Jul 7, 2016, 10:56 PM
TheCapstone's Avatar
TheCapstone TheCapstone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Tuscaloosa
Posts: 515
[URL="http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20160706/NEWS/160709836/1007"New SupeStore on Bryant Dr. with Starbucks.[/URL]

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #380  
Old Posted Jul 8, 2016, 2:05 AM
Wayward Memphian Wayward Memphian is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 532
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCapstone View Post






It's ok.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Regional Sections > United States > Southeast
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:17 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.