Reply to WashPost: one US college closing per week

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Would anyone know of small colleges in VA that might be showing signs of being in danger of closing down?[/quote]

Lynchburg had recent layoffs

Sweet Briar just barely survived a few years ago

I would hate to see these schools close. My daughter was accepted to Randolph and really liked it there. She chose a different LAC with just over 1k students, only because the other school had both programs she wanted as possible majors. But Randolph is a very special little school for a great price.[/quote]

Lynchburg did have layoffs. And their PR wasn't great. But it was a handful of departments where those depts. closed due to the cost of running them when there are only a handful of kids enrolled in those majors (like theater). Friends with kids there said some classes had 1-2 kids in them and they had to fund those, plus the running of the department. While sad for those people who had the majors cut (they still offer arts, for example, just not all as a "major") you cannot fund programs for 4 kids. So their decision making was sound there. They are more known for their health related paths and some other programs (they have a well regarded PA school and a PT school, as well as nursing).

[b]Lburg is also a big sports school and is expanding those offerings (mens vball, mens wrestling). So the school isn't going anywhere.[/b] [/quote]

Lburg is a D3 sports school...I would be very concerned that they are expanding sports offerings that are guaranteed $$$ losers.

Even Alabama loses money overall on their sports (not terrible...but it's negative).  Football makes all their money, and literally every other sport loses money.  Most of the football money is made from SEC television rights.

Lburg has a very good D3 baseball team (won the D3 college world series)...at best, the baseball team breaks even (but probably doesn't).

Expanding D3 sports I guess gets more tuition revenue (?)...although, I don't know if the student population is expanding overall, vs. it is attracting more men to the campus.  Many of these small D3 schools are now like 65%+ female.[/quote]

Like it or not, sports is a draw. I know many rising seniors who are gearing for Tech and JMU b/c they want a "sports school." And those are just the students, not the athletes. And the fact that you feel the need to denigrate "D3" schools tells me you know very little about this topic overall. Those kids work hard and some D3 schools perform at a very high level, scrimmaging and beating lower level D2 and D1 schools.

Lburg has a very good baseball team, yes. But their FH team went several rounds into the NCAA tournament. Their track and XC teams are also very good. As well, so is their mens LAX. When we have visited, all of the sports events were well attended and supported. And lots of kids on each of these teams were athletic and academic all americans.

It remains to be seen if this will increase enrollment overall or not. But you don't know that any more than I do. And Lburg's M to FM ratio closer to 50/50.

You don't have to like the school but I know several kids having VERY good experiences there and who will grad debt free (I have a rising senior in HS and no one at the school). [/quote]

I am neither liking or unliking it.  I am also not denigrating a D3 school.  [b]My main point (which you seemed to miss) is that sports lose money for ALL schools, so to think that Lynchburg deciding to expand into men's wrestling and volleyball is a good financial move is strange[/b]

Yes, kids pick D1 schools like JMU and VT because they want to watch D1 sports.  Even then, they are mainly watching football and basketball.  They are also hoping those teams are ranked nationally (which they are) and are excited to follow them during the NCAA D1 playoffs (which they often make).

Nobody picks a D3 school to watch their sports.  Sure, they may end up going and watching...but nobody is following how well Lynchburg performed.  BTW, Lynchburg is 63% female...so, not sure why you decided to chime in with the 50/50.  The fact they are expanding men's sports is absolutely to increase their male ratio.

None of this was to say that kids have a bad or good experience or that it is a bad school.  However, if the school is having financial difficulties, they won't be solved by expanding sports which will lose the school more money.[/quote]

You could not be more wrong. Adding those sports adds many students paying tuition that would not otherwise attend, filling seats that would otherwise be empty. D3 does not offer scholarships nor do D3 athletic departments have anywhere close to the expenses of a D1 department. [/quote]

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