BuryYourDuke wrote:Our student to faculty ratio is the worst in the state, faculty pay is among the lowest for schools of our size, and our academic facilities still lag behind as well. We have near 100% admission rate, despite promises that this was going to change.
THIS IS ALL FALSE INFORMATION. OUR STUDENT TO FACULTY TO RATIO IS 23:1 WHICH IS VERY GOOD BUT ALL OF OUR FACULTY TEACH. MANY SCHOOLS PUBLISH A BETTER RATIO BUT MANY OF THEIR BEST FACULTY ARE ON SABBATICAL OR ARE DOING RESEARCH OR ARE OFF WRITING BOOKS. THEY NEVER HAVE ANY INTERACTION WITH STUDENTS. OUR TEACHERS ARE IN THE CLASSROOM AND OUR RATIO OF FACULTY WHO ACTUALLY HAVE CONTACT WITH STUDENTS IS MUCH BETTER THAN MANY SCHOOLS WHO CLAIM A TO HAVE BETTER STUDENT-FACULTY RATIO IN ORDER TO GET A HIGH RANKING IN US NEWS. OUR FACULTY PAY IS NOW COMPETITIVE AND, WHEN YOU FACTOR IN WHAT OUR PROFESSORS ARE ABLE TO EARN BY TEACHING ONLINE AND OVERLOAD COURSES ALONG WITH THE LOW COST OF LIVING IN LYNCHBURG, WE HAVE NO PROBLEMS RECRUITING TOP QUALITY FACULTY. OUR ACADEMIC FACILITIES ARE COMPARABLE TO DIV I-A SCHOOLS IN THE WAYS THAT MATTER. THEY MAY NOT BE ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECES BUT THEY ARE FUNCTIONAL AND ONE OF THE REASONS I WAS ASKED TO SERVE ON THE GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION WAS TO SHOW PUBLIC SCHOOLS HOW LU HAS BUILT FUNCTIONAL ACADEMIC SPACE FOR LESS THAN $100 PER SF WHILE THE PUBLICS HAVE BEEN SPENDING $250+ PER SF FOR BEAUTIFUL BUT NOT NECESSARILY FUNCTIONAL ACADEMIC SPACE. FINALLY, OUR SELECTIVITY IS NOT NEAR 100%. WE SPENT HOURS MEETING WITH MOODY'S, STANDARD & POOR'S AND FITCH RATING AGENCIES THIS WEEK AND EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT, WHILE LU REPORTED A 94% SELECTIVITY RATE, IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE WE ONLY REPORTED "APPLICATIONS PROCESSED" NOT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED. FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THIS ACADEMIC YEAR, WE RECEIVED 28,000+ APPLICATIONS BUT ONLY REPORTED ABOUT 5245 BECAUSE OUR RECRUITING DEPARTMENT STOPPED WORKING WITH STUDENTS TO FULLY PROCESS THEIR APPLICATIONS AFTER WE IDENTIFIED 4975 WHO WE FELT WERE COMPATIBLE WITH LU AND WERE QUALIFIED ACADEMICALLY AND FINANCIALLY. IF WE HAD WANTED TO PLAY THE US NEWS GAME, WE COULD HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK WITH ANOTHER 5000 OR 10000 OF THE APPLICANTS TO FULLY PROCESS THEIR APPLICATIONS. THEN, WE COULD HAVE REPORTED A LOWER SELECTIVITY RATE. BUT OUR GOAL IS NOT TO BE RANKED BY US NEWS. IT IS TO FULFILL OUR MISSION AS A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL. THE EXERCISE OF THE PAST WEEK WITH THESE NATIONAL RATING AGENCIES REVEALED THAT LU MEETS OR EXCEEDS THE PERFORMANCE OF A AND AA RATED SCHOOLS LIKE PEPPERDINE, YESHIVA, SMU, GWU, SYRACUSE, WAKE FOREST, TCU, LOYOLA, NUY, CASE WESTERN AND MANY OTHERS IN ALMOST ALL OF THE CATEGORIES USED TO DETERMINE THE FINANCIAL STRENGTH OF UNIVERSITIES. THESE CATEGORIES INCLUDE EXPENDABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO DEBT, EXPENDABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO OPERATIONS, OPERATING MARGIN, AVERAGE OPERATING MARGIN, OPERATING CASHFLOW MARGIN (WE ACTUALLY WERE OFF THE CHARTS ON THE LAST THREE), NET TUITION PER STUDENT, CHANGE IN NET TUITION, TOTAL TUITION DISCOUNT, DIRECT DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. WE ARE FAR AHEAD OF WHERE EVEN WE AS MANAGEMENT THOUGHT WE WERE IN OUR QUEST TO BECOME A WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY. WE ARE ON THE WAY, BOYS!
--Fumble (1961-2009), RIP
I love that you're on this site! You are truly a man's man!
- By thecomeback
- By Sly Fox
- By jmclaughlin