University of Lynchburg Transformation

[Charles Fout]

I hate seeing any legitimate institution suffer for any reason.

I wonder:
1. Does every tertiary institution of learning have to call itself a university?
2. What is the right amount of programs of study?
3. At what point does the tertiary education market place become oversaturated? The Commonwealth of Virginia and the greater Lynchburg area itself are a case in point.
4. Will the number of distance learning only tertiary institutions displace the number of traditional bricks and mortar ones. 

I'm praying for and wishing the best for everyone involved with the University of Lynchburg.


https://sites.google.com/lynchburg.edu/t...ation/home

[Thfuriene]

Navigating the ever-changing terrain of tertiary education can be complex. As institutions evolve and online learning becomes more prevalent, it's natural to question the saturation of the market and the quality of programs offered.

[FireMedic_Philosopher]

I hate seeing any legitimate institution suffer for any reason.

I wonder:
1. Does every tertiary institution of learning have to call itself a university?
2. What is the right amount of programs of study?
3. At what point does the tertiary education market place become oversaturated? The Commonwealth of Virginia and the greater Lynchburg area itself are a case in point.
4. Will the number of distance learning only tertiary institutions displace the number of traditional bricks and mortar ones. 

I'm praying for and wishing the best for everyone involved with the University of Lynchburg.


https://sites.google.com/lynchburg.edu/t...ation/home

1) Colleges are institutions that offer only undergraduate degrees. Universities offer graduate degrees.

2) The right amount of degrees would be any number for the area, such that schools are not competing over students. In an ideal world each school finds a niche of areas to specialize in, such that each school is "known" for certain fields.

3) An area is oversaturated once schools compete for students in any given degree/major.

4) I don't have the quote in front of me, but someone... I think either the US Dept of Ed, or else US News and World Report, claimed that the number of online classes offered nationwide outnumbered in-person classes back in the 2010-2012 timeframe. So, basically online classes /sections have outnumbered in-person learning since before COVID. . . I am guessing whenever blackboard, brightspace, and the other platforms came out.

It is "bad" enough that my local community college now REQUIRES all instructors to offer an online "section" of every single class offered by the school. (labs not included)...

This last May saw two small colleges within an hour of my home graduate their last cohorts and close for good. They couldn't make ends meet without enough residential students to pay the bills.

[Charles Fout]

I hate seeing any legitimate institution suffer for any reason.

I wonder:
1. Does every tertiary institution of learning have to call itself a university?
2. What is the right amount of programs of study?
3. At what point does the tertiary education market place become oversaturated? The Commonwealth of Virginia and the greater Lynchburg area itself are a case in point.
4. Will the number of distance learning only tertiary institutions displace the number of traditional bricks and mortar ones. 

I'm praying for and wishing the best for everyone involved with the University of Lynchburg.


https://sites.google.com/lynchburg.edu/t...ation/home

1) Colleges are institutions that offer only undergraduate degrees. Universities offer graduate degrees.

2) The right amount of degrees would be any number for the area, such that schools are not competing over students. In an ideal world each school finds a niche of areas to specialize in, such that each school is "known" for certain fields.

3) An area is oversaturated once schools compete for students in any given degree/major.

4) I don't have the quote in front of me, but someone... I think either the US Dept of Ed, or else US News and World Report, claimed that the number of online classes offered nationwide outnumbered in-person classes back in the 2010-2012 timeframe. So, basically online classes /sections have outnumbered in-person learning since before COVID. . . I am guessing whenever blackboard, brightspace, and the other platforms came out.

It is "bad" enough that my local community college now REQUIRES all instructors to offer an online "section" of every single class offered by the school. (labs not included)...

This last May saw two small colleges within an hour of my home graduate their last cohorts and close for good. They couldn't make ends meet without enough residential students to pay the bills. 


I think your statement regarding colleges only offering undergraduate degrees is an incorrect generalization. Many colleges offer graduate programs. Right away, I can think of Dartmouth College and Trinity College, Dublin.

[wow]

Dartmouth College is nonetheless a university according to the American definitions: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/college, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/university

I know a few other U.S. schools with college in the name that have grad schools. They are technically universities, and if they changed their name to university (like the change from TESC to TESU a few years back), it's a more accurate representation of what they offer. Not a legal requirement, though.

[ss20ts]

South College offers graduate degrees including doctoral degrees. The college versus university does not mean a whole lot in the US. In some states, there are laws regulating the use of the words. NY recently made a change so several colleges renamed themselves as they were finally eligible to be called university. They had been offering graduate degrees for many years but not enough programs to be considered a university. That changed and we saw colleges like EC become EU. I can think of at least 6 colleges that changed their name because of this revision in the law. All of them did not change their name even though they were able to.

[Courcelles]

Not to mention Boston College. They literally couldn't do this since Boston University exists as a distinct well-known institution!

[ss20ts]

Not to mention Boston College.  They literally couldn't do this since Boston University exists as a distinct well-known institution!

Same with South College as there already is a South University. I wouldn't be surprised if there are others.

[Jonathan Whatley]

A few more, each offering graduate degrees but blocked from a simple name change to University by an existing unrelated university with that name: Baker College, Cambridge College, Clarkson College, and Georgetown College.