Iowa Wesleyan closing its doors

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Cyfan1965

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IMO this won't be the last. 4 year schools, both public and private are pricing themselves out of the market. With public finding support decreasing and most schools still willing to pay old professors $300K to teach one class per semester. Also, younger people are growing leery of trying to start out life with $70K in debt.
In 20 years college will only be for the wealthy.
No one makes 300K

 

Pat

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Oct 20, 2011
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No one makes 300K

According to the State salary database, if I’m reading it right, ISU had 11 “professors” above 300k in FY2022 - 7 “distinguished” and one “associate.” There were 116 employees with “professor” in the job title that made more than $200k.
 

Cyfan1965

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According to the State salary database, if I’m reading it right, ISU had 11 “professors” above 300k in FY2022 - 7 “distinguished” and one “associate.” There were 116 employees with “professor” in the job title that made more than $200k.
should have said... "No one is making $300K to teach one class per semester"
 

mapnerd

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A teacher with +20-30 at Gilbert 7-8 years in has a base of 55ish.


Roland story wages for similar experience is around 60k.

These are last year and many saw a 2-3% bump for this year and 3-4% for next year. So add 6% to the 60 and you get 63-64. Have a 15 year teacher with basic continueing Ed credits and no extra curricular or mentoring and they are at 70 to 70+ at these schools without graduate degrees.
Thank you for the information. However, I will still disagree. I bet the statewide average is lower. These are two pretty good schools right next to each other and really close to Ames. My sister was in a small school in western Iowa. I think she also had like a 15 minute lunch break and other crazy stuff. So salary isn't everything. But I realize that's a separate discussion.
 

NWICY

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It's not just small private schools. In Dubuque paper they had an article about enrollment trends at the small colleges in the area. I expected that schools like Loras, UD and Clarke probably took a dip because of high tuition costs and post-Covid impacts.

But was surprised that UW-Plattville had lost about 25% of its students over the last decade- going from 8700 students to 6500 students.

My college roommate's son graduated from there last yr(?) Got a computer programming degree, and opened up a back pack making business in upstate NY.
 
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CyCrazy

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Thank you for the information. However, I will still disagree. I bet the statewide average is lower. These are two pretty good schools right next to each other and really close to Ames. My sister was in a small school in western Iowa. I think she also had like a 15 minute lunch break and other crazy stuff. So salary isn't everything. But I realize that's a separate discussion.

Ames, Iowa City, CR, Cedar Falls, Dm Private, and Sep, Valley, Wakuee and I dont know much about Sioux City. My wife works in Ames and makes 70k plus, I am pretty sure those areas are in the top tier. Small schools pay far less.
 

Al_4_State

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I’ve always wondered how schools like IWU, Dordt, Waldorf, St Ambrose, William Penn, Graceland and others made it. I definitely don’t want to see public funds going to religious institutions.

I think you’re bigger private colleges (the DIII ones) like Wartburg, Luther, Grinnell, Central, Coe, etc will probably be ok, but it’s going to look different for sure.
 

CascadeClone

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Thank you for the information. However, I will still disagree. I bet the statewide average is lower. These are two pretty good schools right next to each other and really close to Ames. My sister was in a small school in western Iowa. I think she also had like a 15 minute lunch break and other crazy stuff. So salary isn't everything. But I realize that's a separate discussion.

This. Small schools pay less. Growing districts pay more. Private schools usually pay a lot less or a lot more, depending if it is a poverty religious school, or an exclusive "academy" type outfit.

My dad asked for (and got!) $8,000 annual salary in 1973 for his first teaching job. That was considered outrageously high at the time.
 
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CascadeClone

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I’ve always wondered how schools like IWU, Dordt, Waldorf, St Ambrose, William Penn, Graceland and others made it. I definitely don’t want to see public funds going to religious institutions.

I think you’re bigger private colleges (the DIII ones) like Wartburg, Luther, Grinnell, Central, Coe, etc will probably be ok, but it’s going to look different for sure.
Some of them run grad programs that are pricey and paid for by employers, and that, combined with some endowments and good leadership, gives them a chance. e.g. St Ambrose churns out a lot of MBAs funded by local employers.

So does Mt Mercy. When I worked at Collins I swear half the employees were getting an MBA there on RC's dime. From my experience with the results, it was not a good investment...

In the end, there will be "consolidation", and it will be difficult how it's done. Take Coe & Mt Mercy. Coe has the athletics, a name and a lot of cash due to Marv Levy and some NFL guys. Mt Mercy is just up the hill from there, and not as good in most ways, but has a ton of reach with their grad programs, and the Church of course. If they were businesses, the case for a merger would be obvious. But they aren't. IDK how they work it out, but together they would be 1+1=3 imho.

Places like William Penn are probably just toast.

One thing to keep in mind, if you are looking for a "villain". The huge push for community colleges (Kirkwood and DMACC esp) has dramatically increased their enrolment, and they are state subsidized/run and a TON cheaper than all the privates. Why pay $100k to Waldorf when you can go to Kirkwood for $10k, and likely transfer to UNI, Iowa or ISU anyway if you decide you need a BA? Now, I think what KWood and DMACC are doing is good, we need more people better educated, and to some extent they make up for the failings of our high schools. But the impact to the privates IS a negative externality of that good...
 
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ClonerJams

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Population will be fine. Wal-Mart distribution center, health facility,strong professional community plus commuters to Burlington. Also young professionals from U of I find their way there. Small towns can rule. Strong schools. Okay,I’m off social media for a time….
70 for a teacher is an outlier, not the norm.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
Ames, Iowa City, CR, Cedar Falls, Dm Private, and Sep, Valley, Wakuee and I dont know much about Sioux City. My wife works in Ames and makes 70k plus, I am pretty sure those areas are in the top tier. Small schools pay far less.
Small schools had to bump to stay semi competitive. They aren’t as far behind as they used to be.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.

CycloneErik

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Some of them run grad programs that are pricey and paid for by employers, and that, combined with some endowments and good leadership, gives them a chance. e.g. St Ambrose churns out a lot of MBAs funded by local employers.

So does Mt Mercy. When I worked at Collins I swear half the employees were getting an MBA there on RC's dime. From my experience with the results, it was not a good investment...

In the end, there will be "consolidation", and it will be difficult how it's done. Take Coe & Mt Mercy. Coe has the athletics, a name a lot of cash due to Marv Levy and some NFL guys. Mt Mercy is just up the hill from there, and not as good in most ways, but has a ton of reach with their grad programs, and the Church of course. If they were businesses, the case for a merger would be obvious. But they aren't. IDK how they work it out, but together they would be 1+1=3 imho.

Places like William Penn are probably just toast.

One thing to keep in mind, if you are looking for a "villain". The huge push for community colleges (Kirkwood and DMACC esp) has dramatically increased their enrolment, and they are state subsidized/run and a TON cheaper than all the privates. Why pay $100k to Waldorf when you can go to Kirkwood for $10k, and likely transfer to UNI, Iowa or ISU anyway if you decide you need a BA? Now, I think what KWood and DMACC are doing is good, we need more people better educated, and to some extent they make up for the failings of our high schools. But the impact to the privates IS a negative externality of that good...

Do you have #s for Kirkwood and DMACC?
DMACC mostly does anything right now through dual enrollment or whatever with high school students.
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
I asked an admissions person at Waldorf, before Columbia state bought them why the didn’t cut a sport to save money. They told me 86% of their students were athletes, why kids went there. Said they couldn’t. So it was basically kids who wanted to continue HS who went there.
 

CyNews

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Yes,athletes make up a big percentage of the students at small colleges.