Future of Division III

[kate]

Good grief, sports aside for a minute, the closing of our tremendous small colleges and universities will lead to an even worse dumbing down of the American society.   It's bad enough right now with insanely ridiculous tv shows and some movies, people not voting, and people not keeping up with the news.   Seriously, if everyone is hoarded into a gigantic state school, for intellect and sports, it could be a nightmare to our existence.   Just my opinion.

[SagatagSam]

Good grief, sports aside for a minute, the closing of our tremendous small colleges and universities will lead to an even worse dumbing down of the American society.   It's bad enough right now with insanely ridiculous tv shows and some movies, people not voting, and people not keeping up with the news.   Seriously, if everyone is hoarded into a gigantic state school, for intellect and sports, it could be a nightmare to our existence.   Just my opinion.

They aren't hoarding into the gigantic state schools either. There are a ton of students that see little value in going $30,000+ in debt only to not find a job that justifies the expense. As a result they are skipping college all together.

[jknezek]

I'm a big believer higher education needs a massive makeover.

First, state schools need to be funded by the state with the... requirement... that they serve in-state students. This means they go back to being truly inexpensive because taxpayers are willing to recognize the need and benefit for an educated cohort of society. Drop the debt load significantly, 90% of costs covered, but raise admission standards by lowering acceptances at these schools. Slots should be available for the top 20-25% of h.s. graduates in any state. For perspective, that's about 50K slots per year in New York across all state schools for 4 years.

If you are in a state that doesn't value education (and yes, I live in AL so we would have to move), your state schools are probably going to be underfunded. Huge classrooms, mediocre education. Vote for someone better, or move. But you can't go to a state school out of state. What the heck is the purpose of a state school that mostly serves out of state students.... looking at you University of Roll Tide and the 68% out of state undergraduate enrollment.

Second, if you don't have the h.s. qualifications, anyone top 50% of their state h.s. class can go to a JUCO for a few years, also 90% covered. Any student with a 3.0 or better in a JUCO degree can go to a state school if they want to finish a 4yr degree. Same 90% paid for status. Students have some skin in the game, have legitimate known requirements, and can receive an education even if you are a late bloomer so long as you are willing to put in the work. Anyone below the top 50% of your class... well, only about 62% of h.s. graduates go to college anyway.

If you can't get in the top 50% of your state... you are going to have to find another way. For example, anyone with 2yrs of public service (military) and a recommendation or 2yrs of government approved service (Peace Corps for one possible example) can go to the JUCO program if they didn't qualify after h.s.

Third, if you don't finish your degree, either JUCO or 4 year, you have to pay back a percentage of the benefit you received. 15% in year one, not much if you recognize early college is not for you, 30% in year two, 50% in year three. Again, skin in the game. Finish your darn degree. If you drop out after year 1, it won't be that much, but if you drop 3 years in, that needs to be... discouraged.

Fourth, state schools focus on vocational degrees. Engineering, computer science, business, the hard sciences, healthcare. There are dozens more, but if you want to focus on theology, ancient Greek, history, etc... then you will need to pay for it (see Private Schools).

Fifth, private schools are more market based, let that continue. Maybe they cater to that lower 50%, maybe they offer an education radically better than the state schools and are worth the money. Maybe they offer degrees that state schools don't (liberal arts). Maybe they offer sports that the state schools don't. Lots of ways to differentiate, but probably nowhere near enough to keep all these hundreds upon hundreds of schools. If they can survive, and I suspect many won't, then they add to the market.

Finally, the job market needs to change. So many jobs require a college degree for a job that doesn't need a college degree. They do it because we have so many college graduates, not because it actually adds to anything. Reset those expectations and qualifications and fewer students will feel the need to go to college. Follow a pattern similar to what I laid out above, and people most likely to benefit from college won't come out with crippling debt loads. Obviously this is just a sketch outline that has massive holes that need cleaning up, but short of going away from traditional college experiences, this makes the most sense to me.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I live in a state where we don't have enough students to fill our schools.  We have to have out of state students.  Our lawmakers complain the University of Delaware won't accept enough local kids and the response has always been: prepare them better and we'll take them all.

This is a bit of a unique situation, though, because while UD gets some state money, it's technically a private college.  When they did the land grant thing way back when, UD already existed and we didn't need another college, so they just gave them the money and the Governor gets to appoint one third of the board.  Del State is an HBCU and a great school, but we don't have the local population to support its size, either - white Delawareans who attend get automatic "minority student" scholarships to try and keep the local numbers up.

I tend to think the Community College system should be the default education pathway for most states (it definitely is here).

[Gray Fox]

Around 1960, California came up with a plan for the UC's, State Colleges (now called Cal State xxx... etc), and JC's.  The JC's were intended to be a transition to four year schools for those who needed to go this route.  They also set up State Scholarships  to help students going to private schools in the state.  That is how I attended.  They were slightly less than the state was spending per student for students going to UCLA, for example.  In  those days, it cost a student $60 a semester for tuition at UCLA. The state picked up the rest.

It was called the  California Master Plan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Master_Plan_for_Higher_Education

[SagatagSam]

I live in a state where we don't have enough students to fill our schools.  We have to have out of state students.  Our lawmakers complain the University of Delaware won't accept enough local kids and the response has always been: prepare them better and we'll take them all.

This is a bit of a unique situation, though, because while UD gets some state money, it's technically a private college.  When they did the land grant thing way back when, UD already existed and we didn't need another college, so they just gave them the money and the Governor gets to appoint one third of the board.  Del State is an HBCU and a great school, but we don't have the local population to support its size, either - white Delawareans who attend get automatic "minority student" scholarships to try and keep the local numbers up.

I tend to think the Community College system should be the default education pathway for most states (it definitely is here).

Delaware is not alone.

Where I grew up, the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities ("MnSCU") system has seen devastating enrollment drops--St. Cloud State University (D2) has dropped about 45% over the past decade (from nearly 20,000 students to barely above 10,000). Several other schools in the system have dropped 10-25% over the same period. The system as a whole as dropped over 20%. And that's all in advance of the 2026 enrollment cliff.

Based on what I have seen and heard from people who know a lot more about higher ed than I do, I am expecting a ton of schools (and not just D3 schools) closing/merging nationwide, with particularly high concentrations of those schools being located in the northeast.

[Kuiper]

Lasell University, of the GNAC, appears to be in trouble.  A plan to cut History, English, sociology, and a few other departments and cut faculty.  At this point, the sports program may be propping up the rest of the university in terms of attracting students, but we'll see how long that lasts. 

https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/1682337335751462912?s=20

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/20/metro/facing-financial-woes-lasell-university-plans-cut-humanities-majors-lay-off-faculty/

[Gray Fox]

Lasell University, of the GNAC, appears to be in trouble.  A plan to cut History, English, sociology, and a few other departments and cut faculty.  At this point, the sports program may be propping up the rest of the university in terms of attracting students, but we'll see how long that lasts. 

https://twitter.com/BostonGlobe/status/1682337335751462912?s=20

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/20/metro/facing-financial-woes-lasell-university-plans-cut-humanities-majors-lay-off-faculty/

From one of the letters at the bottom of the Globe article: "None of the umpires who worked their softball games got paid this Spring. The Athletic Director should be held to account for this as well as the Trustees."

[Kuiper]

Here's a little less gloomy post about the future of Division III.  August 6th is the 50th anniversary of the creation of DIII.  I wish it had more of a presence in the western half of the country, and it certainly has all the challenges faced by small colleges generally right now, but it's still the largest NCAA division and this is a significant milestone.  I'm also optimistic that DIII may actually become the model for NCAA sports going forward in a world where college athletics may divide between those that fully embrace it as a business, establishing employer-employee relationships for athletes and breaking off from the NCAA, and those that can no longer justify or finance the extensive travel, athletics scholarships, or special treatment without the Power 5 football/basketball money in the system.  That doesn't necessarily mean many of those latter schools would move to DIII, but the transition of the University of Hartford from DI to DIII this year could be a harbinger of things to come.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/4/17/media-center-diii-unveils-50th-anniversary-logo-and-celebration.aspx

[Gregory Sager]

It's interesting that the NCAA article about D3's fiftieth anniversary spotlights the division's massive expansion over that half-century while also mentioning the first national title won on the D3 level, as Ashland took home the Walnut and Bronze from the men's cross-country championship in the fall of 1973. Ashland is an example of the constant attrition to the scholarship ranks that all of that D3 expansion has had to overcome; the Eagles moved from D3 to D2 in 1979.

[SagatagSam]

Here's a little less gloomy post about the future of Division III.  August 6th is the 50th anniversary of the creation of DIII.  I wish it had more of a presence in the western half of the country, and it certainly has all the challenges faced by small colleges generally right now, but it's still the largest NCAA division and this is a significant milestone.  I'm also optimistic that DIII may actually become the model for NCAA sports going forward in a world where college athletics may divide between those that fully embrace it as a business, establishing employer-employee relationships for athletes and breaking off from the NCAA, and those that can no longer justify or finance the extensive travel, athletics scholarships, or special treatment without the Power 5 football/basketball money in the system.  That doesn't necessarily mean many of those latter schools would move to DIII, but the transition of the University of Hartford from DI to DIII this year could be a harbinger of things to come.

https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/4/17/media-center-diii-unveils-50th-anniversary-logo-and-celebration.aspx

Any idea where UHart will end up in terms of conference? I'm a MIAC guy and this is all brand new news to me.

[Ron Boerger]

They have the Commonwealth Coast Conference and ECAC listed on their website.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Yeah, they're taking Salve's place in the CCC.

[Ron Boerger]

Whoa.  Huge cuts coming at UW-Oshkosh and elsewhere in the UW system.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2023/08/03/uw-oshkosh-plans-layoffs-furloughs-due-to-18-million-deficit/70521062007/

UW-Oshkosh plans to cut about 200 non-faculty staff and administrators this fall, while furloughing others, UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt said Thursday, as the university faces an unprecedented $18 million budget shortfall. The cuts amount to about 20% of university employees.

[Ralph Turner]

I saw the link to this article in the Washington Examiner at D3playbook.com (to which I pay a yearly subscription.)

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/ncaa-president-testifies-senate-nil-sports-concerns

Yes, I might concede that D-2 schools might forego money-losing athletics without an NIL law, but how many D3 schools (beyond a small handful) would give up athletics in a new NIL-driven world?

I just don't believe NCAA President Baker about D3. In,fact, I think that D3 becomes the preferred model.

Please comment.