Not that I care a whole lot about which school has more students, there are some interesting parts of this article:
UND has a program that favors accepting better-prepared students in order to address the serious problem of students who never complete a degree.
I have to chalk this up partially to professors who are more interested in their own research than in engaging students, and to students who think that "just showing up" will earn them a degree. Thank God the latter isn't true yet.
-- This fall, UND had 3,204 seniors compared to NDSU's 2,864 seniors. Depending on when those students graduate, UND potentially will lose as many as 340 more students than NDSU.
1. This shows that UND has, at present, more students who are completing degrees (supposing these seniors actually graduate). Take from that what you will.
2. "Depending on when those students graduate . . ." This phrase irks me because it speaks to an underlying problem within the state (and maybe in public universities as a whole, but I haven't looked into that): Why are students not expected to graduate in 4 years? Most other 4-year universities in the country are just that: 4-year universities. Yet here at UND we have "Seniors" who are here for 5 or 6 or 7 years--why is this? It costs more to stay in school that long.
Maybe the answer is here:
On the other hand, when UND raised its minimum ACT test score as part of addressing this problem, a North Dakota taxpayer told me that he had paid taxes all his life, and his kids have a right to flunk out of college.
I wonder how prevalent this view is. I'm inclined to disbelieve that most people think this way. Why did UND raise the ACT score rather than eliminating it and focusing on selecting a greater variety of students based on activities and interests instead of how well they can do on a standardized test? This is another nationwide trend that UND seems to be missing out on.
UND's drop to No. 2 probably isn't that important to some. But, from an economic standpoint, declining enrollment is. Grand Forks has been hurt by the declining size of Grand Forks Air Force Base. It needs to be very concerned about an actual decline in the number of students at UND.
I don't think Grand Forks has a lot to worry about, but if someone actually takes this column seriously, I hope they look at working with the University to increase the number of entertainment and cultural options in the town.
So why was this article written? I'm not quite sure. I hope that the author is trying to improve the quality of life in Grand Forks, because if UND doesn't improve its educational offerings, Grand Forks alone is not a great draw for students.