University of Alabama updates

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by Packer16

I agree with Packer on this one. UA should be bold and not let UAB cast a School of Medicine shadow over it. FSU has a medical school now, though it is not research focused.

However, this requires a lot of money, and UA is currently wasting so much money on exorbitant salaries, bonuses, perks, retirement parachutes, and the seriously unnecessary and harmful Office of DEI along with the redundant DEI administrators across campus. It also spends way too much money to lure good students to campus, when a raising of standards would over time attract some of those top students, without needing to be so generous with scholarships. It makes sense to spend a lot on the very top students (ACT scores of 31 or higher), but UA can learn from Auburn when it comes to attracting top students whose ACT scores are in the range of 27-30.

[Packer16]

68, You sure do a lot talking about things you obviously are clueless about. You really come across as a jealous, whiney Auburn troll. If not, you're just a plain idiot. But, you have a right to show everyone how little you know. I hope the rest of us continue to provide quality, truthful posts instead of opinionated dribble.

But, by all means, carry on. You've become quite the joke here. RTR

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by Packer16

68, You sure do a lot talking about things you obviously are clueless about. You really come across as a jealous, whiney Auburn troll. If not, you're just a plain idiot. But, you have a right to show everyone how little you know. I hope the rest of us continue to provide quality, truthful posts instead of opinionated dribble.

But, by all means, carry on. You've become quite the joke here. RTR

Whatever dude. YOU choose not to see the problems that need fixing. I care deeply about my alma mater. If you don't like it, ignore me. I have provided facts over and over. You can't handle the truth. It is that simple. UA will never advance with cheerleaders like you who choose to deny or ignore serious problems.

[Packer16]

Remember, BAMA BLITZ begins today at Noon!!! Ends at Noon on Thursday. ROLL TIDE!!!

http://bamablitz.ua.edu

[Packer16]

Also, Saturday is the scheduled launch of SpaceX Crew 4, piloted by BAMA alum, Bob Hines.

https://news.ua.edu/2022/04/ready-fo...space-mission/

[atlanta68]

https://oira.ua.edu/d/sites/all/file...22%20FINAL.pdf

If anyone thinks I am an Auburn troll, please see my long history of posting here, largely cheerleading UA. If I was an Auburn alumnus, I would complain about DEI at Auburn as well, and the fact it now has a larger non-current liability debt than UA.

If anyone thinks I am not basing my critique of UA administration on facts, please see page 12 of the latest Common Data Set (see above link). Then compare with Auburn's at https://auburn.edu/administration/ir...section-c.html (scroll down to see Auburn's ACT breakdown).

36% of the students UA enrolled in Fall 2021 had an ACT of 23 or lower. 7% had an ACT of 17 or lower!

In contrast, less than 24% of students enrolled at Auburn Fall 21 had an ACT of 23 or lower. Only 1.5% of students enrolled at Auburn had an ACT of 17 or less. No UA alumnus should find this difference in selectivity acceptable.

45.59% of Auburn's enrollees had an ACT of 24-29. Only 29% of UA's enrollees had an ACT of 24-29.

Fortunately, 35% of UA's enrollees had an ACT of 30 or higher, whereas only 30.5% of Auburn's enrollees had an ACT of 30 or higher. Those generous scholarships attracting elite students make UA's avg ACT look a lot better.

UA's 25th to 75th percentiles are 21-31. Auburn's 24-30. UA needs to do much better at raising that bottom 25th percent. What is keeping this from happening? I challenge anyone here to find a large state flagship with such a wide range of student quality. This matters because the lower percentile brings down the grad rate, the retention rate, decreases UA's attractiveness to top faculty, increases student loan indebtedness, and contributes much less to the intellectual advancement of the school.

[chadinhsv]

Originally Posted by Packer16

Also, Saturday is the scheduled launch of SpaceX Crew 4, piloted by BAMA alum, Bob Hines.

https://news.ua.edu/2022/04/ready-fo...space-mission/

That is great news Packer!

[chadinhsv]

Originally Posted by atlanta68

https://oira.ua.edu/d/sites/all/file...22%20FINAL.pdf

If anyone thinks I am an Auburn troll, please see my long history of posting here, largely cheerleading UA. If I was an Auburn alumnus, I would complain about DEI at Auburn as well, and the fact it now has a larger non-current liability debt than UA.

If anyone thinks I am not basing my critique of UA administration on facts, please see page 12 of the latest Common Data Set (see above link). Then compare with Auburn's at https://auburn.edu/administration/ir...section-c.html (scroll down to see Auburn's ACT breakdown).

36% of the students UA enrolled in Fall 2021 had an ACT of 23 or lower. 7% had an ACT of 17 or lower!

In contrast, less than 24% of students enrolled at Auburn Fall 21 had an ACT of 23 or lower. Only 1.5% of students enrolled at Auburn had an ACT of 17 or less. No UA alumnus should find this difference in selectivity acceptable.

45.59% of Auburn's enrollees had an ACT of 24-29. Only 29% of UA's enrollees had an ACT of 24-29.

Fortunately, 35% of UA's enrollees had an ACT of 30 or higher, whereas only 30.5% of Auburn's enrollees had an ACT of 30 or higher. Those generous scholarships attracting elite students make UA's avg ACT look a lot better.

UA's 25th to 75th percentiles are 21-31. Auburn's 24-30. UA needs to do much better at raising that bottom 25th percent. What is keeping this from happening? I challenge anyone here to find a large state flagship with such a wide range of student quality. This matters because the lower percentile brings down the grad rate, the retention rate, decreases UA's attractiveness to top faculty, increases student loan indebtedness, and contributes much less to the intellectual advancement of the school.

Atlanta: I have seen you post on this forum and other forums as well so I know you are not a troll. What I think is annoying though is the constant word salad concerning the DEI office. You've made your point, but lets move on as you're not changing anyone's mind here. I think everyone already has an opinion on it and I don't think anything constructive is going to come from the constant mentioning of this particular office. You've done all you can do by trying to contact the University.

[chadinhsv]

This is painful for me to see. As I've noted before, Huntsville is becoming more and more Auburnville with each passing day and partnerships like this seems to come up almost weekly. What I don't see is UA having these type of partnerships with major employers in the fastest growing city in the state. Does anyone know if UA has educational partnerships with big employers in this state?

https://ocm.auburn.edu/newsroom/camp...artnership.php

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by chadinhsv

Atlanta: I have seen you post on this forum and other forums as well so I know you are not a troll. What I think is annoying though is the constant word salad concerning the DEI office. You've made your point, but lets move on as you're not changing anyone's mind here. I think everyone already has an opinion on it and I don't think anything constructive is going to come from the constant mentioning of this particular office. You've done all you can do by trying to contact the University.

I hear you about my crusade against DEI, though I have received positive private messages on here, and one lampooning Packer. Unlike Packer, I have chosen not to make this personal.

Nevertheless, many themes are raised over and over here as well, so it is not just me fixated on something. The competition in Hunstville with Auburn is one, and I agree with you guys, but again, where will you get the money to do that? If we got rid of DEI, and the redundant DEI coordinator in the COE, maybe UA could afford it, among other things.

However, the vast majority of my post above is about academics at UA, specifically, its lower selectivity. I don't think most alumni realize that UA is not tightening standards. We are regressing, as evidenced by the drop in the bottom 25th percentile from 23 to 21 from Fall 2020, to Fall 2021. And we are currently tied with UAB in the USNWR rankings. I do think UA DEI is behind some of this as the Honors Program director celebrated the COVID era relaxation of standards as a way to move away from "racially biased" standardized testing. Funny how East Asians don't let that stop them from scoring higher scores than Whites.

[chadinhsv]

Bama Blitz 2022 just ended. Total was $6,045,530 raised from 1,274 gifts. That is an average of $4,745.31 per gift. Fantastic job this year!

[Packer16]

I think I've linked these stats before, but, this is data through the years from the UA System. It includes UA, UAB, and UAH data.

https://uasystem.edu/images/document...nuary-2022.pdf

If you'll notice, ACT scores for incoming freshmen (which were not counted in admissions for the Fall of 2021 and will not be through, at least, Fall 2023) have been steadily increasing at UA over the last 15 years. But, even with steadily improving ACT scores through the last 15 years, UA has dropped in the US News and World Report rankings.

Also, you should notice that graduation rates have improved steadily over the last 10 years. Interesting to see how low the grad rates are at UAB and UAH. But, even with steadily improving graduation rates over the last 10 years, UA continues to drop in the US News and World Report rankings.

Maybe, there's something wrong with the US News and World Report rankings?

As for the hang up with standardized test scores. Universities are beginning to turn to other factors, like high school performance, high school coursework, activities, and even a submitted essay, etc. to determine admission. I don't know if UA or the rest of the System will begin using standardized tests (ACT/SAT) as a factor in admission after the Fall of 2023 or not. That decision hasn't yet been made. Harvard University (a pretty good institution) has decided to permanantly drop standardized test scores as a factor in admissions.

Like I've said before, the University of Alabama will continue to grow their scholarship endowment (I just donated, today) and will keep attacting more and more of the very best students. In the Fall of 2021, we broke our record for the number of high achievers. I already know UA is going to break another record in the Fall of 2022.

So, the US News and World Report rankings are definitely not the end-all for being a great University. I've shown several rankings that think we're doing pretty damn good. The University of Alabama should not be chasing any magazines to get a pat on the head. The University of Alabama should get out and recruit and bring in the best and the brightest. The hard work by a lot of people has been paying off and UA will continue to break records.

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by Packer16

I think I've linked these stats before, but, this is data through the years from the UA System. It includes UA, UAB, and UAH data.

https://uasystem.edu/images/document...nuary-2022.pdf

If you'll notice, ACT scores for incoming freshmen (which were not counted in admissions for the Fall of 2021 and will not be through, at least, Fall 2023) have been steadily increasing at UA over the last 15 years. But, even with steadily improving ACT scores through the last 15 years, UA has dropped in the US News and World Report rankings.

Also, you should notice that graduation rates have improved steadily over the last 10 years. Interesting to see how low the grad rates are at UAB and UAH. But, even with steadily improving graduation rates over the last 10 years, UA continues to drop in the US News and World Report rankings.

Maybe, there's something wrong with the US News and World Report rankings?

As for the hang up with standardized test scores. Universities are beginning to turn to other factors, like high school performance, high school coursework, activities, and even a submitted essay, etc. to determine admission. I don't know if UA or the rest of the System will begin using standardized tests (ACT/SAT) as a factor in admission after the Fall of 2023 or not. That decision hasn't yet been made. Harvard University (a pretty good institution) has decided to permanantly drop standardized test scores as a factor in admissions.

Like I've said before, the University of Alabama will continue to grow their scholarship endowment (I just donated, today) and will keep attacting more and more of the very best students. In the Fall of 2021, we broke our record for the number of high achievers. I already know UA is going to break another record in the Fall of 2022.

So, the US News and World Report rankings are definitely not the end-all for being a great University. I've shown several rankings that think we're doing pretty damn good. The University of Alabama should not be chasing any magazines to get a pat on the head. The University of Alabama should get out and recruit and bring in the best and the brightest. The hard work by a lot of people has been paying off and UA will continue to break records.

Not sure how Packer missed this, but the ACT data for Fall 2021 WAS listed in that PDF he shared. Fall 2021 showed a big slide in the 25th percentile from 23 to 21. Furthermore, UA hit a peak 25th to 75th percentile range in 2017 (23-32).

What happened to cause it to decline from there? UA DEI hit full gear for one, after having started around 2016. COVID later certainly played a role, but during the same period of COVID, Auburn's 25th to 75th only dropped from 24 - 31, to 24 - 30. If you compare UA's 25-75th percentile range with other schools during COVID, I think you will find that UA's drop was worse than that at other schools. And we have quotes from UA officials celebrating the fact that standardized tests were being scaled down during the COVID era or made optional, for "equity."

Finally, while imperfect, the USNWR is largely based on objective criteria. I have already pointed out numerous times that UA is largely declining in the USNWR ranking due to two factors, abysmal Faculty Resources rank and abysmal Outcomes rank, thanks to lower selectivity.

I love UA but I loathe our weak, less than ideal officials running our beloved alma mater.

All the cheerleading in the world won't stop this data from reflecting reality at UA.

[Packer16]

I don't know if 68 has reading comprehension problems but, as I said, ACT/SAT scores were NOT used to determine admission in the Fall of 2021. Again, they were NOT used.
As you can see in the PDF, there is no complete data on standardized test scores because many students didn't submit ACT/SAT scores. So, that data is incomplete and basically useless. Do you need further explaination? I'm tring to help you, here.

By the way, a funny article for everyone.

https://www.al.com/educationlab/2022...ent-claim.html

And, another...

https://www.theatlantic.com/educatio...nkings/279103/

So, they seem to have you hooked. Stress on!!! LOL!!!

[MdtwnATL]

Originally Posted by atlanta68

Whatever dude. YOU choose not to see the problems that need fixing. I care deeply about my alma mater. If you don't like it, ignore me. I have provided facts over and over. You can't handle the truth. It is that simple. UA will never advance with cheerleaders like you who choose to deny or ignore serious problems.

I’m now convinced you are not mentally well.

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by Packer16

I don't know if 68 has reading comprehension problems but, as I said, ACT/SAT scores were NOT used to determine admission in the Fall of 2021. Again, they were NOT used.
As you can see in the PDF, there is no complete data on standardized test scores because many students didn't submit ACT/SAT scores. So, that data is incomplete and basically useless. Do you need further explaination? I'm tring to help you, here.

By the way, a funny article for everyone.

https://www.al.com/educationlab/2022...ent-claim.html

And, another...

https://www.theatlantic.com/educatio...nkings/279103/

So, they seem to have you hooked. Stress on!!! LOL!!!

They were used for scholarship determinations, just not required for admission. The fact that the standardized tests were NOT required makes the sharp decline in the 25th percentile even worse. Surely the worst test takers were the ones most likely to take advantage of the waiving of the test requirement, thus the 25th percentile should have been much higher than it was. UA's record enrollment Fall 2021 was clearly due to the lowering of standards that comes with waiving the test requirement. It will lead to a lower grad rate, and the further devaluing of the value of the UA diploma.

Of course the USNWR rank does not tell the whole story, and I still think a person can get an amazing education at UA, especially in the Honors Program. However, many people do value the ranking, including faculty and potential students and their families. Again, the ranking is largely based on objective criteria, and I have pointed out the two main criteria causing UA's steep decline. They are correctable.

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by MdtwnATL

I’m now convinced you are not mentally well.

I don't give an F what you think about me.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

This back and forth really needs to stop. I know we all have varying opinions about what's going on with the University but a majority of them don't belong in an update thread. I'm not innocent in this mudslinging contest, but I know it's made this thread an unpleasant place to visit.

We really need a Mod or Admin to step in here...

[Packer16]

Cool article about the state of Ohio providing University of Alabama license plates. The funds will be used for scholarships going to Ohio students attending the University of Alabama. RTR

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/al...icense-plates/

[atlanta68]

Originally Posted by SpawnOfVulcan

This back and forth really needs to stop. I know we all have varying opinions about what's going on with the University but a majority of them don't belong in an update thread. I'm not innocent in this mudslinging contest, but I know it's made this thread an unpleasant place to visit.

We really need a Mod or Admin to step in here...

I wish things had never gotten personal myself. I really do want the best for UA. I just think if you love something, you have to be willing to see its problems and work to correct them. It took me a long time before I was willing to call out the problems I see at UA. I have invested a lot of time and money in supporting UA, and it just seems that the administration is full of itself and unwilling to make needed changes or even recognize the problems. Unlike past administrations, they don't even bother to respond to concerned alumni. We are headed for tough financial times and it sure would be nice if UA would start tightening its purse now, and raise standards, so that it can long term reach its full potential, not to mention afford the things for which we have been clamoring.