DeVry Scheduling

Discussion in 'Online & DL Teaching' started by Princeofska, Jul 21, 2011.

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  1. Princeofska

    Princeofska New Member

    Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has noticed a drastic shift in scheduling with DeVry this year.

    I had received, like clockwork, one or two classes each session for a little over two years until two sessions ago. All of the sudden, nothing. I don't even get the standby anymore.

    My reviews are high, so I don't think my performance has anything to do with it.
    My scheduler changed during the same period, so perhaps she picks in a different order than the previous scheduler, I don't know. I teach a class that only has one other option in the core curriculum, so I always had full classes. Does anyone know if enrollment is down significantly this year? I am just a bit baffled by the sudden stop - and since it was one of my primary adjunct jobs, my income has been significantly impacted.

    Anyone have a similar experience lately?
     
  2. Princeofska

    Princeofska New Member

    Hmmm... A google search before I posted may have shed some light, but I am still interested to know if anybody else was seeing this trend

    "DeVry University reported new undergraduate enrollment of 14,981, a 15.4 percent decline compared with 17,715 last year. Total student enrollment increased 5.9 percent to 70,863 students, compared with 66,909 in spring 2010."

    According to these numbers, enrollment is up, but not new enrollment - which may be why my core classes are not seeing as many students. Of course, the majority of my students were Chamberlain students in the DeVry system, and I can't find spastics on them.

    Still, any other information or ideas are welcomed!
     
  3. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    A recent (June 25) news story suggests that DeVry's enrollment is shifting from online to B&M, and has therefore been laying off staff from the online operations. DeVry's Chamberlain College of Nursing is showing strong growth, but the growth is apparently occurring on-campus and not online:

    The same news story notes that other for-profit schools are also facing enrollment issues:

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 21, 2011
  4. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Same for me. For over two years, I was getting 1 or 2 classes every term, no exceptions. This current term is the first that I was not offered a class. I am hoping that I get something in the next one coming up.
     
  5. Princeofska

    Princeofska New Member

    Thanks CalDog, that helps explain it a little more. Man, I hope things turn around - DeVry is one of the ones I like because I teach a 400 instead of a survey.
     
  6. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member


    Same here, things have been slow lately with them. But the same for other online schools. As unemployment is high, there is not enough motivation to get a degree that might not worth much in this economy.
    There has been an increase for health care related programs, I don't do much health care but these programs seem to be growing.
    The accounting boom also slowed down this year so it seems that most fields are in the low end of the cycle.
     
  7. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Some financial consultants are now making similar observations, and are suggesting that this is a good time to "go short" on DeVry and other for-profit schools. In other words, make a bet that their stock prices will fall.

    For example, the following quotes are from a recent article called "Shorting For-Profit Colleges: Profiting From the Subprime Arena of the Education Sector":

     
  8. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member


    I wouldn't put Devry in the same basket as other online for profit schools, their programs offer good value as they are technical oriented.Their reputation is decent for technical programs.

    I agree that 50K of student is insane for degrees from schools like UoP, you can do a BS from Excelsior or Thomas Edison for less than 10K.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 28, 2011
  9. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    The article that I quoted looked at three for-profit education companies (UoP, DeVry, and ITT). To be fair, it did conclude that DeVry was in the best shape of the three: "It is the healthiest financially, has the strongest accreditation, and has the least negative track record of the three for-profit colleges mentioned on this list."

    Nonetheless, the overall conclusion was that all three businesses had weak future prospects, as far as their stock values were concerned. Only time will tell if this view is correct.
     
  10. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Well, to go back to the scheduling, hopefully, by this time next week, I will have a class offer from them for the next term. I emailed the scheduler and was told that the offers would go out during the first week of Aug.
     
  11. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Looked at the enrollment numbers for University of Phoenix, based on the quarterly results that they report to investers. UoP enrollments apparently peaked in the third quarter of the 2010 fiscal year (UoP's fiscal year follows the academic calendar, so "third quarter 2010" = March + April + May 2010). UoP enrollments have fallen in every quarter since then; the streak is now four quarters long:

    476,500 3Q 2010
    470,800 4Q 2010
    438,100 1Q 2011
    405,300 2Q 2011
    398,400 3Q 2011

    So over the past year, UoP has lost more than 75,000 students (which is more than the total enrollment of the entire University of Massachusetts system). Given those numbers, it would not be surprising if UoP is cutting back on teaching opportunities. And it would not be surprising if other schools were experiencing similar issues.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2011
  12. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Another interesting factoid from the UoP invester data:

    New enrollments in the 2011 fiscal year, compared to new enrollments in the 2010 fiscal year:

    1Q 2011: down 42.4 % compared to 1Q 2010
    2Q 2011: down 44.9 % compared to 2Q 2010
    3Q 2011: down 40.5 % compared to 3Q 2010

    We are currently still in 4Q 2011 (June + July + August), so the 4Q numbers aren't available yet.

    But based on the data for the first three quarters, it appears that new enrollments for the 2011 fiscal year are down by 40-45 % compared to the rates in 2010. This result suggests that UoP's streak of falling quarterly enrollments may not end in the near future.

    Of course, these results don't necessarily apply to DeVry, or to any other specific school besides UoP. But I suspect that if UoP is finding it difficult to maintain enrollments and attract new students, then other schools in the for-profit sector are probably facing challenges as well.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2011
  13. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    This can create a domino effect, if for profits do not hire new adjuncts then then for profit online doctors would not be able to get work with their doctorates and discourage new students from enrolling into online doctorates.

    I wonder what would be the impact of this for online doctorates.
     
  14. CalDog

    CalDog New Member

    Any updates ?
     
  15. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    Not yet. I did hear from my faculty manager, who does NOT do the scheduling, that they are only offering courses as they fill, so the course offers will keep going out until the term begins, just a class at a time. Apparently, I am still on the list, but just waiting my turn. Hopefully, it comes before the classes quit filling.
     
  16. Aberdonian

    Aberdonian New Member

    I teach a 400 level Humanities course, and got word yesterday of one course being assigned to me in the next term.
     
  17. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    That is good news. I usually teach ENG 112, which I think is a required course (I could be wrong about that), so I would figure it would always fill. I have been there long enough that I figured I had moved up the pole far enough to not miss classes, but I was wrong.

    Hopefully, I will get one in the next few days.
     
  18. Princeofska

    Princeofska New Member

    That's good news, I also teach a 400 level humanities course. No word for a few sessions now. :(
     
  19. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    I was just offered a course for the term that begins on Aug 29.
     

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