UNL in Big Ten: do you expect enrollment increase from Great Lakes region? (Omaha: home, top schools)

[edsg25]

Hey, Nebraska, welcome to the Big Ten. You couldn't have found a better conference to join.

There may be some adjustments for you. Throughout Big Ten country, particularly its heart here in Chicagoland, NU is located in Evanston, not Lincoln. So you may have to contend with being UNL. Here in the Big Ten (as opposed to your old Big Eight days), we stick to the offical order. Our IU is IU because it really is Indiana University; the University of Indiana doesn't exist. So we'll just have coexist with you calling Nebraska NU and we calling Northwestern NU.

But once you get past the alphabet soup, you should feel comfortable and a thome.

Question is: will Big Ten membership change enrollment on the Lincoln campus?

Big Ten schools have always been an attraction to out-of-state students here in the Big Ten region. Mostly through our metropolitan areas, particularly the suburbs, local kids often spend their college years at an out-of-state Big Ten state university.

You can count on kids in places like Chicago, Milwaukee, M/SP, Detorit, Indy, Cleveland, etc. to end up at somebody else's State U. Paricularly Chicagoland kids who make themselves well at home in Madison, Bloomington, and Iowa City.

We realize that you'll get to know Iowa City very well (and be more than happy to make that your Iowa stop rather than Ames...though victories are bit harder for you to come by against the Hawks than the Clones. Iowa City is almost an extension of Chicagoland, loaded with Chicago area kids.

Question is, though you a bit more afield than Iowa City or Bloomington, will Big Ten membership make for a spike of Great Lakes kids in Lincoln?

Lawrence is even further from Chicago than Lincoln, but it gets its fair share of Chgo kids. Do you expect with B10 membership, the same will be said for UNL? From Chgo, Milw, M/SP, et al?

And once again: welcome to the fold. We're pretty much about equality here so you have happily escpaed the 800 pound gorilla in the shape of a Longhorn. congratulations, and welcome abord.

[iamjacobm]

I see UNL getting a big boost of students from parts of the country that the university traditionally hasn't drawn from very well. UNL will have the smallest enrollment in the Big 10(minus Northwestern) but I could see it nearing Iowa in 10 years. UNL will continue to be a huge draw from the upper plains states and will start to see more enrollees from the east b/c they are part of the Big 10 and will have tons of exposure in the Rust Belt from now on.

UNL is also beginning a new 1 billion dollar research campus that is sure to attract students from coast to coast. It is an exciting time to be involved with UNL!

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by iamjacobm

I see UNL getting a big boost of students from parts of the country that the university traditionally hasn't drawn from very well. UNL will have the smallest enrollment in the Big 10(minus Northwestern) but I could see it nearing Iowa in 10 years. UNL will continue to be a huge draw from the upper plains states and will start to see more enrollees from the east b/c they are part of the Big 10 and will have tons of exposure in the Rust Belt from now on.

UNL is also beginning a new 1 billion dollar research campus that is sure to attract students from coast to coast. It is an exciting time to be involved with UNL!

I was surprised a bit that UNL is smaller than Iowa. Although both states have other state universities as well (UNO, UNI, etc.), the state of Iowa has two flagship state universities with Iowa and ISU while Nebraska has only one. I would have thought that would have made enrollment at Lincoln at least equal to Iowa City since in Iowa, a lot of students who would have gone there are in Ames because of the two flagship set up.

[Raphael07]

Well we also have about 2/3 of Iowa's population.

[noimagination]

Yes, I would expect the B10 move to increase geographic diversity. I believe there was at least one group from Chicagoland present when I visited UNL.

The University of Iowa currently attracts many students from Illinois. I think UNL can do the same.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by noimagination

Yes, I would expect the B10 move to increase geographic diversity. I believe there was at least one group from Chicagoland present when I visited UNL.

The University of Iowa currently attracts many students from Illinois. I think UNL can do the same.

the link between UIowa and Chicagoland goes way, way back. A huge percentage of Iowa students have always been from the Chicago area.

Geography helps; Iowa City is about some 240 miles away from Chicago, and the campus is not really all that far once you cross the Mississippi.

But as I noted before, distance doesn't have to be a big thing. KU has in the last couple of decades had more and more Chgo kids and Lawrence is further afield from us than Lincoln is.

[mattpoulsen]

edsg,

Yes, I think you'll see a shift in enrollment makeup. I've already seen a few articles indicating that enrollment officials have already noticed a significant bump in interest from the Chicago region and from students who are determined to attend a Big 10 university.

As far as "NU" goes, ya, the University of Nebraska (and its alumni and fans) won't be giving that up any day soon. If anything I suspect a bit of a good natured small rivalry developing over it.

As far as Iowa goes, ya, Iowa has had easier access to a larger population basis (Illinois, Ohio, and etc.), while Nebraska has had a tougher time getting into those markets and was pulling from less densely populated regions like Nebraska, Kansas, S.Dakota, and etc. Enrollment officials have mentioned that the minute NU joined the Big10 they starting getting calls from Big10 bound students. I think its much less about geography and much more about the Big 10 brand.

NU has had a national sports brand for a long time now, and its academic profile has been rising steadily for the past few decades. I think you'll see that once they enter the Big 10 they'll develop into a national academic brand as well, fitting in nicely with the rest of the large Big10 universities.

As a NU alum, I'm very excited about the move.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by mattpoulsen

edsg,
As far as Iowa goes, ya, Iowa has had easier access to a larger population basis (Illinois, Ohio, and etc.), while Nebraska has had a tougher time getting into those markets and was pulling from less densely populated regions like Nebraska, Kansas, S.Dakota, and etc.

Iowa is an interesting school in that respect. I think there is a tendency to look at state universities that carry the state's name as being all encompassing of their state, a total representative of it, which in some ways they are.

Yet in more ways, they are unique unto themselves, a completely separate entity from the state, each with its own individual "personality".

That helps understand the University of Iowa. It is located in the far eastern part of its state and its location has very much influenced the type of institution it is. Before Nebraska, Iowa was the only state in the Big Ten not located on the Great Lakes. Yet eastern Iowa and the university are very compatible with the Great Lakes region and the university has always been a good fit with the schools east of the Mississippi. Iowa's connection with Chicago, always there, has been huge, of course. Geography really influences things. You might have had a very different situation if Iowa were located in Ames and Iowa State in Iowa City.

Cal has never been representative of California as a state. In some respects Iowa doesn't reflect the character of its state either, having an influence that is strongly to its east.

[Omahahonors]

I read a few articles (one from the Chicago Tribune) that stated how many of it's top schools are letting the same UNL officials through the doors they use to scoff at. This demonstrates how the BIG Ten is powerful as a brand. The mere affiliation with the brand opens up avenues that are rare for most institutions outside of the conference, resulting in Nebraska's sudden acceptance in new academic circles.

Nebraska was on the rise prior to joining the BIG Ten, but the mere boost of top students in the Great Lakes area, association with the CIC and the current boost of research facilities should make NU one of the fastest ladder risers in the academic rankings.

[mattpoulsen]

Omahahonors,

Agreed. With the massive NU research park being developed at the same time, NU should carry a lot of momentum over the next decade.