The newsletter for the WKU community |
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President's Message:
Yielding Admitted Students
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Dear Colleagues,
When students return to WKU each semester, it affirms our dedication to our primary mission: transforming students’ lives. As we begin the third week of the term, helping our current Hilltoppers succeed remains our primary focus. In addition to this important work, throughout the spring semester we must also commit significant effort to yielding our admitted students. While our Office of Admissions continues to recruit and admit new Hilltoppers, we must keep in mind that we admitted the majority of this fall’s freshman class, approximately 80%, before the start of winter break.
As competition for students increases and college-going rates decrease nationwide, yielding admitted students presents significant challenges for colleges and universities. For the fall 2021 semester, 58% of the students we admitted who did not enroll at WKU did not attend any college or university in the fall, underscoring the concern many families have about paying for college.
To continue to meet our institutional goals, we must persist in our efforts to push back against the narrative that a college degree is too expensive and clearly communicate our work during the past two years to make WKU more affordable than ever before. We must continue to share with our admitted student pool, and their families, the value and lifetime benefits of a college degree. We must ensure that they fully understand our generous aid packages. And we must articulate the unique, personalized, student-centered opportunities on our Hill.
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WKU Online Bachelor's Programs ranked highest in Kentucky, among best in U.S. |
U.S. News & World Report has ranked WKU among the top 35 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in the nation – and No. 1 in Kentucky. The 2022 rankings are selected according to the program’s engagement, services and technology, faculty credentials and training, and expert opinion. According the report, “U.S. News chose factors that weigh how these programs are being delivered and their effectiveness at awarding affordable degrees in a reasonable amount of time.” |
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The WKU Forensics Team captured first place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the 24th annual Gorlok Gala hosted virtually by Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, Jan. 28-30. Learn More
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CAMPUS UPDATE ON QEP PROPOSALS |
In case you missed the update from Provost Robert "Bud" Fischer: Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) proposals are due to provost@wku.edu no later than March 15. Learn More
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Ramsey named 2021 WKU Philanthropist of the Year |
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Spotlight: Christopher Bussell |
Christopher Bussell is a sophomore from Hopkinsville who studies Environmental and Occupational Health Science. He decided on WKU after hearing friends talk about the WKU Intercultural Student Engagement Center (ISEC), a program aimed at assisting young scholars with transition, persistence & graduation. “ISEC was the reason I came," he said. |
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Doctor of Physical Therapy receives reaffirmation accreditation |
WKU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program has received reaffirmation accreditation for 10 years from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). “The WKU DPT faculty and staff work tirelessly to ensure student success in the physical therapy program, and we are proud of this outstanding accomplishment,” said Dean of WKU’s College of Health and Human Services Dr. Tania Basta. “We are honored to achieve the significant accomplishment of reaffirmation of the WKU DPT program accreditation,” Department Chair and Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Beth Norris said. |
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WKU hosting 2022 Physics Olympics on Feb. 19 |
Physical Connections is the theme for the 2022 Western Kentucky Physics Olympics on Feb. 19. WKU’s Department of Physics & Astronomy invites teams of high school students to register by Feb. 14 for the event that will be held in Snell Hall and Kelly Thompson Hall.
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Call for Abstracts: 41st Annual Mathematics Symposium |
The 41st Annual Mathematics Symposium at WKU will be held on Feb. 25. The deadline to submit abstracts to Dr. Ozkan Ozer (ozkan.ozer@wku.edu) is Feb. 11. The featured speaker will be Dr. Chris Bemis, Co-founder of X Cubed Capital Management and the SIAM’s Visiting Lecturer, who will present The Incorporation of Constraints as Views in Mean-Variance Optimization.
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Spanish Club meeting dates |
The WKU Spanish Club has announced the dates for the spring 2022 meetings. Whether you are a native-Spanish speaker, a beginner, or interested in the Spanish Language and Hispanic Culture, we encourage you to join us. The club provides several social opportunities in which students can practice speaking Spanish, such as fiestas and cultural dance lessons. It also provides opportunities to interact with the local Hispanic community. |
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The WKU Chinese Club, the WKU Chinese Flagship Program, the WKU Korean Pop Culture Club, Global Learning & International Affairs, Mahurin Honors College, and the WKU Modern Languages Department are sponsoring several events, which begin today, to celebrate the Chinese New Year. |
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Black History Month
The Black History Month Opening Ceremony will begin at 6 tonight at the Harbaugh Club at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. Learn More
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Staff Senate
The Staff Senate's February will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Downing Student Union, room 2081. Learn More
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Dance Project
The WKU Dance Program will present Dance Project 2022 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Gordon Wilson Hall Lab Theatre. All tickets are $7. Learn More
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Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd.
Bowling Green, KY 42101
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