Public vs. Private Institutions: A Game of Numbers?

I’ve been at a public institution for almost two months now, and I’ve been noticing a few significant differences from my private undergrad institution.

First, when the protesters came to campus a couple weeks ago, I was confused as to why no one was asking them to leave. You see, at North Central, If anyone came to campus to hand out fliers or protest something without consent from the school, campus safety was called to escort them off the grounds. This was a rare occurrence, but it was nice knowing our days wouldn’t be interrupted by potential chaos. I think UW-L has done a good job at creating learning experiences from those situations for students. That’s one thing I wasn’t really able to get at North Central.

The bigger difference I realized this week, is the importance of statistics. We talked in class about standards. Now, this was a conversation about Student Affairs standards, but of course we ventured a bit off topic, and started talking about the standards UW-L has for its students. Someone mentioned the importance UW-L places on retention numbers. This made me think back to Chancellor Gow’s fall address to faculty and staff. He had a whole presentation about UW-L’s numbers and how impressive they were in terms of retention. I was surprised at much the numbers mattered. Maybe it was because I was just a student, but at North Central I felt like there wasn’t as much of an emphasis on the numbers. I worked in admissions and each counselor had goal numbers for applications and acceptances, but I always felt they cared more about the students to find the college that fit them best. And, once a student commits to North Central, they’re a name not a number. I never felt a sense of “how do we keep butts in the seats?” I’m not sure if it was because North Central doesn’t have to report to the state, but from what I’ve heard from those who attended UW-L or other public schools from undergrad it didn’t feel that way for them.

I’m not saying private schools are better than public. They each have their own way of operating that fits some people better than others. Attending a private school was the right choice for me at the time, and now I’m glad I’m gaining experience from a public school. Both have offered and will continue to offer me valuable learning experiences.