2012-13 Edition Profile: University of Delaware

Educated Quest.com

2012-13 Edition

Profile:University of Delaware

1 Introduction to the University of Delaware

Background

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Located on the site of a “free school” that opened in 1743, the University of Delaware (UD) rose from college to university status from 1833 to 1921, when the former Newark College merged with the former Delaware Women’s College. In 1923, Delaware was the first university to introduce study abroad when a group led by Professor Raymond Kirkbride went to France.

Following the end of World War II, the university was a very small school with less than 1,000 students. Returning veterans, who received money for college through the G.I Bill, more than doubled the enrollment through 1950. Today the university has approximately 19,500 students; around 16,000 are undergradu-ates.

Chemistry and chemical engineering are noted as strong aca-demic departments; they developed in part, due to DuPont’s in-fluence in the state. The agriculture, biochemistry, business, education, information systems and public policy programs are highly regarded. The university offers one of only four academic programs in art conservation in the country. The university is also a Land Grant, Sea Grant and Space Grant institution. It also acquired a former Chrysler Motors plant located across from the football stadium that was developed into a research park that will be a setting to study, among other subjects, auto-motive technology. The plant previously produced Dodge As-pen heavy-duty hybrid sport utility vehicles before it was closed.

Background

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While Vice President Joseph Biden is one of the most famous graduates of the university, the managers of both 2008 presi-dential campaigns, David Plouffe, who worked for Barack Obama and Steve Schmidt, who worked for John McCain, are also Delaware alumni, aka “Blue Hens.” Robert Gore, inventor of Gore-Tex fabrics is also a prominent alumnus Three Dela-ware alumni have quarterbacked NFL teams into the playoffs while three others were signees to the Declaration of Independ-ence.. New Jersey governor Chris Christie is a graduate as well. In 2008, the university was the most popular out-of-state institution chosen by New Jersey college-bound freshmen, ac-cording to a task force report commissioned last year by Gover-nor Christie.

Unlike most state universities, the large majority—65 per-cent—of Delaware students come from out of state. Two rea-sons for the University’s popularity with residents of other states: a pedestrian-friendly, Georgian colonial style campus and a college-oriented Main Street resembling those at larger Midwestern and Southern state schools, but serving about half as many students. Other schools considered by out-of-state stu-dents who are interested in Delaware such as Boston Univer-sity and the University of Maryland-College Park are located in more urban settings. Still others like Penn State are more spread out. The university’s location in the center of the East Coast as well as its proximity to Interstate 95 also has a lot to do with its popularity. Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and

Washington D.C. are all less than two and a half hours from campus. Newark (locally pronounced New-ark) is also served by Amtrak trains to those cities.

Delaware is one of the few public universities that retains 90 percent or more of its freshman while graduating more than 80 percent of them within six years, an excellent performance for a state university. Most recently, 67 percent of the class that en-tered in 2008 finished their degree within four years, better than Maryland, Rutgers-New Brunswick and Penn State, among many other public and private schools. Much of this success is due to the quality of the students who enter the school, how-ever, these students have better access to faculty than they do at the larger institutions.

2 What does it take to get in?Who decides to go?What other schools do applicants consider?

Competition

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There were nearly 24,700 applicants for approximately 3,800 seats in the freshman class that entered in 2013, of which about 15,600 or 63 per-cent were accepted. Approximately 2,600 applicants were offered a place on the wait list; just under 800 were later offered admission. Dela-ware is less selective for Delawareans than it is for out-of-state students. About two-thirds of the in-state applicants are admitted; nearly another quarter will pursue Associate’s degrees at branch campuses in Dover, Georgetown or Wilmington before transferring to the main campus in Newark. They are taught by faculty who also teach on the main campus. About half of the students from outside of Delaware are offered admis-sion.

Delaware considers all three scores: Critical Reading, Math and Writing on the SAT and takes the highest score from each. For the class that en-tered in 2013 the middle 50 percent of admitted students had combined scores between 1630 (average of 540 per section) and 1940 (average of 650 per section) out of 2400. While more than half of admitted students scored below 600 on the Critical Reading and Writing sections of the SAT, only 45 percent scored below 600 on the Math.

Delaware does not admit students via an early decision or an early ac-tion plan, though the university uses the Common Application. There is a one-page supplement; those who are interested in the Honors Program must write only one additional essay. Every application gets two reads,; some are deferred to teams where a senior counselor is a team captain. Applicants are asked to select a major when they apply, although they may also choose University Studies, which means Undecided. However, students who are interested in Business, Engineering or Nursing are ad-

Competition

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vised to choose the major when they apply as well as an alternate major to which they might also be offered admission.

Delaware is less aggressive at “capping,” limiting the number of students in popular majors to those who meet or exceed a specific GPA, than most larger state universities. It is possible, for example, for a student with strong math and science grades to transfer into Engineering and still graduate in four years with careful planning; the same is true for liberal arts students with strong math and economics grades who are interested in business. However, if more applicants become interested in direct ad-missions to these majors in the coming year and afterwards capping could become possible.

While SATs are considered ‘important’ for admission, the rigor of the high school transcript and the academic grade point average are ‘very impor-tant’. Delaware, like other leading research universities, expects appli-cants to take their hardest courses during their senior year in high school and continue to perform well. The admissions office also reviews the es-say as well as their recommendations and resume (also required). The office advises against writing about depressing topics on essays as well as an over-abundant number of recommendations beyond those from teachers or guidance counselors.

Any student who is seriously interested in Delaware and believes that they display extraordinary credentials, prowess or talents should apply for the Honors Program. This includes not only honors courses but also honors housing. Students may also apply to the Honors Program in sub-sequent years, provided that they have at least a 3.4 GPA. SAT Subject scores are recommended for interested students.

Given the level of competition, students at the top of the applicant pool are aggressively courted. The majority of merit-based aid goes to non-residents. Unlike most schools that send financial aid letters separately from offers of admission, Delaware tries to package them together. But while some merit-based aid programs at Delaware such as the Distin-guished Scholars are quite generous, others for students further down in the pool are more limited, certainly far from enough to close the gap in costs between Delaware and the home state school. Delaware’s finan-cial aid office goes as far as to provide a chart that helps explain this.

Applicants who consider Delaware consider their home state university first with the University of Maryland-College Park, Penn State, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Towson University and the University of Pitts-burgh being the most popular options in neighboring states. Further from the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, Delaware is attracting students who might otherwise consider Binghamton University (NY), James Madison University (VA), Virginia Tech. the University of Connecticut and the Uni-versity of Massachusetts. Private universities that applicants consider most often include Boston University, Cornell University, Drexel Univer-sity, George Washington University, Lehigh University, Northeastern Uni-versity, Syracuse University and Villanova University.

It’s fair to say that, for many applicants, Delaware is a school much like Cornell with a few more students and a college-town look and feel, but with a better location as well as a 33 percent discount off Cornell’s sticker price. It also appears, given the University’s high retention and graduation rates, that the students are well aware of the education and value they receive.

3 Freshman Retention RateGraduation Rates

Completion

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Since 2001, UD has always had very good-to-excellent fresh-man retention rates. In 2001, nearly 89 percent of freshmen re-turned for their sophomore year. By 2010, retention had risen to around 93 percent, an excellent performance for a state univer-sity. According to the University’s Office of Institutional Re-search, a slightly higher percentage of Delaware residents re-turn than non-residents. In 2001, about 90 percent of Delaware-ans returned for their sophomore year versus 88 percent of the out-of-state students. By 2010, these numbers had improved to 94 percent and 92 percent respectively. This is interesting, be-cause Delaware residents were admitted under less stringent standards than non-residents. Also interesting is that 88 percent of African America freshmen and 89 percent of Hispanic fresh-men return as sophomores; this too, is excellent for a state school.

Delaware has also had excellent graduation rates. More than 61 percent of each class that entered from 2002 through 2007 graduated within four years. Sixty-seven percent of the class that entered in 2007 graduated on-time, among the ten best rates among public universities, while 82 percent finished within six years.

Retention is fostered around student engagement from the very start. Delaware’s First Year Experience program includes, to start, a shared Common Reader, a book assigned to the entire class. The readings are supplemented by discussions through

Completion

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the first semester as well as a guest appearance by the author. Students also take a first-semester seminar, a credit-bearing course with no more than 25 classmates that is taught by a fac-ulty member and supported by an upper-class peer mentor. The university’s 1743 Welcome Days help students become ac-quainted with the campus, student activities and resources.

Within the University Studies program, which concentrates on on students who are undeclared and at risk, advisors work with students on probation to determine an individualized plan of ac-tion that will restore and maintain a 2.0 or higher G.P.A. The pro-gram includes:

" •" Student Success Workshops" •" Frequent meetings with advisors to assess progress." •" Guided self--reflection and personal assessment.

• Access to campus-wide resources such as tutoring, academic workshops, major & career counseling, and ca-reer services.

The University has also made significant investments in its hon-ors programs. Delaware does more to support honors-level stu-dents than most schools. While it offers an Honors learning community, as many flagship state schools do, Delaware also has a Fellows program, in effect students who were honors stu-dents as freshmen mentor incoming students as juniors or sen-iors. Fellows live in the halls with Honors students just as resi-

dent assistants do in other halls to help new Honors students adjust to college life. This may be a major selling point for UD versus other highly competitive flagship schools where students who are selected for freshmen honors programs typically move away from the residential end of the program after their fresh-man or sophomore year. The Fellow not only graduates with honors, s/he also helps to foster an “honors culture” that will live on after graduation.

4 Tuition and FeesScholarshipsNet PricesDebt

Costs

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In-state tuition and mandatory fees for Delawareans are approximately $12,300 for the 2014-15 school year, on the higher side for a state univer-sity, though lower than New Jersey and Pennsylvania flagship schools charge their in-state students.

Out of state students pay around $30,700 in tuition and fees, more than they would pay to attend Maryland or Rutgers, as well as schools such as James Madison or Towson, but about the same as they would pay to attend Penn State. The University actually takes the step of allowing the public to make cost comparisons with other schools through a chart posted by the financial aid office. However, while this chart is useful for comparing Delaware with the private schools most often considered by applicants, the state schools listed include only one, Virginia Tech, that has consistently carried a lower sticker price. This might be because the chart lists only research-focused universities versus regional schools that grant few or no doctoral degrees such as James Madison, Towson or Villanova.

However, Virginia Tech is a good school to list as a comparable to Del-ware. The academic credentials of its students are similar as are the freshman retention and graduation rates. An out-of-state student who posts grades and test scores at the middle of the admit pool for Virginia Tech (or for that matter Rutgers-New Brunswick or Penn State) would also be at the middle of the applicant pool for Delaware. However, the Virginia Tech would ask for approximately $2,700 less in tuition and fees as just over $3,500 less for room and board. It’s doubtful that Delaware would offer a mid-pack out-of-state student the equivalent of $6,200 in merit-based aid, let alone be able to get a Virginian with similar creden-tials to leave home.

Costs

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The private schools may be the more relevant comparison, since Dela-ware takes almost two thirds of its student body from other states. How-ever, prospective students with financial concerns also need to consider debt as well as the sticker price, added costs and the possibility of receiv-ing need-based or merit-based aid. It can be seen in the table below that while Delaware does not present a significantly smaller debt burden on its students, parents who need to go to the Parent PLUS loan program borrow less. The data on student indebtedness comes from the Project on Student Debt. Parent PLUS loan information comes from the Chroni-cle of Higher Education. Drexel and Northeastern do not publish informa-tion on student indebtedness. However, parent borrowers at Drexel bor-rowed an average of just over $24,000 in 2011 if they took on Parent PLUS loans according the Chronicle of Higher Education; parent borrow-ers at Northeastern borrowed an average of just under $20,000. Both of

these schools offer cooperative education to students in all majors. This has been an advantage for students in programs such as Accounting, Computer Science, Engineering and Nursing where lucrative positions can be found. However, these programs require a fifth year of under-graduate education, which means additional costs for housing and stu-dent fees, and potentially lost income in a thriving economy. Delaware does not offer a cooperative education program though other state schools that compete most closely with the University such as Penn State, Rutgers-New Brunswick and Virginia Tech offer it for science and engineering students.

The high level of student indebtedness among borrowers is surprising, not only because Delaware costs significantly less than the private schools, but also because the University has a larger endowment (ap-proximately $1.2 billion), a primary resource for scholarship assistance, than either Rutgers ($783 million) or the University of Maryland system ($1.1 billion), although it serves far fewer students.

However, students shopping Delaware versus the private colleges will need to qualify for institutional or merit-based scholarship aid in excess of $15,000 per year to pay approximately the same tuition and fees. How-ever, this also presumes the the school practices “need-blind” admis-sions as Delaware does. George Washington University, as one exam-ple, is a “need-aware” institution. Students who rank lower in the admit pool are more likely to receive a financial aid package weighed towards Work-Study and loans than scholarships. For such a student Delaware will be the better value. Of course the student who would be at the top of the admit pool for both schools would have a more enviable choice.

School

Average Indebtedness/

Student Borrower 2012

% of Students Graduating With

Debt 2012

Average Indebtedness/Parent

Borrower 2011

Delaware $33,649 56% $17,335

Boston U. $36,150 59% $21,976

Cornell $20,490 45% $19,619

George Washington $33,398 47% $20,984

Lehigh $31,122 54% $21,523

Syracuse $33,504 61% $19,340

Villanova $35,297 53% $22,984

5 On-Campus HousingLocal Housing Market

Comforts

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Delaware requires all freshmen to live on campus and guarantees that students will have access to on-campus housing for all four years. The University completed construction on three new residence hall com-plexes last year

Freshman may be assigned to one of eight residence halls. Dickinson (a complex), Rodney (a complex) are older halls located near the Trabant Student Center, as is George Read, a much newer hall. Two other halls: Louis L. Redding and Eliphalet Gilbert form a quad that opened in 2013 near the South Green, the academic center of campus and the Perkins Student Center. Lane-Thompson, an older complex, is also on this side of campus. A new freshman hall, Academy Street will open next fall. It will have its own dining hall. Another complex, Russell, is under renova-tions for the coming school year.

The newer halls: Louis L. Redding, Eliphalet Gilbert and George Read are among the nicest modern residences one might find on a public uni-versity campus. These halls have air conditioning and heat controlled in the individual room as well as spacious kitchens and common area lounges. Redding and Gilbert are corridor-style halls where several rooms share a common bathroom. Read is suite-style; two double rooms share a common lounge and bathroom. Redding and Gilbert are also home to the University’s Honors Program. Delaware has several living-learning communities for first-year students; these too, are in the newer freshman halls. Students may also form their own Special Interest Com-munities in groups of eight or more.

Delaware has some interesting upper-class living options, though off-campus living is more popular with juniors and seniors. The university owns apartments in only one complex, a high-rise called Christiana Tow-

Comforts

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ers. The Towers has its own dining hall for students who do not want to cook all of their meals as well as its own campus bus stop. One and two-bedroom apartments are available in the Towers, which back up to a state park. Ray Street, a low-rise suite-style hall, houses student-designed Special Interest Communities as well as a group that raises puppies to help the blind. Upper-class students also have the option of living in some of the University’s oldest halls on the North and South Cen-tral Green, within easy walking distance of the academic center of cam-pus.

Each meal plan is a combination of meals and points. The points may be used to purchase food at the student center stores and restaurants. Every student has one free chance to change their plan during the se-mester. Students have 16 places they can go to get food on their meal plan; they are not limited to campus dining halls. Each dining hall serves different meals at the same time.

All students are allowed to have cars, but freshmen are given the lowest priority for parking passes. However, a car is really not really necessary except for trips to the supermarket. Anyone who lives near campus can walk to practically anything downtown.

Off-campus rents in Newark range from $400 to $550 per person per month to share a two-bedroom apartment; slightly more to share a luxury townhome near campus. Practically all students who live off campus live less than two miles from campus. The regional transit agency plans routes around student living patterns, though it is easy for most students to walk to anyplace they need to go. About a fifth of the undergraduate student body pledges fraternities or sororities, lower than similarly-sized schools in the Midwest or the South. These, too, are close to campus, though the University does not a have a formal “Greek Row.”

Altogether, Delaware provides housing for nearly half of its student body while the local market provides off-campus housing at reasonable rents. That’s impressive for a school that is located near some high-cost metro-politan areas. The completion of the newer residence halls also shows a commitment to compete harder against private institutions to attract ex-cellent students to live in an honors community. On the other hand you do not need to be an honors student to get into most of the nicer housing options at Delaware; you just need to get your requests in on time.

6 CampusEnvironsSchool Spirit

Community

Fast Facts

1. The 750 acre campus is bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

2. UD is one of the best-connected campuses in the country by highway, airports, train and bus transit.

3. There are 50 fraternities and sororities at Delaware, quite high for a mid-sized state school.

4. More than 2,000 Delaware students participate in a musical activity with approximately 350 being in the marching band.

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The main quad of the Central Campus, one of the university’s main selling features, is the academic center of the university. It is dominated by Georgian-style architecture that has its roots in the late 19th century. The Green, the main quad is well-maintained although smaller sections are chained off from pedestrians, presumably to keep them from walking across the grass. The campus has an abundance of bike racks, though with only 750 acres between residence halls, the downtown and academic buildings, it is quite pedestrian friendly. The university uses an unattractive 70s-style brown-on-brown signage in front of every building, regardless of age; it clashes rather than blends with the buildings.

UD has two student centers. One, Perkins, was also the campus book store until the current academic year. The other, Trabant, has a student-run res-taurant called Vita Nova, an offshoot of the hotel and hospitality manage-ment curriculum. Perkins is closer to the residence halls and academic buildings on the Central Campus and houses the offices of The Review, the campus newspaper as well as the university’s radio and television stations. Trabant is closer to the Morris Library, the largest library on campus as well as the School of Business classrooms, and it is larger multi-purpose rooms and theatre spaces. Trabant, being the newer center, has a greater variety of food stores in the food court. One observation: the interior décor of both buildings is somewhat outdated compared to the student centers at Penn State and Rutgers. (Full disclosure: the author has visited and spent consid-erable time on both of these campuses). However, Vita Nova is being reno-vated in time for the start of this school year.

UD has one of the best-connected campuses in the country due not only to its location, but also to its access to mass transit as well as airports. Both Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Service and SEPTA train lines to Philadelphia stop in Newark. Airports in Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia are less

Community

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than an hour and a half away. However, the mass transit access also makes it too easy for students to leave campus.

Aside from disciplinary referrals for alcohol-related violations, Delaware has a relatively safe campus, according to the University’s 2013 Clery Report. Reported incidents of burglaries, robberies and forcible sex offenses de-clined dramatically from 2010 to 2012 into the low single digits. Incidents of drug and alcohol-related disciplinary referrals dropped during this three-year period. But the numbers of reported arrests appear high, even for a school of this size. There were over 100 reported alcohol-related arrests each year from 2010 to 2012 as well as more than 700 alcohol-related disci-plinary referrals. There were also more than 70 reported drug-related ar-rests each year as well as more than 90 disciplinary referrals. Some of this may have to do with the relationship of the campus to the downtown; it’s easy to walk anywhere, even to places with a liquor license.

Signage welcoming travelers into downtown Newark calls the commercial center the Great American Main Street. In one case, it’s true. Practically every chain eatery has a restaurant here, although there are plenty of local establishments, too, including several with liquor licenses. While Delaware is a much smaller school than Maryland, Rutgers or Penn State the down-town is as college-oriented as College Park, New Brunswick or University Park. However, outside of bars, more of the entertainment opportunities are on campus. A recent decision by the university to partner with Barnes and Noble on a downtown book store increased foot traffic. However, the access roads into downtown Newark can best be described as “urban out-skirts,” dominated by lower-priced retail shopping.

There are 50 fraternities and sororities at Delaware, quite high for a mid-sized state school. About a fifth of the student body goes Greek. With tighter policing in the downtown—the university and the city have taken on more shared responsibilities—the fraternities become a more important so-

cial center on the weekends than they might be at other schools. This too, might be contributing to the high number of alcohol-related incidents in the University’s Clery Report.

Athletics at Delaware do not have a high media profile as they do at the flag-ship state schools in neighboring states. However, the quality of play in the leagues where their teams play is very high, with the greatest success com-ing in football. The university competes in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). CAA teams participate in a play-off system in football where the higher seeded team (presuming the stadium has adequate seating) hosts the lower seeded team. Delaware is the only school at this level, called the “playoff-subdivision,” to average more than 20,000 fans per home game at its stadium for the past twelve years. The Fightin’ Blue Hens won their last national championship in 2003 and were runners-up in 2007 and 2010. And while the Lady Hens have not won a women’s basketball conference title, their team has one of the most prominent athletes on campus, Elena Del Donne, a Delawarean who backed out of a scholarship to U-Conn and decided to stay home. Del Donne was so intent on coming to Delaware that she played volleyball during her freshman year instead of basketball, so that U-Conn would release her from her commitment. In addition to football and women’s basketball success, Delaware has won conference champion-ships in women’s field hockey, women’s volleyball and men’s lacrosse since 2001.

Delaware is also more musically-oriented than most state universities. Ac-cording to the admission office’s marketing video, more than 2,000 Dela-ware students participate in a musical activity with approximately 350 being in the marching band. The Del Tones, an a capella group have performed on Sing-Off, and are one of the best-known groups of their kind in the coun-try.

7 AcademicsHonors ProgramsExperiential Learning

Curriculum

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Like most flagship state universities, UD has a set of core requirements, courses that all students must take in order to earn a degree. All stu-dents must complete a semester of English composition as well as these General Education Requirements:

• Creative Arts and Humanities: 9 credits

• History and Cultural Change: 6 credits

• Social and Behavioral Sciences: 6 credits

• Math, Natural Science and Technology: 10 credits

In 2008 the university embarked on a new strategic plan called the Path to Prominence. This included expansion of “discovery learning” opportuni-ties including internships, fieldwork programs and service learning. Each student must take advantage of at least one discovery option before they can graduate. This is a more common practice at small liberal arts schools than a state university with more than 16,000 undergraduates. Forty-five percent of Delaware students study abroad at least one during their undergraduate education while nearly 700 participate in research projects with the faculty. Many academic departments have their own in-ternship programs as well.

Unique to Delaware is a seven-week Winter Session which runs from the beginning of December through the beginning of February where stu-dents may take courses, study abroad or work in service projects. This is also a popular time for students to fulfill the discovery requirement.

According to a university Fact Book, interest in the business, engineering and health science programs increased by nearly 1,900 students from 2007 through 2011, while the university added just over 1,000 students

Curriculum

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to its total undergraduate enrollment. Enrollment in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment rose from just over 150 students to more than 400. But education enrollments have declined from around 1,850 stu-dents in 2007 to over 1,000 in 2011. Arts and Science programs have his-torically attracted more than 6,000 undergraduates. The shift in interest to the benefit of the science and engineering majors may turn out to have a positive impact on the university’s funding picture as well as the academic quality of these programs.

Delaware has a student-faculty ratio of 13 to 1 among only undergradu-ates and 15 to 1 counting graduate students, both low for a university of this size. This is calculated by counting all of the full-time faculty as well as one-third of those who teach part-time. Delaware’s location is attrac-tive to part-time instructors who live and/or work closer to Baltimore, Philadelphia or Wilmington. While Delaware is a smaller university than the flagships in neighboring states, the ratio is slightly lower than it is at Rutgers-New Brunswick (30,000 undergraduates and a student-faculty ratio of 14 to 1) as well as Penn State-University Park (38,000 under-graduates and a student-faculty ratio of 17 to 1) and the University of Maryland-College Park (26,000 undergraduates and student-faculty ratio of 18 to 1).

Students who have chosen Delaware over flagships in neighboring states might have done so because it may appear less intimidating in terms of student body size. Granted the university has a student body that is significantly smaller than Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers or Vir-ginia Tech. However, according to data the university submitted to the 2014 U.S. News Best Colleges guide, sixteen percent of UD classes have more than 50 students. This compares to 17 percent at Maryland, 20 percent at Rutgers and 21 percent at Virginia Tech. However, com-

pared to Boston University (11 percent), James Madison University (13 percent) and Syracuse (9 percent), three schools with undergraduate stu-dent bodies of similar size, Delaware may feel larger.

In addition, while Delaware does not have a medical school, it has an in-novative eight-year pre-med and medical school program in partnership with the Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. The curriculum not only includes the traditional courses in the life/physical sciences but also the opportunity to specialize in one of three areas related to medicine dealing with bioethics, administration and pub-lic policy, or translational research. Like other education partnerships be-tween undergraduate schools and medical schools, this program lays out a direct pathway from college to medical from the freshman year on-ward. However, it does not reduce the time by which a student would complete their bachelor’s degree and their MD degree.

UD students gave their faculty a rating of 3.73 out a possible 5 on RateMyProfessors.com, about the same rating as peers awarded their faculties at Rutgers-New Brunswick, Penn State and Virginia Tech. Stu-dents at Boston University held their faculty in similar regard. However, Delaware students held their faculty in higher regard than students at Drexel, Lehigh, Maryland (College Park) George Washington, Northeast-ern and Syracuse held theirs’. Within the considered set of schools cho-sen by students who applied to Delaware only the faculties at Bingham-ton, Cornell, James Madison and Villanova were held in higher regard by the students at those schools.

8 Alumni RelationsCareer Services

Connections

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The University of Delaware has approximately 160,000 living alumni. About 100,000 live in six Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Penn-sylvania and Virginia. Among the nearly 76,000 Delaware alumni registered on LinkedIn.com, approximately 30,000 re-side in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and 14,000 in the New York City metropolitan area. J.P Morgan Chase and Bank of America are the largest employers of graduates, followed by DuPont. The University provides a treasure trove of career-related data on past graduating classes, the most recent being 2012. This includes salary information by major for recent gradu-ates, where available.

It is interesting that while Delaware is south of Philadelphia, alumni are gathered more north of the city than south. There are about 3,300 alumni in the Baltimore area as well more than 4,700 in the Washington D.C. area. This might be due to deci-sions of New York and New Jersey residents to return home for employment after graduation. Still, a Delaware student enjoys easier access by car or mass transit to more large labor mar-kets than peers who attend other state universities, including Penn State. Geography also makes it easy for alumni to return to campus for the networking events.

Like most large universities, the vast majority of Delaware graduates received their degree during the 1970s and later, and more are living outside of the East Coast, including more who

Connections

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live outside of the United States. The alumni association has 15 official clubs across the country, organized on the East Coast, California and Texas. Each hosts an event each month; some host sending events for incoming freshmen. The alumni asso-ciation has also advanced their online community called UDConnection.com, a searchable contact database as well as all alumni news and opportunities to sign up for events. The Messenger, the print alumni magazine, is published four times a year.

The Bank of America Career Services Center operates two of-fices, one on the Central Campus, the other within the business school’s main building. Delaware is one of three public universi-ties (along with Penn State and the University of Tennessee) to receive support for career development from Bank of America The center has a long list of employer partners as well partner-ships with professional associations. The major attraction of Delaware for employers is the same as it is for students: the lo-cation and the quality of specific academic programs.

This year the Career Services Center will host 13 major job fair, graduate/professional school fair and networking events, more than most state universities. Two, a fall and spring job fair are open to all majors while others are geared towards specialties including Accounting, Finance and Information Systems, Market-ing, Health Sciences, Physical Therapy, Hospitality and Educa-tion. Another fair is targeted towards student-athletes as well as

alumni who are also former athletes. Networking events focus on diversity and students in the College of Arts and Sciences. The Career Services Center has many job search services, as well as a Student Ambassadors program where students repre-sent the University to recruiters who come to campus.

Connections may be a good reason for students who are con-sidering a private university in the MidAtlantic states to take a look at Delaware. This public university attracts much the same employers as Drexel, George Washington, Lehigh or Villanova. But it represents a smaller investment for most students.

9 Summing up

Conclusions

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One can argue that Delaware is like a private university, only the students get a big discount off the bat. But their indebted-ness is about the same, sometimes higher, when compared against other public and private options.

Delaware’s flagship university is a very good least-cost option for Delawareans. But the university is also a popular choice for students who do not want to attend the flagship state university in their home state. This is understandable. The undergraduate student body is slightly more than half the size of the under-graduate population at Maryland or Rutgers-New Brunswick and about a third the size of Penn State’s. But the resources available to students are similar.

Delaware is a very good school for a student who would feel in-timidated by a larger state university, but also wants to maxi-mize their opportunities to work in the New York or Philadelphia metro areas or around the Baltimore-Washington Corridor. The students get to live in a pleasant college town setting near all of these cities, while not paying the high costs to live in any one of them. Highway and mass transit access, and also access to ma-jor airports, is excellent. The campus and the location are UD’s strongest selling points for students in any major.

Delaware’s academics are likely to be equal to schools such as Boston University or George Washington University. In some cases, especially the sciences and engineering, they are likely

Conclusions

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to be better. Delaware is more invested in these programs than most private research universities.

However, a university with only 16,000 undergraduates and an endowment in excess of $1 billion could consider loosening the spigot on scholarship aid to attract and assist more students. Other schools have sent their graduates on to employment or further education with less debt.

Ed Quest’s Report Card

University of Delaware

Four-Year/Six-Year

Grad Rates

Freshman Retention

Costs Comforts Community Curriculum Connections

A A B+ A A A A

Strengths Weaknesses

Livable, reasonably-priced college town Limited scholarship aid for a school with such a large endowment

Excellent access to major cities via highways and mass transit

Lacks the brand recognition and traditions of schools with a higher

athletic profile or “Public Ivy” labels

Reasonable sticker price versus private schools in Philadelphia area and Baltimore-Washington Corridor

It can feel congested on Main Street, though it’s clearly a “college town”

atmosphere

Half as many undergraduates as flagship state universities in neighboring

states; less intimidating than most big schools

Other schools cross-shoppers like have cooperative education, while Delaware

doesn’t

Excellent career services

Reported incidents of alcohol-related crimes were high from 2010-12 though the school does not appear high in any

“party school rankings.”

Discovery requirement

Pre-Med/Medical School Program in partnership with Thomas Jefferson

University

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The End