Thanks!
I don’t know enough to comment directly on the finances of Oberlin. I do keep running into articles about demographic changes coupled with the high costs at most universities and LACs…and it makes you wonder who will win and who will lose. So I think that these are issues that all conservatory will need to face…and it’s probably better to do it earlier than later. Still I don’t know if this is the right move…time will tell.
However, I did find the latter part of the article interesting…and very honest about the changing nature of being a musician. Coming out of a conservatory in 1980 was a very different experience than it is today. I do think the skill set for musicians has to be different, varied and entrepreneurial now to survive. Of the few parents who stick around here after graduation, most have musicians that are independent…since that’s the majority of the market…and it can work! I do think that high-level conservatory training will continue for those students who want and need it. But some musicians may do fine (particular if they are not shooting for those few orchestra or opera jobs) without the BM. My D did a BS (admittedly in a conservatory in a U) due to wanting performance variety…and that has worked well for her in the “real world”.
After checking the article again, I just had to paste the info below…bc being a parent of a musician who “struggled” with the narrow path…and now having her out of school which is REQUIRING a variety of skills to support herself…I couldn’t agree more with the info below. I’m actually glad to hear a conservatory address this…as I sometimes wondered if those living in the world of academia got the real world or not…as the programs/advice/kudos didn’t always seem to reflect it…or were moving at a snails pace to introduce an “entrepreneurial class”. I will say my D’s teachers DID get it so that was good.
From the article:
While today’s conservatory graduates must play their instruments with the same technical mastery as always – and with broad knowledge of classical repertoire – they must also be able to perform in other musical styles and in different settings such as in film, animation and videogame soundtracks. “And on top of that, they have to have an entrepreneurial disposition,” he said, a set of skills that musicians simply didn’t need a generation ago.
“They’re being asked to do radically different work,” Ambar said. “To say that they’re being prepared just to show up to be the first violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a very narrow view of what their career path will be.”
OK…now I’m done…I think…
Curious as to the investment rate of return on Oberlin’s endowment investments for the last two or three years.
The decision sounds like a good one to me-- making the conservatory smaller and more selective will only draw better applicants; opening conservatory classes to qualified liberal arts majors will draw musically gifted students who may not be conservatory level (or conservatory disposition.) I also agree with what Bridgenail quoted, above.
I’m still stuck on the $73,000+ price tag.
I googled Oberlin College. Found articles detailing Oberlin’s declining enrollment, declining yield & increased acceptance rates all while experiencing financial problems. Based on this, the action described in the article seems to be a reasonable first step.
Many LACs need to consider year round operations if they want to remain financially stable.
In selecting a college or university, it is important to examine the financial health of that school–especially so for LACs.
Most schools, including very good ones, need to assess whether what they are doing is relevant to students and sustainable for the school. Oberlin has a great brand, and they are wise to make these tweaks now. I don’t know much about their inner workings, but I applaud them for managing their future. This sounds like a strategy that makes the most of their strengths.
I have noted that when schools go public with these kinds of plans, it is often raised as a "concern " by prospective students and their families. It’s really too bad - ,the concern should be the schools that are just doing more of the same, in spite of evidence that they need to make changes.
Posting a bit more of that excerpt:
It’s clear that college officials have looked at the conservatory “in the context of the whole operation” and are trying to “make adjustments that are true to the overall mission of the institution, while looking at the dollars and cents of how it operates.”
Officials foresee conservatory faculty, facing smaller enrollments, being freed up to offer “greater and more meaningful musical experiences” to liberal arts students – collaborating with faculty across campus in interdisciplinary performances, for instance.
David Kamitsuka, dean of the liberal arts college, said the goal is to provide a more integrated experience that connects classroom work with experiential learning, likely in the form of more internships. Students come to Oberlin because they’re interested in a classical education, he said, “but they want pathways for that classical education to launch them into meaningful lives.”
William Quillen, the conservatory’s acting dean, said, “Every conservatory is having this conversation.” The realities of being a professional musician are “completely different from the world of 2010 or 2000, let alone 1980,” he said. “What we offer them in 2020 has to be different – and will invariably, and must be different, from what we offered them 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago.”
While today’s conservatory graduates must play their instruments with the same technical mastery as always – and with broad knowledge of classical repertoire – they must also be able to perform in other musical styles and in different settings such as in film, animation and videogame soundtracks. “And on top of that, they have to have an entrepreneurial disposition,” he said, a set of skills that musicians simply didn’t need a generation ago.
“They’re being asked to do radically different work,” Ambar said. “To say that they’re being prepared just to show up to be the first violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is a very narrow view of what their career path will be.”
She said conservatories “have to be prepared for an industry that’s changing more rapidly than health care has changed. What it will look like we don’t know, but we think we’re on the right track in helping our students prepare for the unknown.”
Often advice here on CC is to look into whether a non-BM student has fewer opportunities at schools that do have a BM program, since the better performance and teacher opportunities may go to the BM conservatory students. With exceptions of course.
Oberlin already has its Musical Studies program for those in the liberal arts college, affording a path to study in both the college and conservatory.
So I was interested in the new minor the article mentions. This would mean that students who are not doing a double degree, or doing the Musical Studies BA, and who are not majoring in music, could have lessons and perform with conservatory students.
The idea seems to be to free up teachers and studio time by reducing conservatory students and increasing college students who might then benefit from those teachers, now that they have more space in the day. (Thought the original impetus is financial this is presented as a positive.)
I do wonder how that will work out. Perhaps lessons and practice, along with a full liberal arts curriculum, can help students maintain a level of play, but I would think that mixing full-time liberal arts students with full-time conservatory students might bring some frustrations for the conservatory students.
Ps I was surprised that 33 % were admitted to the Con in 2018 (28% in 2017 versus NEC 33% and Juilliard 6%).
For Oberlin College, 39 % were admitted in 2018 versus 29 % in 2016. (In 2017 Amherst admitted 13%, Middlebury 19% and Carleton 20%).
Oberlin’s yield for the Con was 42% in 2009, 33% last year. For the college, it went from 32% to 29%.
Also interesting is that the conservatory students’ SAT scores were higher last fall, but the college’s students’ scores were mixed.
If they increase enrollment in the college, and decrease it in the Con, in the context of fewer applicants, I would expect both scores and selectivity to continue to go down in the college but selectivity will go up in the conservatory…
I wonder if the reason LAC’s like Oberlin are seeing declining enrollment has more to do with the current political climate on these campuses. Without getting into a political argument here it could be that many ‘mainstream’ students and their parents are getting turned off but what is increasingly seen as fringe type elements taking control of and steering the direction of these campuses. When things start to swing too far in one direction or are seen to swing too far in one direction the pool of potential candidates that ‘fit’ in that environment shrinks dramatically.
Just my 2 coppers…
If the above is the primary reason, someone better clue Liberty University in (and maybe Brigham Young too). Full disclosure: I have two family members that attended Liberty. My D (being bi-racial) would NOT consider a school with such “leanings”. Also my D had no interest in Oberlin. It was too small and rural for her liking.
I tend to think the issue is larger and grounded in more “macro” demographic changes. But as a more micro issue…sure…any “stance” of a school will cause pause from a certain demographic. My D won’t even apply at St. Olaf in MN bc of the religious stance of the school…which is MN Lutheran light (which is like a glass of water with a small spritz of lemon in it…you can barely notice it). But nope she won’t apply there. Still they seem to be able to fill seats regardless…as does Oberlin. It’s more an issue of making the finances work…and I hear of this as a common issue of LACs these days…that will only continue as high school graduates decline. Still only my opinion. I’m no expert.
A bigger issue in my mind…is the whopper tuition…even if no one (or very few) pays it. It just bothers me to see the high costs and what THAT communicates to students of lesser means and not a lot of guidance. This of course is not particular to Oberlin…others schools are priced similarly.
Demographics. Decline in high school population.
Fringe is in the eye of the beholder. Given recent developments, I also imagine any number of young women that care about reproductive rights will have to think long and hard about whether they want to be in Ohio, Georgia, or Texas for four years. We really do seem to be sorting ourselves into two countries, and it’s very unfortunate.
Yes, I agree, NYCMusicDad. Terrifying.
I don’t think the political climate at Oberlin, or in the country as a whole, has anything to do with changes at Oberlin. All smallish liberal arts colleges are facing the same demographic “cliff.” With resulting financial challenges.
With smaller numbers of applicants, acceptance rate goes up and selectivity down. Reputation suffers, and the slope continues. Oberlin is clearly trying to prevent the slippage.
In addition, the humanities and arts have an even steeper decline in applicants due to parental concerns about future income. Parents are even more nervous about conservatory education, unfortunately.
The current president at Oberlin has an excellent prior track record for fundraising and fiscal stewardship. I think that she is providing good leadership and making some tough choices to stabilize Oberlin’s finances.
I haven’t seen enrollment targets for this year’s entering class but last year the college got on track as compared to the entering class of 2017, which was under enrolled.
In short, I don’t believe that Oberlin is facing a “crisis.”
I will say as a parent, that the price gave us pause. Compared to other selective LACs, it was at the upper end of the range.
Our kid is a second-year student there and she is making the most of the opportunities there. It is an amazing place. While the kids are definitely politically liberal and free spirits, we have not found it to be excessive/shutting down of alternative views, etc. The academics are superb.
My daughter turned down Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences (she had a massive merit award of 29K) last season. She is a conservatory level musician but did not want to pursue a career in music so did not apply to conservatory. She chose another school where she got a full tuition scholarship…although the decision to not attend Oberlin (which for a long time was her first choice) was because she would not have access to the level of music she was accustomed to. Also she could not double major or minor in performance without being in the conservatory. She felt her options were limited and she would truly feel left out. I think her situation was common amongst their applicants-attracted to the school for their culture of music but limited by their rules. I think its a smart move by Oberlin…although too late for mine.
@Veryapparent similar situation for us. Wants to pursue a career in music but could not audition due to recovery from injury. If she went to Oberlin College her choices at the Con would have been limited and she did not want to take that chance. Decision was between taking a gap year and auditioning for Oberlin Conservatory etc, or attending a university with a wonderful music department where she could pursue a BA majoring in music performance with an excellent teacher. She decided on the university option and has just finished her first year, is happy, and making good progress musically! If the option they are talking about had existed when she was looking at undergraduate programs, it’s likely that she would have applied. I think that the current situation limits them in that a lot of wonderful musicians who could do well there and contribute a lot to the Con lose interest because they don’t want to be on the outside looking in.