ORU’s Debt Below $1 Million

17 06 2009

The”Renewing the Vision” Campaign helped bring the original debt of $50 million down to $720,000.

Read the Article Here.



ORU Receives ECFA Accreditation

16 03 2009

Back in October of 2007, we called for ORU to join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

We are happy to report that this is now a reality. Positive changes continue to happen at the university every day. We can only hope that this will foster a growing trend of transparency among faith based non-profits.  Read the announcement here.



Donations from ORU Alumni Up!

2 03 2009

This goes to show how real change at ORU has produced tangible results.  The alumni feel they can “trust” their alma mater again.

“First-time donation levels among Oral Roberts University alumni are at their highest in more than 10 years.”

Read the story here.

And then… click the “Renewing the Vision” box to the right to help if you haven’t already!



ORU to Lay off 100 Employees

19 11 2008

Economic woes are touching almost every sector right now, and academia is no exception.  ORU is not specifying which departments will experience cuts – but cites it as necessary to remain fiscally solvent.  Ralph Fagin noted, “You can’t spend more than you’re taking in.”  We wish someone would tell that to the government.  Oh wait.

Read the AP Article Here



Investigative Report: ORU and The Amazing Invisible Audit

27 08 2008

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Remember that independent audit that the former Board of Regents ordered last year?  All evidence points to the fact that the audit was delivered ORALLY and NEVER delivered in writing.  No really, we’re not kidding.

 

Please note that this was the audit delivered to the FORMER governing body of the school, which has since been replaced.

 

Normally we would write on this, but this time we’ll let you read another person’s excellent take on the matter.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

Click here to read the analysis.

 

 

 



Fagin Gives State of the U. Address

22 08 2008

Highlights from the speech given by Dr. Ralph Fagin, interim president of ORU.

Debt has been cut to 18 million (from 55 million).

ORU has the capacity for 800 more students.  This will fuel speculation on whether enrollment has dropped significantly due to the scandal.  ORU is definitely in a “rebuilding phase.”

The university is starting a multi-million dollar scholarship fund.



Commentary: ORU New Enrollment Drops

7 05 2008

“You could buy everyone a plasma-screen TV for their rooms, it doesn’t matter, you have to treat everyone like adults.”  – Andrew Saah, Sophmore, ORU (Accepted to University of Maryland as a transfer student)

Read the AP article here.

Ouch – one could have seen this coming.  It’s something that should have happened long ago, after years of struggling with a crushing debt and a corporate culture of fear, Oral Roberts University has another major hurdle to  overcome.  Since its beginnings, ORU has taken on the role of a “surrogate parent/guardian” for its students.  Whether you were 18 or 40 –if you lived in the dorms –you had a curfew and an RA telling you to clean your room.  Adding insult to injury, it cost you a pretty penny too, and up until 2001, you had to wear business attire to attend classes.

With tuition costs soaring and more students footing the bill for their own education, they want to be in control of their college experience.  ORU has improved over the years with the adoption of more customer-service oriented approaches, but the recent scandal has made many of the most forgiving students and parents take a step back and ask “what am I really getting for my money?”  

Many of the former regents presided over “feeder” churches (ones that actively recruited its high-school graduates to attend ORU.)  This could partially explain the drop in enrollment.  In addition, the current economic pullback is probably driving many students to stay closer to home or attend community college for the first two years. (Many of ORU’s students come from out of state.) 

ORU has a lot of ground to cover and must reinvent itself to survive.  Vanguard University of Southern California (affiliated with the Assemblies of God) successfully reinvented itself back in 1999.  Almost a decade later Vanguard is thriving.  ORU can accomplish the same.

We’re not saying that ORU isn’t a worthwhile education.  In fact, it’s fantastic in many ways.  With no fraternities, students actually attend class, are just as competitive (mentally, physically and academically) with students from other colleges and are adequately prepared for the workplace.

Look for our new article on “What ORU Must Do” in the near future. 



One Billion Dollars “Inappropriately Funneled” through ORU?

8 02 2008

In the midst of homecoming festivities this weekend on campus.  New allegations have surfaced that 1 billion (with a capital ‘B’) were funneled through the university inappropriately.  The claims come from a former senior accountant who is suing over the loss of his job at the university.

Our Thoughts:

We have no idea where that kind of money would have come from, even in a former “oil-rich” town such as Tulsa.  We have serious doubts, but anything is possible – including a larger scheme involving other outside organizations.  Regardless of what may or may not have happened in the past, things have now changed for the better.

We have one thing to say to the new board of trustees.  Please, no golden parachute for Richard.

Read the full story from the AP here.



$62 Million

31 01 2008

ORU received the remaining $62 million of Mart Green’s $70 million dollar donation to the university.



ECFA Accreditation of ORU Begins

18 01 2008

ORU is now taking steps toward becoming a financially accredited religious organization through the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Save ORU previously stated that this was a necessity in order to restore ORU’s public image with the community, alumni and donors. Link to story.