Time's Up! And the Answer is...

By the bald-headed Bob! We finally have a number that isn't constantly changing: 760!

And...sorry, Terry...hate to burst your bubble, but that is not "a pretty good number."

Not a pretty good number at all.

I haven't seen an official number or estimate for overall enrollment, but I have to bet that it is even more not a pretty good number at all since Bob Jones University has now scrubbed any and all mention of student body size from its "Fast Facts" page. As I pointed out earlier, back in 2008 BJU claimed to serve "some 5,000 students."

When "BJU Balderdash for $200, Alex!" began four weeks ago, BJU still claimed "over 4,000 students."

But if you go look at the Fast Facts page now...

Hmmm...

That "combination of evangelism, culture, high academic standards and Christian discipline...not found in the same combination anywhere else"?

Pretty soon it might not be found anywhere.

That wraps up this episode of BJU Balderdash. Thanks for watching, everyone! Tune in next time as we wait for the answer to the next question: "Can black people come yet?"

Commercial Break

Well, well...someone seems knows something about enrollment at BJU*:

Very interesting.

Especially since this announcement was posted on BJU's own Facebook page by someone outside of the University. Letting your critics use your own social media channels to scoop your news--now that's a winning communications strategy!

Meanwhile, mum's still the official word at BJU...so the Final Jeopardy! round continues...

* Yeah, yeah. I know that in Interweb years this is old news. Truthfully, I've been losing interest since about post three. However, I'm contractually obligated to stick around for the duration of the show, so I'll continue to check in...when I feel like it.

Final Final Final Jeopardy!

It's the second week of class, the Final Jeopardy! music is still playing, and Bob Jones University still hasn't said anything about the current year's enrollment.

And wow. Wowee-owembee. That's all I can say after trying to sort out the carnage between the official Bob Jones University Facebook page and the Truth seeking graduates of Bob Jones Facebook page. I haven't checked in for a while, I know, but get off the bobby-go-round for a minute, and good luck ever getting back on anywhere close to where you got off.

The BJU page admins are kicking people off the page left and right--apparently for no greater sin than asking questions. (Take note, you freshmen who asked about enrollment. This could be you!) And people are beginning to write open letters to the BJU web team running the page.

I already noted the thread in question in my last post. But since Terry's comments have magically re-appeared, I have to agree: very ugly and abusive.

That's OK, though...because Terry's not asking about enrollment! He can stay at the BJU page, even though he claims credit for all of the controversy!

Bob Jones University. The only university in America where asking about enrollment is a bigger sin than verbally abusing other people.

Update. Terry's comments appear to have been removed from the BJU page. So...someone's listening. Is it BJU? Have they also heard the questions about enrollment? Stay tuned as Final Jeopardy! continues!

Final Final Jeopardy!

Longest Final Jeopardy. Ever.

The Final Jeopardy theme music was still playing over at the Bob Jones University Facebook page tonight when I checked in to see if anyone's received an answer on the enrollment questions. It's the second day of classes, but--by the bald-headed Bob!--still no one is able to provide a figure for either freshman or overall enrollment! Mum's the word at BJU!

That strategy has to be dirtying up the show window a bit. No doubt. What must a prospective (or current) student or parent think about a university that refuses even to acknowledge questions from its own graduates? For days on end. Just ignores them altogether.

Not. one. reply. To anyone. Not even a Thanks for asking, but...

Just...silence.

P.S. One of these questions did spawn a rather...interesting...discussion, which makes less sense than it should since someone named Terry apparently decided to delete his comments and excuse himself from the conversation. The only thing I can figure is that his "ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING ABOUT ENROLLMENT!" memo finally arrived from BJU.

P.P.S. The producers of BJU Balderdash have instructed me to award an extra $4,000 to "Chuk" for his admirable (that is, naive and likely futile!) persistence! Congratulations!

Final Jeopardy!

The students have arrived in Greenville and checked in to campus. Those living in the dorms have met their roommates and settled into their rooms. The freshmen have processed into the Founder's Memorial Amphitorium during the opening service, and the visiting "evangelist" has delivered the standard (L)awful sermons intended to guilt the student body into submission at the beginning of the semester. And classes start at 7:00 AM sharp tomorrow.

It's the beginning of a new academic year at Bob Jones University, and yet...still no one seems to know how many freshmen are in the Class of 2015.

And if BJU can't tell its own freshmen how big their class is, it seems a wee bit optimistic to expect the University to tell anyone else. Including the University's own alumni visiting the University's own Facebook page.

What's that? You think perhaps those questions happened to slip past the page admin? Maybe he didn't notice these comments yet?

I don't think so.

And since then the page admin has also posted and "liked" other comments on the page.

The silence is deafening.

I'll note for the record that other colleges seem to have no problem forecasting and tracking enrollment. North Greenville University, for example, somehow knew to expect approximately 700 new students before their fall term began. And the College of Charleston managed to come up with a number for their freshman class, too. Bob Jones University? BJU miraculously knows everything about its freshman class but its size.

But...maybe the ability to count incoming freshman is a regional accreditation thing. Perhaps I shouldn't be too hard on ol' BJU. After all, they've only got national accreditation, like the Academy of Hair Technology and the Kenneth Shuler School of Cosmetology. Not regional accreditation, like North Greenville University and the College of Charleston.

Bob Jones University. The only university in America that truly believes a question doesn't exist if it is never answered.

BJU Balderdash to Be Cancelled?

Uh oh.

It appears that "BJU Balderdash for $200, Alex!" may have to be cancelled, as our host can no longer be found. Nor can the BJU Class of 2015 Facebook group, for that matter. Though the group still shows up in the Facebook quick search, clicking the link returns a user to his home page. All of the links in to the group from this blog are broken. This is the message you get if you try to click on the link at the top of the blog:

I noted in my last post, "Technical Difficulties: Please Stand By," that there was some weird stuff going on in the group a few nights ago.

Now the group is gone altogether.

Did BJU shut it down?

Or did "Kurt" kill the Class of 2015?

Update. I found a new BJU Class of 2015 group on Facebook.

So the old open group is definitely gone. And the new one is closed. I hope the freshmen can keep up with these constantly changing Class of 2015 groups.

Ah, well. We're probably not missing much anyway, since I doubt Alex is going to answer questions about class size even in a closed group.

Technical Difficulties: Please Stand By

Now the BJU Class of 2015 Facebook group has turned just plain weird, apparently thanks to someone calling himself Kurt Wagner. "Kurt" has somehow managed to post multiple times as one of the group admins this evening.

Bob Jones University. The only university in America that attracts more nuts than a Jif peanut butter factory.

Update. Looks like ol' Alex is back and has the show back on track. Good for you, Alex. Now I'd like "BJU Balderdash for $800," please...

Update 2. Looks like "Kurt" has disappeared as neither his blog nor his profile are available any more.