I am worried about mission creep. Can Utah financially sustain all it's Univerities - University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University and now Utah Valley University?
I know for a fact that USU is not recieving the resources it needs to remain a competitive Carnagie I research institution. While UVSC is located in a convienient location, how does the state plan on supporting all of it's Universities? Was this transition really necessary? Couldn't these students have been accomodated at the other existing Universities?
One community's "mission creep" is another's "progress." Despite the best laid plans of Regents and Legislators, students do vote with the feet. And, clearly, college students love UVU.
I'm not nearly as worried about institutions creeping upward (progression, in my book) as I am about institutions creeping downward (regression). Currently, the U and USU will take just about any warm body. I think the best thing for USU and the UofU would be to stop growing, and instead focus on raising the qualification/competency level of their students. Top students and faculty at our research institutions should not have to deal w/ unqualified students who happen to want to go the U or USU (and who likely won't finish but will obligate the taxpayers for a lot more money than he/she would have at SLCC or another insitution in the system).
Until we commit to admitting superlative students to our research institutions, by definition those institutions won't be superlative.
They should have called this the happy valley university. I thing that we could have more people come to this little town if they only knew how happy they could be with a little Prozac. Right Steve.
I think you're on to something. It seems like the U and USU should raise their entrance requirements AND their tuition. Certainly "superlative" students would expect to pay more to be educated at this level of institution. This would also preserve precious state dollars for other Utah universities and colleges, would it not?
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I am worried about mission creep. Can Utah financially sustain all it's Univerities - University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University and now Utah Valley University?
I know for a fact that USU is not recieving the resources it needs to remain a competitive Carnagie I research institution. While UVSC is located in a convienient location, how does the state plan on supporting all of it's Universities? Was this transition really necessary? Couldn't these students have been accomodated at the other existing Universities?
One community's "mission creep" is another's "progress." Despite the best laid plans of Regents and Legislators, students do vote with the feet. And, clearly, college students love UVU.
I'm not nearly as worried about institutions creeping upward (progression, in my book) as I am about institutions creeping downward (regression). Currently, the U and USU will take just about any warm body. I think the best thing for USU and the UofU would be to stop growing, and instead focus on raising the qualification/competency level of their students. Top students and faculty at our research institutions should not have to deal w/ unqualified students who happen to want to go the U or USU (and who likely won't finish but will obligate the taxpayers for a lot more money than he/she would have at SLCC or another insitution in the system).
Until we commit to admitting superlative students to our research institutions, by definition those institutions won't be superlative.
They should have called this the happy valley university. I thing that we could have more people come to this little town if they only knew how happy they could be with a little Prozac. Right Steve.
Steve,
I think you're on to something. It seems like the U and USU should raise their entrance requirements AND their tuition. Certainly "superlative" students would expect to pay more to be educated at this level of institution. This would also preserve precious state dollars for other Utah universities and colleges, would it not?
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