The longer we delay real reform in Higher Ed, the worse the coming implosion will be. Why do we have three large public universities in Northeast Ohio within 50 miles of each other (Akron, Kent State and Youngstown State) in an area that in the last 50 years has seen some of the biggest population loss in the nation? Why was Shawnee State created in the most sparsely populated part of the state when our near-by beloved Alma mater could use some of their funding?
Why are the building trades begging for carpenters, electricians and plumbers, people who make 50K-100K, and yet we have politicians telling kids they need to go to college when not every one is meant to go to a four year college? Some of these kids will end up in debt when they could be trained at those 50K-100K jobs mentioned above and be debt free?
Why are politicians worried about student activities fees which will be a disaster for the MAC, when the elephant in the room is everything I mentioned in the two paragraphs above this one? It is simply mind boggling!
Why does Ohio have more public doctoral programs in History, Political Science, Chemistry, Physics and on and on than California (3 1/2 x the population and 3x the number of public four-year colleges) despite almost all of them not being able to rank in the NRC top 100? Why do Ohio public universities maintain their own community college systems (branch campuses) when there are perfectly good community colleges all over the state?
The answer to your and my questions (except Shawnee) lie in the 1960's, and unfortunately, Ohio was on the wrong side of many of these decisions.
Very interesting points OU Pride. I imagine that came in an era in the 1960s when it seemed like the sky was the limit for our beloved Alma mater's growth due to the economic health of the state and the exponential rise in the amount of young people headed to college. The mid and late 1970s were a harbinger of what was to come for the university and Higher Ed in general.
As to your point about the plethora of doctorate programs. I do know some graudates in those fields who have done well. However, I know many more who couldn't find a job with those degress and are angry and bitter about being saddled with debt years later with nothing to show for it.
I am simply amazed when I travel the state and talk to other educational administrators who talk about students not being told about how few jobs there are in certain teaching certficiation fields like primary elementary education, Social Studies and Physcial Education. The universities are making money off the back of these students and in many cases not telling them how dire their chances are for getting employed in those disciplines.
I would imagine the same holds true for some of those doctoral programs you mentioned. It is like getting a law degree from a lower tier law school. It it not that there aren't some good professor at those schools, or with the right connections and breaks that you couldn't get a job. However, it is infinitely harder. I knew a couple of guys years ago who to me seemed pretty sharp. One went to a better law school than the other and was able to intern at a pretty prominent firm. He was given a signing bonus traveled around Europe and skied in Argentina for a week in July, before he began full time in September. The other toiled at a back breaking job until he finally got a job in his field a year later. It took him years to pay off his law school debt, while the other guy did it in a few years and lives the high life. The guy who went to the lower tier law school does OK, but is bitter to say the least when he talks about the two different paths he and his friend took. A cautionary tale to say the least.
Last Edited: 4/25/2021 11:37:28 AM by cbus cat fan