What change would you most like to see at Minnesota's public colleges and universities?
Posted at 5:00 AM on July 25, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(34 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Politics/Government
The University of Minnesota and the system of state colleges and universities are having to adapt as they absorb cuts to their state funding. Today's Question: What change would you most like to see at Minnesota's public colleges and universities?
Comments (34)
1. provide a genuine education, not having a grade inflation so that the students graduate but cannot perform.
2. hire competent people. There are many incompetent faculty and some are competent but too lazy to teach because there is no reward for doing a good job teaching the kids.
3. fraud - how can one campus hire a new administrator who has made an agreement with the system not to apply to any job within the system due to an early separation. Yet the person was rehired in another campus by not disclosing the prior agreement. Is this individual collecting two incomes from the system? Is this individual lying? How does it look to have an educator lie and be a role model to the new generations.
4. accept students who has potential to complete the curriculum. Otherwise, provide them with remedial courses in community colleges Going to U is a privilege not a right. Not everyone is fitted to be college graduates. Some have talents in skillful work, they should be trained to have a career in that areas.
5. Success of a program should be measured by the success of its alumni, not the number of students pass the course or graduate. Grade inflation is shooting up the roof. In some majors, the faculty does not give anything less than an A - students are happy, faculty got teaching award. It is a win-win situation until the students can't keep a job. Reality sinks in, the faculty off the hook so as the university.
6. Standard test doesn't work. See the cheating in Georgia.
If state-funded institutions of higher education have to operate with less support, the first thing to be cut should be the athletic programs which do not directly contribute to their primary educational mission. Secondly, these institutions should become more community-oriented and make greater strategic contributions to other poorly-supported state programs, such as K-12 education and job re-training. To address comments such as Mark's above, most professors (old or young, at least those with whom I work in the sciences and health professional fields) work 60-plus hours per week, in the face of furloughs and often without having a salary increase in years. This is uncompensated work which would not be tolerated in many other types of occupations (school teachers excepted).
It would be great if their TAs spoke english. I've taken two classes in the last two summers when the TAs are virtually not understandable. I think all TAs and teachers should have a much higher standard for themselves. They should be reviewed regularly so that their tenure isn't making them lazy.
It would also just be fantastic to not be persecuted for being a republican. If I take a Poli Sci class and get a bad grade for taking a stand about something from a right winged side I shouldn't have to get bad grades. I feel like all the teachers want these days is to say back to them exactly what they said to you. No more free thinking.
I would love if students could be involved in some of the decision making about where all of our money goes. Revamping the Rec Center and all of these other buildings around campus is not necessary and I think we would all prefer a break in the tuition or to even just see it hold steady for a couple years versus the yearly 5-15% increases.
1. Get rid of football. Let the NFL create its own farm system like MLB has.
2. Increase public funding. Absolutely do not privatize either the U of M or MNSCU. I reject as superstition the belief that the "invisible hand" of the free market will magically provide everything that's needed to improve our collective well-being. Indeed, when it comes to education, it cannot. The free market values education only when it produces graduates with marketable skills; it does not value wisdom, academic history, basic research, or the humanities (art, music, literature, etc), except insofar as creative people generate intellectual property that can be monetized. Truth, justice and beauty are irrelevant to the free market. Some things are good for us to do collectively that the profit motive won't cause to happen.
These older professors that have enjoyed 30+ years of tenure at our universities should be reevaluated yearly because many of them have fallen grossly behind the times, but continue to recieve large paychecks which leaves no money for the more current junior professors who end up leaving because there is no money left to compensate them fairly. Give someone else a chance to succeed instead of believing in your omnipotent self.
@ Pat
What is it with MPR and covering gay everything?
Because MPR is a faggot station, that's why I canceled my membership
Kick out the Gophers, they suck anyways. Worst in the NCAA last year. Then sell the new Gopher Stadium to the Vikings.
Stop complaining about the lack of funding from the state and reduce your costs before you price yourself out of existance. There have been a number great cost cutting suggestions made by other responders, I would suggest that you move beyond the verbiage and token cuts and get started with the heavy lifting.
\\@Al: The tuition page already says, "As a student at a land grant university, your tuition dollars pay for approximately 67 percent of the cost of instruction at the University. The state of Minnesota subsidizes the remaining portion, a benefit of approximately $4,277 a year to the average full-time student." http://onestop.umn.edu/finances/costs_and_tuition/tuition_and_fees/index.html
Great! Students should also see it as another column on the billing statement too. I'm picturing it like the column on my health insurance Explanation of Benefits page, showing the amount I paid and the amount the insurance paid (and the insurer paid amount is actually more prominently displayed on my sheet). The health insurers highlight their portion of the bill, the state should flaunt its portion of the higher bill.
As a non-student athlete, I would like to stop paying for athletes to go to school.
I'd like to see more emphasis on the benefits of an Associate Degree over 4 year degrees, and more funding for the schools that provide them. I understand the need for well rounded individuals in our community (I took a lot of extra generals despite not needing them for my degree), but I know A LOT of people who went to the U, and feel that they don't use their degree in their professions, or went on to other schooling so that they could get a job they enjoy. What job do you get with a Psychology degree?! Or sociology, or economics, or Spanish, ect. I know a few go on to be economists, Spanish teachers, and sociologists, but most don't. A lot work retail and other service jobs for low pay, trying to pay off the outrageous debt they incurred for that degree. My two year degree got me a job that I love to do that pays as well or better then the jobs a lot people get with a 4 year degree. Our society needs both types of education, but I think the 4 year degree has been oversold.
What is it with MPR and covering gay everything?
Lead stories whenever a gay issue is raised.... why?
Not that I'm a homo-phobic.... but if we just ignore them maybe they will go away.
Rather than look for ways to downsize our University system we should be looking for ways to increase the funding. We are a small state with a sometimes difficult climate. What has set us apart from other parts of the country is our willingness to invest in our future. These investments have included money for infrastructure, cultural venues and above all education. Investing now in our public Universities will pay long term dividends while downsizing the academy will only prolong our economic woes.
Like A. Nonny Moose, I should disclose that I have been employed by the U of M for a little more than 7 years.
Reading these comments makes me frustrated and sad. I feel like as a state we have stopped valuing education and made some bad policy decisions about cost shifting and priorities. I think what CJ said about the top layer of admin is true. We need some serious reform.
But, keeping that in mind, the U is making some strides. We do still do a great job of educating our states residents and some of the things that people have mentioned here are already on the radar.
@bench: Recognizing the very thing that you mentioned, the former $65/credit "university fee" is being rolled into tuition this year and thus can be covered by financial aid.
@mediapolitic and Kilroy: The U met its goal of reducing energy use by more than 5% from 2008 levels ahead of schedule and continues to work on the long term goal of becoming 'climate neutral". You have some good ideas for continued changes, though those will require investment: http://portal.environment.umn.edu/sustainable_campus/index.html
@greg and Kilroy: Nonnative English speakers who want to become TA's already have to demonstrate English proficiency. They MUST pass or take classes before they are allowed to teach. http://policy.umn.edu/Policies/hr/Performance/LANGUAGE.html
@Al: The tuition page already says, "As a student at a land grant university, your tuition dollars pay for approximately 67 percent of the cost of instruction at the University. The state of Minnesota subsidizes the remaining portion, a benefit of approximately $4,277 a year to the average full-time student." http://onestop.umn.edu/finances/costs_and_tuition/tuition_and_fees/index.html
I don't know if people read that, though.
@ 30 yr taxpayer: 2/3 of all undergraduates are Minnesota residents. I don't think that shows a priority for out of state applicants. Most of our out of state students come from places with reciprocity agreements (including Wisconsin), which means their tuition is less than the non-residents rate, and can hardly be considered a cash cow. I know several WI students in the reverse situation who were denied admission to Madison but got accepted to MN. I'm sorry to hear that your children weren't able to come here if they wanted, but glad they got a great education anyway.
I'm a UMN employee of 20+ years and have seen the top layer of administration grow and grow while staff are expected to do more and more yet not get raises and see their benefits decrease. I am glad to see the legislature start asking the big question: Does the U really need all those chancellors/presidents/vice chancellors/vice presidents?? What do they really do for the U and its core mission to support faculty and students and be a land grant institution for this state? Staff are bleed dry. It's time to cut fat from the top!
Students should be clearly informed on their tuition bills of the dollar amount of the contribution made by the state government toward their education. On the bill there should also be a running total showing how much the citizens of this state have contributed to their education over their academic career.
Many graduates of state universities and college and now well paid professionals as a result of their education. I have heard an umber of them loudly voicing their opposition to paying taxes. They operate under the assumption that they themselves were self-made, forgetting that the taxes of others supported their education, and thus their ability to earn the salaries they now earn. They need to be reminded that they are not self-made. They need a reminder of why it is important to support the education of the next generation with their taxes.
Reduce the staff or size of the MNSCU office and move the remaining to the campus levels. This was to be a small group to manage the 4 and 2 year colleges, not an overweighted money hog.
Install green roofing or solar . Green roofs weigh in almost as much as the old tar and stone style. though admins and facility people are stuck in the past and do not keep up with newer tech for green roofs. The safety ratio for roofs is more than enough to support green roofing.
Solar hot water to augment the facilty heating.
These both can be used for educational and efficiency purposes
Make ALL faculty learn how to teach students. .
They may be bright on their subjects, but fail at getting that info out to younger brains. On top of this, speaking clear english should not be optional.
Full disclosure -- I have been employed by MNSCU (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities) for 10 years.
First, Minnesota needs to know that MNSCU and the U of M systems are not the same nor do they share funding. MNSCU came into being when four year colleges, community colleges and technical colleges were combined. You can earn a technical certificate right up to a PhD through a MNSCU school.
Second, Minnesota already has state legislation to make transfer between colleges easier for students. The Minnesota Transfer Curriculum is a state-wide set of general education requirements transferable even to the U of M.
There is a website, www.mntransfer.org, to help students check on transferablity of courses and programs between schools.
Third, MNSCU's overseers -- the MNSCU Chancellor's Offices in downtown St. Paul -- are disconnected from the campuses and out of touch with the students. The number of staff there is out of hand, and I once heard the MNSCU office budget was second only to St. Cloud State (and they don't educate a single student!). Those on staff worth keeping should be housed on an actual campus so they see and interact with actual students, staff, and faculty on a daily basis.
Many of the buildings on the UofM West Bank are awful -- poorly designed, poorly maintained -- especially Anderson Hall.
Anderson Hall is a classroom building that is almost unusable, requires students to go outside to change classes. Professors hate teaching there, and students hate going there, and the university pays way too much to heat and cool an isolated building that requires the doors to be open half of the time.
Buildings such as Anderson should either be torn down and rebuilt or completed refactored. The university should create a list of their top 10 worst buildings and come up with a plan to fix them. They could even involve the architecture school with suggestions, mid-size projects.
(1) get rid of paper text books - go electronic/web-based. Grant students the abilty to print or make e-copies as needed for notes. (2) allow students to test out of any class for a fee of no more than 10% of the course cost. (3) drop the student:teacher ratio to about 18:1 MAXIMUM -- which means hire more teachers. (4) require all TA's, Associates, etc to take and pass an english presentation skills course. Standard pronunciation, standard writing skills (acutally writing on white boards when needed) and knowledge about effective group presentations enhance knowledge transfer. Students are paying a lot of money - they better be getting the best of the instructor every class. (5) Mandatory guidance counselor contact hours for every student - every semester. Manage that herd of students - catch slackers, problems and find solutions ASAP. The school gets no value from improving a system if the participants dont' take full advantage of it.
The U of M should give a preference for resident [in-state tuition paying] applicants -- not a preference for higher-tuition paying out of state students. Both of my academically solid children were refused admission by the U and went to UW-Madison instead. Tho it has turned out to be a superior education, I am resentful that my resident/taxpayer status actually gave them a disadvantage. Do I cry for the U's funding woes at the legislature? Not any more.
College is expensive -- even for the children of university faculty. Most colleges (small and large) offer free or partially subsidized tuition to children of faculty -- but not the University of Minnesota.
What this means is that it becomes a huge liability in terms of competitiveness, faculty recruitment, and, ultimately, retention.
Some faculty may start their careers at the University but eventually may leave (after they have established names, reputations, value to the university) for another college or university that does provide that benefit when their kids get to college age.
One of the biggest expenses in the University system is energy. Heating of large spaces in the winter are huge longterm expenses that are only going to increase.
The University system should invest in much more solar, wind, geothermal, and refactor some glass and window sections to dramatically reduce these costs.
There is an upfront cost, but ultimately far fewer dollars will be spent.
The University could also fund these projects as part of their curriculum.
Most of what I would like to see change can only be changed at the funding level.
Too much does not reach the student as aid. They end up facing tuition and other related fees to attend rising faster then inflation.
I would like to see scholarships, grants, and other financial aid properly funded before the colleges are.
(And I have noticed some of the community colleges are breaking with the plan and specializing. This makes it hard for anyone anywhere getting.)
Also when grants and scholarships are offered, they need to make sure those on financial aid or applied for it, are informed of the opportunity.
I know at the University of Minnesota Art Department they put up a flier, and only tell a small number. Never mind if you are top of the class.... or could use the money. As if it hurts to give the much needed money.
Most universities have 13-week semester; yet the University of Minnesota insists on a 15 week semester, and they also insist on starting after the State Fair.
If the University of Minnesota were to cut their semester length down to 14 - they would still be above the average semester length - but then they would also not have to hold classes for one additional week in December, and one in January -- meaning they could cut some staffing and energy use for two weeks in winter.
Last year they did a variation of this - a furlough - for cost savings measures, so we know that it saves money and has minimal impact students and on the university operations.
I completed four years in the US Air Force & had my heart set on going to the U, but the U will not accept my all ANY of my Air Force credits, although UMD & the Moorehead will. I am at NHCC now, but if I transfer with an Associates they still will not accept the credits, so I'd lose half a semester of school. All this over ELECTIVE CREDITS THAT I CAN MAKE UP WITH ART & GYM CLASSES! So I LOOSE the experience of the U & the UNIVERSITY LOOSES GUARANTEED MONEY! WHY??
1) differentiate mandates for colleges and universities and eliminate those institutes which do not comply with the mandate
2) synchronize the curriculum and content - which is not necessarily the same from school to school
3) enforce entrance exams and apply remediation prior to beginning studies - not everyone needs to go to college or university
4) institute exit exams for the traditional disciplines such as accounting, engineering, economics, law, business, education, etc
The question relates to only one side of the issue; other sides include college and university structure, administration and funding.
I'm happy to provide more in-depth discussion and solutions on this subject.
STOP GIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FREE TUITION AND FREE HEALTHCARE. SO MANY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE COMING TO MINNESOTA BECAUSE WE ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET AT THE TAXPAYER EXPENSE. WE THE TAXPAYER ARE SUFFOCATING AND THE JOB CREATORS CANT AFFORD TO HIRE ANYONE BECAUSE THE WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT SQUANDERS ALL OF ITS MONEY PAYING FOR WEALTHY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO COME HERE AND LIVE LIKE PIGS OFF OF THE TAXPAYER TEET.
THE TEA PARTY IS RIGHT ABOUT THIS ONE TO.
DEFUND THE U ENTIRELY.
LET THE FREE MARKET DECIDE IF ITS WORTHWHILE.
EDUCATION IS A FINANCIAL BLACK HOLE AND WE ARE CURRENTLY BEING TAXED TO DEATH TO FINANCE LAVISH SALARIES FOR TEACHERS AND CHARGING NEXT TO NOTHING FOR STUDENTS WHO ONLY WANT TO PARTY AND ASK FOR GRANTS AND HANDOUTS.
We need better pay for the high level administors and more money for the sports programs. The University chiefs should be getting paid ALOT more than they are. Teachers salaries should be lowered and tuition should be raised dramatically. The sports dept in particular should have a much bigger portion of the budget and also it does not seem fair that the university president and vice presidents are paid so low. These are the people who make a profit for the U and its sad that they are expected to suffer while the students and teachers live high off the hog.
Definitely raise tuition... As a graduate student, I've discovered how they do things first hand. Part of my financial aid is that my tuition is covered, however my "fees" are not. After talking with other graduate students, it seems the UofM system has been raising "fees" and not so much tuition. While I get some money for being a TA, over $1,000 a year goes back into the school thanks to those "fees". I would hope that the schools instead of raising the "fees" they raise tuition. I know form a financial aid standpoint, getting your tuition covered is a lot easier than trying to get tuition, fees, room and board, etc.
One simple solution to the problem of overpriced universities is to make all of the state-owned universities non-profit corporations, and convert all of the subsidies into vouchers that travel with the students. Universities have little incentive to reduce costs when 80% of student spots in a state are run by a near monopoly, the state, with the other 20% of private spots forced to compete at the high end because of their lack of access to state subsidies.
Many things, get rid of the "politically correct" departments (IE women's studies, African American studies, etc) and coursework at all schools. Requirement to be politically neutral in all classes. At the University of MN professors actually have to teach undergraduates. Eliminate most of the research grants funded by the university, most of the research is B--- S--- anyway and would free up time for the professors to actually teach. Require that EA's and TA's can read, write and pronounce the English language. Work to wean the University of MN off of government funding over 3-5 years. Have the UMNTC leave the Big 10 for a lower division or even better eliminate all the sports. Actually teach useful and practical things in education methods classes rather then brainwashing to a political agenda.
First, separate the funding of teaching and research. Research is a public good, but there is no reason why undergraduates should pay for it.
Second, increase the student-teacher ratio. Business and law schools achieve good results with big classes. Why not other colleges?
Third, eliminate or consolidate programmes that attract few students.
Fourth, puncture administrative bloat. The cost of administration per student soared by 61% in real terms between 1993 and 2007.
Students could complete their undergraduate degrees in three years, instead of four. Students pay to be taught, but their professors are rewarded almost entirely for research.
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