Dear Longhorn Friends and higher education advocates: UT Austin is being threatened by recent actions by some of the Governor Perry's handpicked UT Board of Regents. We need your help in keeping the University we love a University of the "First Class". Here's how you can help: 1. Click on the link below to watch the video. 2. After you have seen the video, send a message to your Texas Representative and State Senator with just one click. 3. Pass this email with the link to your email list, post the link on your Facebook page and Twitter to urge everyone to go to the website below. Let your voice be heard. Watch the video now atThe Link Please act to keep the University of Texas a world class institution. Over the past 2 years, we have seen increasing interference by some UT regents with the governance of UT Austin to its detriment. Governor Perry has appointed regents and encouraged (required?) them to implement his agenda. The seriousness of this development has gone largely unnoticed except in limited circles. This video dramatically shows the potential consequences if action is not taken. The fact is that UT Austin is a test case for those who are threatening it and their approach to higher education, so all persons interested in higher education and the economic consequences that follow should see this video also, whether or not they are Longhorns and whether or not they are Texans. Please take a moment to go to the Wake Up Longhorns website, view the video (one minute, 40 seconds), pass it along to your friends by email, Facebook, twitter, etc., and take whatever other actions you may think are appropriate under the circumstances. Hook'em ! Guy noir
The $10,000 degree is happening. It has already happened. It isn't intended for every degree at every institution, and it's not supposed to be pegged at $10K forever, but it's already now available in dozens of programs at more than a dozen universities around the state. The idea is such a sound one that even Bill Powers recently said, flatly, that "we need a $10,000 degree at the University of Texas." The student loan bubble and the higher ed bubble are both prime for popping. I hope Texas isn't caught flat-footed because of the natural instinct of people to mindlessly rally around the flag of their school to fight off imaginary evil villains (who, OMG, graduated from rival schools!!!!). Wake up, indeed. UT tuition alone is up 40+% since 2004, and that doesn't capture the true increases that are wrapped up in fees. Since the early 1980s, the cost of going to UT has outpaced medical inflation by roughly 2x. And we know how out of control medical costs have been over that time. Administrative costs and the numbers of administrative staff have skyrocketed over this period, while instructional staffing has been essentially flat. 4-year graduation rates at UT are a complete joke: barely over 50%. Research is important, of course, but maybe folks should examine research dollars from the state over time. They might discover that the State of Texas is now spending far more on university research than ever before, even after adjusting for inflation and population growth in the state. Especially on scientific research. When the Regents call for a 4-year tuition freeze or modified tuition freeze for individuals (meaning an individual gets to lock in their freshman tuition cost for all four years, or perhaps has some other predictable cost structure, so the increases are anticipated and scheduled), I think that's an idea worth discussing. When Regents say there ought to be more massive online classes, that's not even just something worth discussing, it's essentially what all elite institutions are already offering (and UT has announced it's on its way to doing that as well). When Regents say they want a $10,000 degree, I think that's fantastic, even if it's only in a few programs. When Regents want students to have more access to actual professors rather than just graduate student assistants, I think that's a fantastic idea. When Regents suggest that student input ought to count for something in terms of professor evaluation, I say that's a great way to make any university accountable to its heart and soul, bread and butter, etc. (the students). Indeed, we've strayed so far from student learning being the focus, we're seeing fewer UT grads passing professional exams in things like nursing and engineering, despite having more elite students entering UT today. Again, research is important for any elite university, but it seems like it's being used more as an excuse for poor learning outcomes than anything else. Think critically, people. And wake up, indeed.
I clicked the support button only to get an automatic email response from a state senator who is not from my senatorial district and an email telling me that the email I sent to my (correct) state representative is undeliverable. Maybe somebody on your website can check on these problems. As to the issue, perhaps Governor Perry should rally statewide support for scholarships for students who are academically accepted but who cannot realistically afford UT and A&M tuition rather than dumbing down the degree for everybody. And, I'm sorry to say, maybe this needs to be moved to the West Mall or In The Stands.
SML: I'm having trouble reconciling your call for more MOOCs with frustration that students dont have enough access to professors and work with GAs instead. who do you think is going to do the bulk of the work associated with a MOOC? this reminds me of the old addage you can only pick two out of better, faster and cheaper.
If the ignorant aggie wants cheaper education, try restoring state funding to the levels it was at when I started in 1969 and my tuition and fees were $89. The cost to students goes up as the level of state funding goes down. They don't want to raise state funding because it would mean taxing and the people who keep these whores don't want to pay more taxes.
i'm good with 10k degree plans. put them at institutions like texas state, sam houston etc. our research 1 institutions dont need them. if we're concerned about increasing access why do so at the expense of the quality of our tier 1 schools? why not work to build up the other institutions in the state?
I would definitely like college to be more affordable. Paying student loans isn't my favorite hobby. But The University of Texas is a university of the first class, and if you want to fly first class, you have to pay a little extra.
I agree with Some Mild Language. All state money has to be spent more efficiently now. A lot, a whole lot of research money is blown on mindless studies and to pay for professor's empires. This should have never been acceptable. Now it is no longer tolerable. Perry's solution isn't great. But because nothing was done over all of the years of plenty, we are probably stuck with it. Oh well.
I would like for the degrees to be more relevant. No matter how much it costs, a degree in Philosophy or Art History is not going to result in many job opportunities, much less good salaries, for many of the graduates. If you have 50 kids who graduate with a degree in something obscure, like Latin American Literature, does UT tell them that they will probably have to get a PhD to really use it? I'm not saying a liberal arts degree is not worth it, but a lot of the majors do not help in getting a job that will support a person or family.
No one forces those kids to major in those fields. If a kid chooses to major in something that has no immediate financial value in the workplace...and they do so knowing that their degree won't immediately land them a job, who are we to stop them?
Joe, you are spot on, again. Take away the research and related pursuits that make UT and TAMU what they are, and you'll find that private institutions will continue and grow and take up the slack. Then, when only the very expensive Stanfords, Harvards, Vanderbilts, etc. hog all the Tier 1 spots, we'll get to hear that a truly quality eductation is only for the 1% (or less), and blah, blah, blah.
