UA rebranding

[Dave in Green]

UA obviously doesn't plan to gut the arts and sciences when the following is prominently posted on the UA website:

Polytechnic universities combine active classroom learning with in-the-field experiences and current technologies that better develop student competencies.

They unite the arts and humanities with science and technology in ways that provide students with the skills that employers value.

[zip-O-matic]

UA obviously doesn't plan to gut the arts and sciences when the following is prominently posted on the UA website:

I agree. I was just responding the poster who said they should be made more vocational. The budgetary crisis really drives home the benefit of a merger both athletically and academically. The two schools are strong in complementary areas. The athletic departments are similar in addition to the savings of running one football and one basketball team. If the merger could somehow get rid of most of the AD subsidy and have that passed onto lower tuition, that would be huge with Kasich and the state getting on board to help position the merger as the UC of NEO.

Akron, and by extension, Can't, need to be proactive in this. Take a leadership role and demonstrate that they should be more than just an afterthought. Proenza built (and borrowed) with the "build it and they will come" mantra. That has been proven false both athletically and academically. I think another approach is necessary, which is why I'm behind SS despite some of this public missteps.

[Balsy]

I have always been an opponent of a merger, but after spending some time at the Indian University Purdue University Indianapolis Campus (UIPUI) I saw something I had never considered. Two independent universities sharing a market instead of directly competeing. IUPUI is unique because it offers students courses from both universities. Depending upon what the focus of said student is, the will end up with either a Purdue Or Indiana degree.

In a sense it's a partnership, instead of competition, within a specific region. Now I'm not suggesting a merger involving Akron would require building a new campus...but this is a partnership that I might be more okay with. I thought I'd offer that as a model for others to look into if their interested.

[skip-zip]

Balsy, I think this concept might be more palatable to me too. But if it's still two independent Universities sharing programs, I have to wonder how much cost savings would happen in this model, since that unfortunately seems to be the motivation for changes right now. If it allows one of the schools in the partnership to cut a program because the other schools has a better program, this might have some merit.

[LosAngelesZipFan]

Very happy to see this convo continue and the idea of some sort of merger/confederation gaining some traction. It is so incredibly obvious that this a really logical path to at least explore. We don't need 2 D-1 baseball programs, golf programs, etc, in NEO and we can't afford 2 football programs.

It's really a strategic choice for Ohio and more specifically NEO: would you rather maintain a slowly deteriorating status quo or make a big move that created UC-like school for NEO. It is unquestionable that the latter would be a more efficient economic and social engine for NEO.

The idea I floated a few weeks ago of beginning with a shared "Global Institute" was my way of creating a (virtual) shared market so that at least outside of NEO Can't and UA were working together: compete locally but cooperate everywhere else. The global institute is akin to what Indianapolis was for IU and PU-- a market that was better to work together in rather than compete for.

Assuming that a full-blown merger is too much to force immediately, I think the State should force the following between UA and Can't:

• Work towards a goal of total inter-operability between the schools in 3 years. Align calendars, curriculum, budgets, etc. The core at Akron should be the same as at Can't. Akron continues to develop deeper STEM courses while Can't develops liberal arts courses, creating a complimentary course/faculty structure. Force the two schools, their administrations and faculties to get over the notion that either is really better than the other-- and that competing with each other is not the best thing for NEO or Ohio. I think it is going to take this kind of mandate from Columbus to force this to happen, the direction being "get over yourselves, you have to work together to make the NEO pie bigger rather than competing for slightly large slices of a shrinking pie". A full blown merger doesn't have to happen immediately, but the structures are aligned to facilitate it in the future.
• The schools immediately begin acting as a single U internationally. This is the NEO Global Institute idea at work. UA and Can't both have outreach programs/offices in China today; in the future, there would be 1 representing UA/Can't and generating interest and investment in NEO. Instead of separate international programs and affiliations with foreign universities, there would be 1 international program. Can't currently has 'centers' in China, India, Florence and Geneva (http://www.Can't.edu/globaleducation/Can't-state-worldwide) and UA has some sort of global program (http://www.uakron.edu/oip/). I would bet that this combined effort would be able to get significant funding from NEO-focused foundations like Knight, Gund, etc., because it would be a way to bring in global interest and investment to NEO in a much bigger way.
• The Can't-Akron branch system becomes a shared feeder system in next 3 years-- still mostly administered by Can't in the near term, but if you are attending Can't State Ashtabula (which was in my backyard growing up), you can as easily feed into UA as Can't main campus. By doing this, it creates a de facto NEO university system almost overnight and begins to demonstrate the logic of single institution approach.
• Explore a way for UA and Can't to have a shared football program-- 2 aren't affordable and there is no historical reason to believe there is a pathway to sustained success for either continuing as is. Sharing a base of 50,000+ students with 400K alums targeting a market of 2 million people behind one program is a much better proposition than splitting all that between 2. Not sure what the NCAA rules are on this-- can 2 institutions have a shared team?
• Integrated alumni network. Pretty low lift effort to start to do joint alumni programming. Instead of trying to have separate events in a place like LA, create joint events so there is a better chance of getting a good turnout.

[LZIp]

I wonder how many students strive to go to IUPUI. Seems about the equivalent of going to something like OSU- Mansfield. Not the real thing.

[ZippyRulz]

I don't disagree with you, LAZF, with a few conditions:

1) that the name not include a direction or "Ke.nt"

2) the combined sports program joins the AAC or better and a future arena is located in Akron

3) "main campus" admission standards are further raised (branches could be open/inclusive for remedial coursework)

[zip-O-matic]

I don't disagree with you, LAZF, with a few conditions:

1) that the name not include a direction or "Ke.nt"

2) the combined sports program joins the AAC or better and a future arena is located in Akron

3) "main campus" admission standards are further raised (branches could be open/inclusive for remedial coursework)

I think that's the reason behind Ohio Tech. It's the last of the traditional state names left.

Doubt the combined sports programs would get into the AAC immediately. Nothing athletic should be a deal-breaker. Athletics should seriously be about 10th on the list in importance.

I think this would happen and should happen. It wouldn't be any dramatic improvements though but, over time, one should expect steady, marginal growth in the quality of students. See my earlier post about hypothetically dropping the bottom 20% of the combined freshman classes over a five year period and how it would result in only barely nudging past OU and still slightly trailing UC. There's no magic formula that the merged U turns into OSU overnight.

[zip-O-matic]

I wonder how many students strive to go to IUPUI. Seems about the equivalent of going to something like OSU- Mansfield. Not the real thing.

It is a four year university with graduate programs rather than a two-year branch campus. More like going to Illinois-Chicago if you don't get into UIUC.

[zip-O-matic]

For anyone interested in this topic, this is a really great interview with former Maryland and OSU president Kirwan. It touches on redundancies and empire building and the possible need for mergers.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/14/exit-interview-outgoing-university-system-maryland-chancellor-brit-kirwan

[Dave in Green]

Lots of good info in that interview. Considering how often the U.S. News and World Report rankings are cited in this forum as meaningful, maybe the following quote gives cause to reconsider:

On U.S. News and World Report’s undergraduate rankings:

It is an abomination. It has so distorted priorities and what we need from higher education in America today. If you’re able to drive down costs and improve outcomes, your rankings are going to go down because there's such a disproportionate amount of the ranking based on [spending].

The best thing that could happen is if in some force could come in and buy U.S. News and put it out of business, or at least change the criteria on which they rank institutions.

[LosAngelesZipFan]

I don't disagree with you, LAZF, with a few conditions:

1) that the name not include a direction or "Ke.nt"

2) the combined sports program joins the AAC or better and a future arena is located in Akron

3) "main campus" admission standards are further raised (branches could be open/inclusive for remedial coursework)

yes!

[LosAngelesZipFan]

I posted this on the IAA topic... interesting context on UA's budget.

When you look at this data, and in the absence of the full budget perspective, I wouldn't look at UA's debt load as unique or relatively alarming. We are well below a few schools including Miami, Can't, and UC (let's not even consider OSU in this mix) and in the neighborhood of OU and Toledo. If UA is straining under this debt burden, causing massive budget issues, why aren't the others?

http://www.daytondai...tops-65b/nj83M/

Total debt outstanding at Ohio public universities Borrowing at Ohio's 14 public universities more than doubled over the last decade. Most spending was for building construction and renovations.

University 2004 2014

The Ohio State University $814,606,000 $2,605,528,000

Miami University $93,151,622 $641,065,000

Wright State University $16,484,121 $101,957,190

University of Cincinnati $894,596,000 $1,236,000,000

Central State University $2,535,821 $17,781,501

Youngstown State University $13,680,000 $70,710,037

Northeast Ohio Medical University $0 $40,649,167

The University of Akron $204,729,516 $487,101,792

Bowling Green State University $84,400,000 $147,100,000

Ohio University $171,300,000 $332,900,000

The University of Toledo 176,097,000 $332,549,000

Can't State University $279,351,000 $506,455,000

Cleveland State University $54,487,124 $205,581,517

TOTAL $2,805,418,204 $6,725,378,204

[zip-O-matic]

I posted this on the IAA topic... interesting context on UA's budget.

When you look at this data, and in the absence of the full budget perspective, I wouldn't look at UA's debt load as unique or relatively alarming. We are well below a few schools including Miami, Can't, and UC (let's not even consider OSU in this mix) and in the neighborhood of OU and Toledo. If UA is straining under this debt burden, causing massive budget issues, why aren't the others?

http://www.daytondai...tops-65b/nj83M/

Total debt outstanding at Ohio public universities Borrowing at Ohio's 14 public universities more than doubled over the last decade. Most spending was for building construction and renovations.

University 2004 2014

The Ohio State University $814,606,000 $2,605,528,000

Miami University $93,151,622 $641,065,000

Wright State University $16,484,121 $101,957,190

University of Cincinnati $894,596,000 $1,236,000,000

Central State University $2,535,821 $17,781,501

Youngstown State University $13,680,000 $70,710,037

Northeast Ohio Medical University $0 $40,649,167

The University of Akron $204,729,516 $487,101,792

Bowling Green State University $84,400,000 $147,100,000

Ohio University $171,300,000 $332,900,000

The University of Toledo 176,097,000 $332,549,000

Can't State University $279,351,000 $506,455,000

Cleveland State University $54,487,124 $205,581,517

TOTAL $2,805,418,204 $6,725,378,204

The key is to look at debt relative to the annual budget. Debt is slightly higher at UA than the budget, but it's essentially a 1:1 ratio. I'd like to see how that compares statewide.

[zip-O-matic]

Lots of good info in that interview. Considering how often the U.S. News and World Report rankings are cited in this forum as meaningful, maybe the following quote gives cause to reconsider:

I don't think they are the be all and end all. A lot of the inputs are meaningful (student selectivity, retention and grad rates, endowment resources), but some are very questionable (alumni giving). I also think that they grossly overrate privates over publics. Does anyone really believe that Notre Dame is a better university than Cal Berkeley?

[Dave in Green]

On those debt numbers, here's my math factoid of the day:

139.7% = percentage of debt increase of all 14 Ohio public universities from 2004-2014 ($2,805,418,204 to $6,725,378,204)

137.9% = percentage of debt increase of UA from 2004-2014 ($204,729,516 to $487,101,792)

[LosAngelesZipFan]

The key is to look at debt relative to the annual budget. Debt is slightly higher at UA than the budget, but it's essentially a 1:1 ratio. I'd like to see how that compares statewide.

2004 debt 2014 debt 2015 budget Debt/Budget

The Ohio State University $814,606,000 $2,605,528,000 $5,304,280,000 49%

Miami University $93,151,622 $641,065,000 $697,741,049 92%

University of Cincinnati $894,596,000 $1,236,000,000 $1,120,000,000 110%

The University of Akron $204,729,516 $487,101,792 $484,000,000 101%

Ohio University $171,300,000 $332,900,000 $653,000,000 51%

The University of Toledo 176,097,000 $332,549,000 $790,868,256 42%

Can't State University $279,351,000 $506,455,000 $648,100,738 78%

[zip-O-matic]

On managing a university system with a prominent flagship university:

Some systems are more successful than others. We have hit the right balance in the system between institutional autonomy and system control.

I give a lot of credit to the board, because they’ve been very insistent that each institution in the system has to have a mission statement -- I know that sounds kind of bureaucratic -- that describes what its niche is and its contribution to the overall system. And institutions don’t move off that mission unless there's some formal process to do it.

A lot of places you see [institutions] wanting to become comprehensive research universities. That’s not going to happen in this system because that’s something that’s watched very, very carefully.

We’re also helped in this system because the Legislature that created the system was very precise about what the role of each institution in the system was to be. In the case of College Park, the language was quite remarkable because it says College Park is the flagship campus. It is to be a research university that is to compete at the highest levels of public research universities in America. We actually have the language in the statute that gives special emphasis and direction to College Park.

If you look at their funding base, for example, they get the largest per-student funding by a wide margin because of the cost of an education at a top-rate institution. Maryland has gotten it right. The founding legislation. The rigor of the attention to the mission to avoid mission creep.

This is what I found most interesting. Ohio, by state law, was like this until the 1960s, and then all hell broke loose. Since the late 80s, the attempt has been to put the toothpaste back into the tube. If a UA-Can't merger could somehow be presented as being part of the solution rather than an another example of the problem, it could really position the merged universities well for the future. Will it make them OSU? No, but it would ensure that they don't end up as Wright State either.

[LosAngelesZipFan]

BTW and for WIW, looking at the chart with the data I dredged up really shows where UA is in the pecking order-- an analytical version of Pres SS's napkin. From a budgetary perspective, we are even smaller than Miami, which I find hard to comprehend.

The point? If you are in Columbus and have never been to UA or associated with it, you look at it with a very jaundiced eye I think. To me, it points out the absolute necessity to volunteer and cheerlead for some sort of confederation with Can't (i'm abstaining from calling it a merger... ). A confederation is better than a takeover. We have to show that we are part of the solution, not just another problem child to be managed.

[Dave in Green]

BTW and for WIW, looking at the chart with the data I dredged up really shows where UA is in the pecking order-- an analytical version of Pres SS's napkin. From a budgetary perspective, we are even smaller than Miami, which I find hard to comprehend. ....

The number that jumps out at me is that Miami's debt jumped an astronomical 588% ($93,151,622 to $641,065,000) -- a far greater percentage increase than any other Ohio school. Miami's debt went from less than half of UA's in 2004 to 30% greater than UA's in 10 years.

[Dr Z]

The Brand Guide

Over the summer, Zips Athletics will work to begin the process of transitioning its brand from the "Head A" logo to the "Z," including the refreshing of GoZips.com, which launched on July 15. The revamping stems from the department's IMPACT 2020 strategic plan, which launched in December 2013. IMPACT 2020 is a comprehensive seven-year plan developed with significant input from those impacted by Zips Athletics. One of the goals of IMPACT 2020 is to strengthen the identity and position of Zips Athletics by enhancing our brand nationally. For more information on IMPACT 2020, visit GoZips.com/IMPACT2020. Over the next couple of years, Zips fans will see the transition to the "Z" logo across all of Akron's sports facilities, team gear and fan apparel. The first facility to see the "Z" logo is the court inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The arena floor, which was resurfaced in May, features a giant Blue and Gold "Z" at center court, a two-tone "Fear the Roo" kangaroo head under each basket and two shades of wood stain, with a darker shade surrounding the basketball court.

[a-zip]

I realize these are dated but I haven't seen them;

This is consistent is with the rebranding move. Hopefully puts us in good graces

http://www.crainscleveland.com/print/article/20070507/SUB/70504024/fingerhut-wants-ohio-s-public-universities-to-collaborate

Makes sense - "TEAM OHIO" is making more sense to me

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/11/05/Colleges-consider-consolidating-services.html

BGSU's take

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32518

www.gozips.com has a new look Z

http://gozips.com/landing/index

[Balsy]

The brand guide probably belongs over in Eliminating the A-Roo thread, rather than the UA Rebranding one. The FAQ calls this a "Revamp" and states:

The transition from the "Head A" logo to the "Z" logo is not a rebranding.

[akzipper]

The site is an improvement and I like the sublimated tire tracks, but the Akron Zips looks really awkward. Generally it's never a good idea to use a logo as a read-through.

[a-zip]

The brand guide probably belongs over in Eliminating the A-Roo thread, rather than the UA Rebranding one. The FAQ calls this a "Revamp" and states:

Whatever dude……I just threw it in as an afterthought..