Latest NEOU installment

[UA Fan]

http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.d...08&Profile=1008I won't be surprised if we see a "virtual" NEO Univ. created with a College/Branch at each school, sharing general studies courses in English, Science, Math, History, etc. which would be accepted at any of the campuses/branches and would make instuctors/GA's interchangeable within the region. To maintain their own identities, the individual schools would specialize their upper-class undergrad programs and graduate degrees so that students could choose which degree they want from which school.I don't know if the schools really want to cooperate that much & it may be difficult to execute but the state govt seems intent on finding synergies, reducing costs and reforming/improving(?) the 'university system' in NEO.

[zen]

GHEY!!!!More bullshit government beaurocracy trying to run everything for everybody.Free market forces are what will make these universities grow and provide better resources to students, not Big Brother's every so loving and guiding hand. Universities have to compete like almost no other industry, because students can choose from thousands, or atleast dozens if they want to stay in-state.And if the career and labor markets show a demand for polymer engineers, institutions like the UofA will try to meet the educational demand to attract students from around the world...... but if Eric Finger-my-hut thinks that silicone wafer technology is the wave of the future, he can go ahead and force all of the NEO universities to dedicate whole departements to it, and they can all sink like the titanic when optical processing technology takes over.Beaurocracy! The fastest way to stagnate!

[bobbyake]

The University is a State non-profit college funded by the State of Ohio, not a free market company that can make tons of profits like the University of Phoenix.I think it would be smart and effecient for a UAkron-Can't or UAkron-CSU merge. You can then cut certain programs at one campus that the other is better at, like business. Can't State's business school is a joke compared to Akron. But Can't's education program is probably a lot better than Akron. With a merge, both schools won't have to compete, they can instead offer different programs and specializing in them. A more effecient and strategic University would become of this merger. If you're educated in business at all, you'd be for it. They could also save a lot of money by having one sports program in the area instead of 2 or 3, plus that sports program would be a powerhouse with a huge market available to it.It's time for a change that will benefit this area in the long run, the old fashioned thinking will only make things worse.

[zen]

Competition = goodbeaurocracy = badIf I am a smart kid from Akron, why should I have to go to Can't to be an architect? That's bullshit.Or, if I am a weenie liberal who lives in portage county, why should I go to akron because there is a state required "colaboration"Maybe the universities receive state funding, but they are run like businesses that need to attract clients in a competative market, and that's good for the clients (students, in this case).

[mcperp]

GHEY!!!!More bullshit government beaurocracy trying to run everything for everybody.Free market forces are what will make these universities grow and provide better resources to students, not Big Brother's every so loving and guiding hand. Universities have to compete like almost no other industry, because students can choose from thousands, or atleast dozens if they want to stay in-state.And if the career and labor markets show a demand for polymer engineers, institutions like the UofA will try to meet the educational demand to attract students from around the world...... but if Eric Finger-my-hut thinks that silicone wafer technology is the wave of the future, he can go ahead and force all of the NEO universities to dedicate whole departements to it, and they can all sink like the titanic when optical processing technology takes over.Beaurocracy! The fastest way to stagnate!

Did we read the same article? The whole point of the proposed move is to gain efficiencies through cooperation and merging of some (not all) redundancies. Infrastructure will mean two things; the bricks and mortar projects funded by capital budgets, and processes (i.e. - purchasing, accounts payable, accounting, etc.). This is the exact opposite of bureaucracy.What's not mentioned in the article is the fact of the declining college age population in Ohio. The cohort of available HS Seniors in NEO is declining and will continue to erode for at least the next 10-15 years. This commission is charged with identifying such areas which include some academic offerings, but the academic side of things will be much more difficult to implement than merging business functions for example (this has already been talked about with Can't State, akron, and csu as partners; but was shot down last year).The sad truth about higher education in Ohio is this; the state legislature and governors haven't supported higher ed for 20 years, but most egregiously, since 1990 when Voinovich took over. The state subsidized 61% of a student's tuition in 1980, today that subsidy is only 28%. The end result is extremely high tuition, extremely high student debt to those who go to college, less student's staying in-state, less affordability for minorities, and many other problems. These aren't opinions, they are facts. In Ohio wants to stay competitive, have competition, compete, the answer is to better support the schools particularly in the area of tuition subsidy. Competition in the case of higher ed in Ohio and the US is fueled by the individual state governments, the fruit of this fuel is further fanned by private interests (research, co-ops, etc.).

[zen]

so, forcing universities to "collaborate" turns them all into one animal with one head and many bodies, and that one head is still a beaurocracy.Anyway, it sounds like you enjoyed reading what they fed you. Personally, I always read between the lines. Whenever a politician tells you what something is NOT, odds are that's exactly what it's going to be.

[bobbyake]

Zen, the only thing I got from reading your point of view is Libertarian bias opinions. Why even bring politics in this? It's not about politics, it's about making a change for the future. Some of the best CEOs in this country had to face resistence against change within (Jack Welch, Michael Eisner, Roberto Goizueta, Andrew Grove, Lee Iococca, etc). The idea is to get the local Universities scope and strategic controls more focused and better suited for the changing future.You're against this because you don't want the government sticking their head into their own business. Can't State's last President gave several speeches about merging the schools in Northeast Ohio. The State funds the school, they should decide the future just as much as the president of the Universities. And it seems like the presidents of these Universities are favoring this move as well.This area needs find more effecient ways of doing things.The change is for the better. We don't want education to turn into a commodity.

[zen]

Zen, the only thing I got from reading your point of view is Libertarian bias opinions. Why even bring politics in this? It's not about politics, it's about making a change for the future.

I'm sorry I gave my opinion. I forgot this is a discussion forum. I'll stop giving my opinion.I didn't bring politics into this. A politician did. His name is Fingerhut.I will refrain from any further comentary, since it has been made clear to me that my opinion is obviously unwanted.

[bobbyake]

Zen, I appreciate your opinions and think you're a well educated man. I am by far not a Democrat and I'm not supporting Fingerhut's proposal because he's a Democrat. I support his proposal because it's a change this area needs to make to get into the "profit zone." I am very against one sided politics because I think it stops a lot of things from getting done and it only creates static tension in this country. If someone in a party that I'm not affliated with has something good to say, I'll listen to it and judge it not based on his party, but on the content's pros vs. cons.

[mcperp]

so, forcing universities to "collaborate" turns them all into one animal with one head and many bodies, and that one head is still a beaurocracy.Anyway, it sounds like you enjoyed reading what they fed you. Personally, I always read between the lines. Whenever a politician tells you what something is NOT, odds are that's exactly what it's going to be.

I dunno, I thought I listed out facts that can be objectively corraborated. Your take on it is supported only by a belief that government is bad, and all politicians are deceitful. I don't think anyone can deny that yeah, some government is bad, and yeah some politiicians are deceitful, but to whitewash the whole topic with one-sided rhetoric is corrosive and wrong. If you're so certain that free market forces are the be-all and end-all, then you cannot in good faith be in favor of child labor laws, environmental regulation, FDIC insurance, education for all, etc. Regardless, like I said earlier, the initiative Fingerhut notes is about economies of scale in many areas of redundancy. This is the antithesis of bureaucracy.

[mcperp]

Zen, the only thing I got from reading your point of view is Libertarian bias opinions. Why even bring politics in this? It's not about politics, it's about making a change for the future.

I'm sorry I gave my opinion. I forgot this is a discussion forum. I'll stop giving my opinion.I didn't bring politics into this. A politician did. His name is Fingerhut.I will refrain from any further comentary, since it has been made clear to me that my opinion is obviously unwanted.

That's not true. I think a lively discussion of opinions is what makes this site worth worthwhile. I respect that you disagree with me and anyone else who has posted on this topic. No hard feelings.