Changes Abound at UL

[Turbine]

Why do we need a 4 year university every 50 miles in Louisiana?

In effect there are 2 Universities in every garage.

Huey beats Roosevelt again.

[rhineaux]

_ Funding.

And the problem of funding is a direct result of our Flagship agenda.

I have pointed out elsewhere, good defense wins championships. LSU is a good example of how the football mentality is disastrous outside of sports.

The football mentality only pursues win-lose, there is no win-win. So in the political arena, the football mentality says, I don't have to produce any "offense", aka progress. If I can stop you, by default I win.

LSU gets enhanced funding-- without accountability. LSU hasn't cared if Louisiana moved forward. If it could protect its own funding and hold back the other schools, it gets to sit at the top of the hill.

Doesn't matter if it's a dunghill. The football mentality is only interested in being #1.

There are two concepts of leadership: bragging rights vs. service. But that's another conversation. _

We agree that funding is an issue. We also agree that LSU is part of the problem, but we don't agree on how they are part of the problem.

They are the "Flagship" whether you like it or not, and it would take a really long time for that to ever change. The powers that be will continue to give them the preferential treatment they "deserve". We all know that part of the "Flagship" agenda means keeping them at the top, and everyone else at an equal, lower level, which prevents anyone else from getting too big. However, what the powers that be don't realize, and where their myopia is apparent, is that by keeping so many others at the bottom, it prevents them from becoming bigger and better. And even if they were brought down to "equal" status and their extra funding was dispersed across the other schools in the state, it would certainly help, but I don't think that it would be enough to make the needle move.

I think you've noted before that for being the biggest, richest school in the state, that they should have become bigger and better long ago. They do get their preferential treatment, but what they don't realize is that they could get more, if there was more funding to go around. Perhaps they are satisfied with a good Football team, and aren't as concerned with growing their Academic status as quickly. But, then again, the argument could be made that increased athletic attention can help the Academic side, also another conversation.

But, this is where my argument comes in. If the state wasn't so concerned with keeping everyone else equal, and would better organize and structure LA Higher Education, by reclassifying certain schools, and eliminating some of the repitition that we have in the state, while promoting the stature of other schools, it would free up a lot more money to increase the quality of the education offered at those 'other' schools. Is it better to farm 1000 acres of corn, that you don't have the ability to properly tend to, resulting in a reduced and poor quality yield? Or is it better to farm a much smaller area that you can tend to and fertilize properly, resulting in 100% yield and a great product? (My attempt at a J1M analogy) At the same time, it would also free up more funds to improve LSU and they would still be able to continue their flagship agenda.

I'm not as concerned about everyone having a resonable commute to a college degree. If the people want to earn a degree, then they will do so, no matter if it requires commuting across town, or moving to another city. I've often said that it doesn't make much sense to have so many schools in the SE part of the state (LSU, Southern, SLU, UNO, Nicholls) and have to fund 5 different math depts, english depts, history depts, biology depts, etc, and have to fund them to the point of keeping them accredited. To me, there is so much money spent on these different schools for the same things, essentially supporting watered down programs, that could be better spent at one, or maybe two, schools where the programs could flourish.

Sure, there is something nice about a student from LaFourche parish being able to drive back and forth to Nicholls everyday, but when he/she graduates, what are they left with? I ask because I've met very few, if any, graduates from some of the smaller schools in the state in general, or in my professional life (albeit a short time) and the ones I have met aren't in higher rankins positions. So, should a school like Nicholls continue to be funded the same as the major universities in the state, when it doesn't produce the same quality of graduates and doesn't participate in the sames levels and amounts of research? If you want to talk about accountability, then you can't only hold LSU accountable for its results, but you have to hold all schools accountable, whether it be LSU, Nicholls, or UL.

So, my question to you, in the grand scheme of things, are we in a better position as a state, to continue to fund these schools equally, even though some are producing better results and better graduates? Or would we be better suited to restructure the system and have a school like Nicholls be designated as a 2-yr school, or a Junior College, where students could attend and build their academic resume', so that they could eventually transfer to a bigger, better, but still nearby school like LSU, where they would get a much better education, and have a much more reputable piece of paper in hand after graduation?

Disclaimer: I don't mean to pick on Nicholls, but it fits into the example of having a large number of similar schools within a confined area of the state.