Montana Grads

[garizzalies]

This is a really cool national (MSN) article about a Montana issue that i do not think is getting enough attention locally.

It has been discussed on here several times that the state of Montana should get rid of its 2-year schools so UM will be better equipped for a move-up. I could not disagree more, and this article seems to agree with me. Simply because something might be good for the football team does not mean it is good for the state.

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2...ations-biggest-jump-in-college-graduates?lite

 

[Ursa Major]

Good article!!

 

[kemajic]

Someone has to have a pretty good argument to convince me that MT needs to support six four year colleges, particularly those in Havre and Dillon. There are not enough junior colleges in the state and those existing institutions could serve that purpose with less cost.

 

[garizzalies]

the above article wasn't a "good [enough] argument to convince" you?
i would not argue that MT's naia schools must maintain sports; but i don't think the schools should be closed entirely as some have argued. we already have enough infrastructure collecting dust in this state. further, i would not argue with you re turning Havre and Dillon to 2-year COTs, but sure as hell not Tech. with those few austerity tweaks, i think our higher ed system could be even more streamlined.

 

[moose/squirrel]

Someone has to have a pretty good argument to convince me that MT needs to support six four year colleges, particularly those in Havre and Dillon. There are not enough junior colleges in the state and those existing institutions could serve that purpose with less cost.

THIS^^^^

 

[AZGrizFan]

Someone has to have a pretty good argument to convince me that MT needs to support six four year colleges, particularly those in Havre and Dillon. There are not enough junior colleges in the state and those existing institutions could serve that purpose with less cost.

:lol: :lol:

Arizona, a state with over 7,000,000 people, has a grand total of THREE four-year colleges.

 

[moose/squirrel]

the above article wasn't a "good [enough] argument to convince" you?
i would not argue that MT's naia schools must maintain sports; but i don't think the schools should be closed entirely as some have argued. we already have enough infrastructure collecting dust in this state. further, i would not argue with you re turning Havre and Dillon to 2-year COTs, but sure as hell not Tech. with those few austerity tweaks, i think our higher ed system could be even more streamlined.

I can't imagine anyone would include Tech in this discussion and I surely would not. My niece's life long friend secured a 70 grand a year job right out of school last year. I'd argue Tech gets way more bang for the buck than the rest of the system outside of the COTs.

Missoula and Bozeman are full of grads with fluffy majors that are happily tending bar and waiting tables. That hasn't changed since I moved here in the late 70's.

I'm certainly not against a liberal arts education, I went to one of the best small liberal arts schools in the country in the 70's. Times have in fact changed and the system should change with the times. Pumping out irrelevant majors is what the educational establishment is good at right now. The Faculty Senate bemoans their meager salaries, I see whiners that have a great life compared to most of us and are and are not accountable for their performance. Costs up way beyond inflation. Kind of hard to argue value is there for many majors. Seems to me the faculty is a big part of our current problem...change is needed and change from the entitled is unlikely.

 

[moose/squirrel]

the above article wasn't a "good [enough] argument to convince" you?
i would not argue that MT's naia schools must maintain sports; but i don't think the schools should be closed entirely as some have argued. we already have enough infrastructure collecting dust in this state. further, i would not argue with you re turning Havre and Dillon to 2-year COTs, but sure as hell not Tech. with those few austerity tweaks, i think our higher ed system could be even more streamlined.

I can't imagine anyone would include Tech in this discussion and I surely would not. My niece's life long friend secured a 70 grand a year job right out of school last year. I'd argue Tech gets way more bang for the buck than the rest of the system outside of the COTs.

Missoula and Bozeman are full of grads with fluffy majors that are happily tending bar and waiting tables. That hasn't changed since I moved here in the late 70's.

I'm certainly not against a liberal arts education, I went to one of the best small liberal arts schools in the country in the 70's. Times have in fact changed and the system should change with the times. Pumping out irrelevant majors is what the educational establishment is good at right now. The Faculty Senate bemoans their meager salaries, I see whiners that have a great life compared to most of us and are and are not accountable for their performance. Costs up way beyond inflation. Kind of hard to argue value is there for many majors. Seems to me the faculty is a big part of our current problem...change is needed and change from the entitled is unlikely.

 

[HighLineGRIZ]

Someone has to have a pretty good argument to convince me that MT needs to support six four year colleges, particularly those in Havre and Dillon. There are not enough junior colleges in the state and those existing institutions could serve that purpose with less cost.

I can speak to Northern and its place in Havre. I can tell you that it is important to have a rural 4 year school in the Eastern part of the state. Many kids from Eastern Montana either have a tough time acclimating to a large university in an urban area or just perform better in small town settings. There have been many kids that have gone to MSU or UM and have finished at Northern because of these reasons. Further, it has been useful for many people who didn't graduate to go back to school and complete their education or furhter their degree.

Bottomline though, is the school does have a direct impact on the economy of the area. It impacts the proportion of the working population in the region that has a college degree and provides many educational resources and opportunities to the area that it otherwise wouldn't have.