[Speed Gibson,
Tuesday September 7, 2004 at 10:12am]
Higher Education in Minnesota
Public post-secondary education in Minnesota comprises the University of Minnesota (UofM) and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System ("MnSCU"). Both are bloated and unfocused, with significant academic and geographic overlap.
The UofM has five campuses, six if you count St. Paul separately, the satellites being in Duluth, Morris, Crookston, and Rochester. There are also a number of associated "outreach" centers.
MnSCU was the result of a merger in 1995 of the various community and technical colleges, plus seven state universities: Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Metropolitan, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Winona. Metropolitan has one Minneapolis and two St. Paul campuses. Note: this system also includes a number of vocational / technical colleges, which I'll discuss in a future post, not here.
The original goal was to have such an institution within 35 miles of every Minnesota resident, a long-outdated agrarian model that sadly is still largely in place today, and with significant over-capacity. The various rural communities involved have fought off all but one proposed closure, the UofM campus in Waseca. New proposals are sharply criticized by rural legislators as metro attacks on Greater Minnesota.
Former UofM Presidents, notably Kenneth Keller and Mark Yudof, have tried to refocus the University as the true jewel of the crown by focusing on those programs not generally feasible elsewhere, such as Engineering. General College functions as a community college within the UofM and is obviously totally unnecessary. (Many athletes seem to be enrolled there, though.) Such reforms were rejected, even though that would provide more quality options for our students. So much for "it's for the children!" This system is for the employees and municipalities.
The University of Minnesota should be the jewel of this crown, shedding the satellite campuses, including St. Paul. It should be a little tough to be accepted as a freshman at the UofM. Those who fall short can spend a year or two at a MnSCU college, then transfer in if they prove themselves. As it now stands, the jewel wastes significant time on marginal freshmen who soon drop out.
MnSCU can pick up the shed UofM campuses, then pare them all down to a few key centers, each with a specialty besides basic four year degrees in English, History, etc. For example, Mankato could pick up Agriculture from the shedded St. Paul campus. St. Cloud might concentrate on Accounting, with the "higher level" Carlson Business School at the UofM. But small sites like North Hennepin Community College should be closed.
This would save the State of Minnesota many millions of dollars each year, while providing each campus with a distinct, significant role. Without the latter, you wind up with a lot of "North Hennepin" facilities. Given their proximity to each other, and their over-capacity, they must compete with each other with ever lower standards to recruit new students.
Minnesota needs quality, demanding schools, not diploma mills or rural employment centers.
The UofM has five campuses, six if you count St. Paul separately, the satellites being in Duluth, Morris, Crookston, and Rochester. There are also a number of associated "outreach" centers.
MnSCU was the result of a merger in 1995 of the various community and technical colleges, plus seven state universities: Bemidji, Mankato, Marshall, Metropolitan, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Winona. Metropolitan has one Minneapolis and two St. Paul campuses. Note: this system also includes a number of vocational / technical colleges, which I'll discuss in a future post, not here.
The original goal was to have such an institution within 35 miles of every Minnesota resident, a long-outdated agrarian model that sadly is still largely in place today, and with significant over-capacity. The various rural communities involved have fought off all but one proposed closure, the UofM campus in Waseca. New proposals are sharply criticized by rural legislators as metro attacks on Greater Minnesota.
Former UofM Presidents, notably Kenneth Keller and Mark Yudof, have tried to refocus the University as the true jewel of the crown by focusing on those programs not generally feasible elsewhere, such as Engineering. General College functions as a community college within the UofM and is obviously totally unnecessary. (Many athletes seem to be enrolled there, though.) Such reforms were rejected, even though that would provide more quality options for our students. So much for "it's for the children!" This system is for the employees and municipalities.
The University of Minnesota should be the jewel of this crown, shedding the satellite campuses, including St. Paul. It should be a little tough to be accepted as a freshman at the UofM. Those who fall short can spend a year or two at a MnSCU college, then transfer in if they prove themselves. As it now stands, the jewel wastes significant time on marginal freshmen who soon drop out.
MnSCU can pick up the shed UofM campuses, then pare them all down to a few key centers, each with a specialty besides basic four year degrees in English, History, etc. For example, Mankato could pick up Agriculture from the shedded St. Paul campus. St. Cloud might concentrate on Accounting, with the "higher level" Carlson Business School at the UofM. But small sites like North Hennepin Community College should be closed.
This would save the State of Minnesota many millions of dollars each year, while providing each campus with a distinct, significant role. Without the latter, you wind up with a lot of "North Hennepin" facilities. Given their proximity to each other, and their over-capacity, they must compete with each other with ever lower standards to recruit new students.
Minnesota needs quality, demanding schools, not diploma mills or rural employment centers.