What Does UH Need To Do To Improve Itself? (Houston: credit, hotel)

[land161]

Originally Posted by shortel

downtown location crime issues. I wouldn't go anywhere around there at night.

Yet the surrounding area near USC is probably worse than UH's.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

There is a lot of misinformation about UH. I totally understand because the image it cultivated for several decades was not that of a traditional university. But I can't stress enough that UH is very different now, and it is going to keep getting better. Yes UH is not the caliber of UT or ATM, but a lot of posts on this thread are just plain flat outdated and wrong. Here we go:
[*]UH is 2nd in the state to A&M in residential capacity, and it is growing. That is not indicative of a school that wants to be known as a haven for commuters.

No one is saying they WANT to be known as a haven for commuters. They realize they need to shed that image to get a more competitive applicant pool. When I wanted to know what percentage of the students were commuters, it was actually pretty hard to find, no mention on UH's student body profile. I did find this article in the student newspaper from 3 years ago that cites 85%:

Confronting student commuter challenges - The Daily Cougar

They've probably improved over the last 3 years, but it's still a commuter school.

[Inphosphere]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

No one is saying they WANT to be known as a haven for commuters. They realize they need to shed that image to get a more competitive applicant pool. When I wanted to know what percentage of the students were commuters, it was actually pretty hard to find, no mention on UH's student body profile. I did find this article in the student newspaper from 3 years ago that cites 85%:

Confronting student commuter challenges - The Daily Cougar

They've probably improved over the last 3 years, but it's still a commuter school.

To be fair, it depends on proximity. For instance, you have apartments off campus, but 5-mins away; it might as well be on-campus.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

To be fair, it depends on proximity. For instance, you have apartments off campus, but 5-mins away; it might as well be on-campus.

I agree, but the majority of students at UH are not living in an apt 5 mins away. The majority are either living with their parents or commuting from far away neighborhoods.

[reneecr2002]

The #1 complaint from students is that the parking sucks. Good luck trying to find parking with 40,000+ students fighting over the same parking spots. Also, the gas and oil industry has put a big damper on the University's strategic plan.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by reneecr2002

The #1 complaint from students is that the parking sucks. Good luck trying to find parking with 40,000+ students fighting over the same parking spots. Also, the gas and oil industry has put a big damper on the University's strategic plan.

Parking sucks at pretty much every large college campus anywhere. UH should focus on helping students have alternative means to get there. The campus now has three rail stops, though two of them are on the stadium side of campus.

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

No one is saying they WANT to be known as a haven for commuters. They realize they need to shed that image to get a more competitive applicant pool. When I wanted to know what percentage of the students were commuters, it was actually pretty hard to find, no mention on UH's student body profile. I did find this article in the student newspaper from 3 years ago that cites 85%:

Confronting student commuter challenges - The Daily Cougar

They've probably improved over the last 3 years, but it's still a commuter school.

I don't disagree. It has been that way for decades, and it won't change overnight. But UH has been undergoing changes not unlike your example for UMinn. The difference being that the state of Texas has 2 flagships and UH is not one of them, so UH obviously faces more funding hurdles than Minnesota would.

And interestingly, if you believe US News... does this qualify as the commuter population at UT-A? Or are we going to do like in the college football world and make up new barriers and rules as we go for UH since UH keeps reaching every milestone thrown at them

At this school, 19 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 81 percent of students live off campus.

University of Texas--Austin | University of Texas--Austin - Profile, Rankings and Data | University of Texas | US News Best Colleges

[naners1]

Originally Posted by Texamichiforniasota

No one is saying they WANT to be known as a haven for commuters. They realize they need to shed that image to get a more competitive applicant pool. When I wanted to know what percentage of the students were commuters, it was actually pretty hard to find, no mention on UH's student body profile. I did find this article in the student newspaper from 3 years ago that cites 85%:

They've probably improved over the last 3 years, but it's still a commuter school.

U of H is less of a commuter school that the other two universities,. I found this in three minutes:

At Texas A&M University College Station 17 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 83 percent of students live off campus.
Texas A&M University--College Station | Texas A&M College Station | Student Life | US News Best Colleges

At the University of Texas--Austin 19 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 81 percent of students live off campus.
University of Texas--Austin | University of Texas | Student Life | US News Best Colleges

And most importantly; at the University of Houston 19 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 81 percent of students live off campus.
University of Houston | University of Houston | Student Life | US News Best Colleges

Presently Uof H is building even more housing so eventually it will surpass by a larger margin the other two universities
More student housing coming to UH - Houston Chronicle

This has been going on for years now,

5G Studio - University of Houston expands student housing
Calhoun Lofts - University of Houston
Our Communities - University of Houston

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

And interestingly, if you believe US News... does this qualify as the commuter population at UT-A? Or are we going to do like in the college football world and make up new barriers and rules as we go for UH since UH keeps reaching every milestone thrown at them

Well, I don't think you need your students living in dorms or University owned housing in order to be a residential campus. The Minnesota example I gave counted 3 walkable student neighborhoods adjacent to campus, Dinkytown, East Bank, and West Bank. Almost all of the big, old houses in these neighborhoods have been broken up into apartments that are rented out to students. The difference between Austin and UH is that like in Minneapolis, at UT you have large neighborhoods next to the school that are almost all privately owned student housing and student oriented bars, restaurants, and other businesses. I'm not saying that the 3rd Ward doesn't have any of these things, but they don't really hold a candle to West Campus. I do realize that there are a fair number of students at UT that commute as well, but the other factor that is different from UH is that most of them are from other cities and few are living with their parents. The schools started out with different goals, so it's not surprising they look different today. UT started with a goal to provide a university education for students from all over the state. UH was started initially as a Jr College by HISD to allow Houstonians to get education and training while also working. UH still serves an important role for part time students (although I feel like the system tries to push these students to UH Downtown); my own brother worked full time and over the course of about a decade earned his Bachelors at UH with a good education and was able to move up in his job. UH is evolving, but changing enough to change people's opinions about it being a commuter school are going to take a while. Having a good football team will likely help it develop a better campus atmosphere. At the end of the day, commuter schools serve an important function too, but I think most of that role will eventually shift to UH Downtown and some of the other branches.

[The_Man74]

It's really just the "stereotype" that follows UH..

UH is much like UTD (in Dallas) in that it has the typical stereotype/stigma of being a "commuter" school which is pretty difficult to change. The big difference is UTD is part of the UT flagship system AND in a MUCH SAFER location than UH


Honestly, over the years living in Texas I met and dated many girls from the Houston area that told me their parents wouldn't let them go to UH because of safety reasons...

It's not that UH is a bad school or not respected because it is a solid school and is definitely respected but the location won't ever change. The stigma of it being a commuter school and "unsafe" after certain hours(I guess you could liken this to the UT Arlington comparison earlier) makes it hard to gain more prestige/recognition.

The other thing is... Rice is the "top/smart" school in Texas and there is no denying that. I mean when you have a top private that is compared to Emory in the same city it's hard to top it. And we've already mentioned that it isn't part of the two main flagship university systems... so odds are not in their favor.