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Old 05-16-2010, 09:12 AM
 
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Old 05-16-2010, 07:10 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
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Top 5 for graduating family doctors, not family health care. There's a difference. Not knocking WVU hospital, but from my viewpoint, it's a shame that the state of WV only has one hospital. It is a good med school though. Some of my friends graduated from there.
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:10 PM
 
Location: 500 miles from home
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We only have one hospital?
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:57 PM
 
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WVU in the last year: Tier 1 law school (tier 4 three years ago); Hospital gaining fabulous rankings; new president breathing new life; basketball team making it to the final 4 (5the NCAA appearance in 6 years).

With all the positive at WVU, it sure is hard to understand why so many other out-of-staters that happened to be alum of other state schools put us down so much. It's a shame that VT has such a great reputation, however people ignore the fact that WVU is a world class facility with an actual Med school, Law school, Engineering school (which isn't as good as VT, but still a good school) and more honors than most schools in the nation could hope to collect.

VT, on the other hand, has a very nice engineering school and ROTC program. However, they have no med or law school, and the rest of their curriculum, outside of engineering and architecture, is nothing to write home about...

/once again... getting of my soapbox..
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Old 05-16-2010, 10:03 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Buzz123 View Post
Top 5 for graduating family doctors, not family health care. There's a difference. Not knocking WVU hospital, but from my viewpoint, it's a shame that the state of WV only has one hospital. It is a good med school though. Some of my friends graduated from there.
Yes, graduating family doctors. That's what medical schools do. They are in the Top 5 for that. The actual health care is provided by hospitals. And, West Virginia is a small, relatively poor state. There is no way they could afford to have more than one state operated hospital, and trying to have two of them would only diminish the quality of care. That is part of the problem with higher education in the state... they try do duplicate what is there over and over at great expense, and great inefficiency.

Iowa has 3 million people. They have three state funded institutions (2 major universities and a regional one). WV has 1.9 million people, one real University, and about a dozen teachers colleges of various sizes that call themselves universities. That might have made sense in 1890, but in these days of interstate highways it is beyond archaic. They need to turn most of the teachers colleges into primarily 2 year feeder schools (with select 4 year programs) for WVU on the proven Penn State model, keep the regional school in Huntington as is, and develop the first rate higher education system the citizens of West Virginia deserve and could have if they used some common sense.
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Old 05-17-2010, 10:26 AM
 
Location: Huntington, WV
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What a shocker! Make all other schools, even the ones that were started as branches of Marshall in the southern part of the state, feeder schools into WVU. And look at the language you use to refer to other schools and you wonder why people react to you the way that they do? "WV has 1.9 million people, one real University, and about a dozen teachers colleges of various sizes that call themselves universities." What qualifies a school to be a "real" university and just what are the other schools to call themselves? Once again, I'm glad that you have no part in making these decisions for our fine state.
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Old 05-17-2010, 11:13 AM
 
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Well Tim, it's not surprising that you like the status quo that has resulted in stagnation and difficulty keeping up with peer states, but you are the only one "reacting" as usual. West Virginia needs to look at states with similar situations and make some serious changes in the way it conducts higher education. States with successful models should be emulated where possible rather than a status quo that was designed more than a century ago and has outlived its usefulness. I can't imagine how trying to clone the flagship school could benefit a small, poor state like West Virginia but you're entitled to your opinion. It might be nice if you would just state it rather than launch into irrational attacks.

For me, I try to look at your positions or opinions and respond with my own. I don't expect you or anyone else to agree with me, and you shouldn't either. They haven't taken our First Ammendment rights from us yet, so I think we can both say what we think and respect each others rights to do so. I know that is kind of a strange concept for folks your age but you might just want to think about it.
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Old 05-17-2010, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Huntington, WV
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What you mentioned in your post is essentially just strengthening the status quo. Control already exists mainly in one institution in the state and your plan just strengthens that to ensure it stays that way. By looking at other states, you would see that they have several institutions of higher learning. To want WV to have at least 2 reputable Universities isn't asking for the moon and I don't expect Marshall to be a clone for WVU. It would just be nice for them to be able to expand without new legislation being passed to take control from them and put it in the hands of those who may have other political motivations in mind rather than the best interests of Marshall and the state. Look at what the new facilities built by a private development company have done for Marshall's enrollment. The dorms and Rec Center have been open just over a year and since open, they've set 2 records for applications, are expected to set 2 freshman enrollment records and may even set a university enrollment record this fall. And the state wouldn't contribute a dime, but Marshall made it happen.

And yes, WV only has 1.8 million people but it's that way for a reason. For too long we have relied on heavy industry as our main source of good wages in the state. Industrial jobs are quickly declining and when they go for good, you will be left with a populace with little chance of bettering themselves because of a lack of educational opportunities. That then brings in minimum wage jobs which help to maintain the status quo of poverty. As you well know, education is the key to better jobs and wages and limiting that to one main institution in the this state will not help. This state needs to get it's priorities right and focus more on education, revamp the tax structure and look to how it will keep moving forward once coal is gone. Right now there is no plan for that and it scares me.

The politics in this state is what maintains the status quo and destroys everything, from education to jobs and that needs to change. If the main power institutions see a threat, they use politics to stomp out that threat. With our industrial and metals base in this state, there is no reason we shouldn't be producing green technologies like windmills and solar panels. But that is seen as competition to coal and thus, will likely never happen. Sad but true. We shoot ourselves in the foot in this state more times than we would even care to know by squelching competition rather than inviting it and bettering ourselves because of it.


Also, I never said that you couldn't express yourself or that you had to agree with me. I just stated that it was the expected and typical response from you. I also pointed out why many people respond to you the way that they do, because it is in the language you use. People often respond in the manner they are spoken to. Use demeaning and condescending language and you will often get it back in response.

Last edited by tbailey1138; 05-17-2010 at 02:38 PM..
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Old 05-17-2010, 09:14 PM
 
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Tim, West Virginia has way too many four year schools for a small, cash strapped state. It is true that Ohio has as many state supported schools. They have five times the population. Same with Pennsylvania. WV has fewer than 2 million residents and is still operating under a system designed to serve people two centurys ago when people traveled by horse and buggy. You can get virtually anyplace in the State now within 4 hours via Interstate. When I went to college, it would take nearly 6 hours to get from Charleston to Morgantown. You can make the trip in 3 hours today.

My opinion is they need to adopt the Penn State model to move education up a notch in the State. I am not saying that to be negative toward any school. These schools get state funds and should serve the best interests of the state, not the special interest groups that currently rule the day.

If they eliminated most of the smaller 4 year schools as independent institutions (Shepherd, Fairmont State, and perhaps WV State are in a position to stand on their own) and made them branches of WVU, it would benefit both Marshall and West Virginia. Doing that (as Penn State does) with a primarily two year emphasis, but select four year offerings would result in WVU being able to be more selective for enrollment. They wouldn't grow enrollment to a large extent. As is the case with Penn State, the better students would be able to enroll in Morgantown after two years. Those who don't make the cut could enroll at Marshall, Shepherd, Fairmont State, or WV State. That is essentially what happens in PA but they go to Slippery Rock, California, etc. WVU could kick it up a notch academically, and Marshall and the others could grow enrollment. It would be a win-win for everyone.

Most importantly, the State could realize economy of scale and run a more efficient higher education program. Unfortunately, they are moving in exactly the opposite (wrong) direction by divorcing the community colleges from the others and creating an whole new political bureaucracy in the process.

You are right that the State needs to reinvent itself since the elitists have driven the better manufacturing jobs to lands of cheap labor. But it will take a real change in mindset for that to happen. As it is the unions and coal companies dominate state politics, and they will always push for the status quo.
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Old 05-17-2010, 11:32 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia 'Burbs
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Not to pee in the punch...but family medicine is considered the least prestigious specialty...and there aren't that many schools that specialize in rural health.

For WVU to gain status, they need to start rejecting many more applicants to get those admin numbers up...and somehow get an endowment.
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