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I thought it would be interesting to learn something about the public university systems in each of our states from people who live there.
I'm thinking of things like...
• How would you rate your state's univ system?
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role?
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak?
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations?
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students?
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
NJ. Very poor.
Rutgers is a good university.
College of NJ is good too but poor for science I've heard.
NJIT is good but extremely tech oriented and the campus is horrid.
That's about it as far as what I can think of. Every other state college is pretty mediocre.
The amount of NJ residents that flee NJ to go to other state schools is alarming.
I've also been a resident of CA. Their state school system is ridiculously good IMO. If you do well in HS (or even community college), you are pretty much guaranteed admission to a real good school at a good price and you have several choices as far as location and style.
College of NJ is good too but poor for science I've heard.
NJIT is good but extremely tech oriented and the campus is horrid.
That's about it as far as what I can think of. Every other state college is pretty mediocre.
The amount of NJ residents that flee NJ to go to other state schools is alarming.
I've also been a resident of CA. Their state school system is ridiculously good IMO. If you do well in HS (or even community college), you are pretty much guaranteed admission to a real good school at a good price and you have several choices as far as location and style.
when did Rutgers turn into "The State University"? What served the state in the years before, when Rutgers was still private?
Keep in mind that California, at least before the recent era of cuts, was by far the most respected and innovative public higher education system in the nation. It is far more than NJ that would fall below the bar set by the Golden State in the golden days of when the concept of UC and CSU systems (with even JUCO being considered part of the mix) came into being (that would pretty much have to be the 1950s)
I thought it would be interesting to learn something about the public university systems in each of our states from people who live there.
I'm thinking of things like...
• How would you rate your state's univ system?
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role?
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak?
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations?
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students?
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
Montana rankings first:
UM: ok for liberal sciences, hard sciences are poor. It is not nearly rigorous enough to be "Harvard of the West". I LOL'd at that.
MSU: decent for hard sciences and engineering, architecture was highly ranked at one point
Montana Tech (UM) - pretty decent for engineering but not much for a social life.
UM: flagship
Weak branches: MSU-Northern, Gallatin College, UM-COT Great Falls
Good locations throughout Montana
UM: overpriced for out of state students. IMHO, the rape issue has been going on since the 1990's and would not want my daughter to attend there.
MSU: overpriced for out of state students. Drugs are a huge issue in Bozeman and the locals don't want to be open about it.
2 systems only. UM and MSU
Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) - very liberal and almost requires a CA type of education to put up with all the garbage. Most people on campus feel Obama is too conservative. Graduates in engineering aren't very good and their first time EIT pass rate shows it. Politically belongs in PAC 12 but not good enough athletically or academically to belong there.
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) - conservative and mostly older students. It does get some college age students from CS that don't want to go to CSU or CU. Good aerospace engineering school.
Colorado School of Mines - very good engineering school that competes with MIT/Cal Tech/NJIT/Mellon on national rankings. Social life used to be a dud but Golden has improved it's social offerings.
Colorado State at Fort Collins (CSU) - very good AG, hard science and engineering school. This is the most well rounded of the Colorado universities.
Colorado State at Pueblo (CSUP?) - growing traditional age student population but still older. Academics aren't great from what I saw.
CSU and CU: flagship
Weaknesses: every small town seems to have a college in it. Most are substandard.
Good locations in the state.
Everything in Colorado is overpriced for out of state students.
University and College system is a hodgepodge and really could use an overhaul.
I thought it would be interesting to learn something about the public university systems in each of our states from people who live there.
I'm thinking of things like...
• How would you rate your state's univ system? Average. Republican politicians are making huge cuts in budgets.
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role? University of Florida
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak? UF and FSU are the top two schools. The rest are a bit back. UCF and USF have improved a lot recently.
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations? There are a lot of schools to choose from.
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students? I'm sure many find Florida appealing.
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
• How would you rate your state's univ system?
Good for some things, bad for others?
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role?
Florida A&M, FSU and UF all have this historic definition. Most now only consider UF to be flagship.
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak?
Top: UF, FSU, New College
Mid: UCF, USF, FIU
Bottom: Florida Gulf Coast, University North Florida, University West Florida, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic
Special Mentions:
Miami-Dade College is also highly reputable.
New World School of the Arts which awards some degrees in conjunction with Miami-Dade College and others through UF.
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations?
All areas have relatively close access but certainly some of the more remote middle of the peninsula cities have a drive.
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students?
Two of the largest schools by population in the country are here.... yes.
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
This makes no sense because Florida is not organized as a whole. Its not like SUNY or something?? Neither is Georgia which has University of Georgia and Georgia State? I don't understand this question.
Montana rankings first:
UM: ok for liberal sciences, hard sciences are poor. It is not nearly rigorous enough to be "Harvard of the West". I LOL'd at that.
MSU: decent for hard sciences and engineering, architecture was highly ranked at one point
Montana Tech (UM) - pretty decent for engineering but not much for a social life.
UM: flagship
Weak branches: MSU-Northern, Gallatin College, UM-COT Great Falls
Good locations throughout Montana
UM: overpriced for out of state students. IMHO, the rape issue has been going on since the 1990's and would not want my daughter to attend there.
MSU: overpriced for out of state students. Drugs are a huge issue in Bozeman and the locals don't want to be open about it.
2 systems only. UM and MSU
Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) - very liberal and almost requires a CA type of education to put up with all the garbage. Most people on campus feel Obama is too conservative. Graduates in engineering aren't very good and their first time EIT pass rate shows it. Politically belongs in PAC 12 but not good enough athletically or academically to belong there.
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) - conservative and mostly older students. It does get some college age students from CS that don't want to go to CSU or CU. Good aerospace engineering school.
Colorado School of Mines - very good engineering school that competes with MIT/Cal Tech/NJIT/Mellon on national rankings. Social life used to be a dud but Golden has improved it's social offerings.
Colorado State at Fort Collins (CSU) - very good AG, hard science and engineering school. This is the most well rounded of the Colorado universities.
Colorado State at Pueblo (CSUP?) - growing traditional age student population but still older. Academics aren't great from what I saw.
CSU and CU: flagship
Weaknesses: every small town seems to have a college in it. Most are substandard.
Good locations in the state.
Everything in Colorado is overpriced for out of state students.
University and College system is a hodgepodge and really could use an overhaul.
Disagree with most of this assessment of Colorado.
• How would you rate your state's univ system?
Average in some areas, Very good in others such as engineering, physics and biology.
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role?
The University of Colorado at Boulder is the flagship. The best overall university in the state. Higher admission standards than all but Colorado School of Mines, but engineering program is ranked higher than CSM's. (34 vs 51, US News, Engineering schools whose highest degree is a doctorate). IMO, this is because CU does make an effort to educate the "whole student" not just the engineer in him/her. Not as wildly liberal as the PP said. For example, the biology dept is supporting the use of GMO crops on county-owned open space. Engineering is a big program there.
Colorado State University is the land-grant college. Good ag school, great vet school, the state extension service is run out of CSU. Lower admission standards than CU. Not as good in engineering. (#64)
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak?
Don't know what you mean. The above are the stars. Weaker schools include CSU Pueblo; Western State College - Gunnison; Colorado Mesa U - Grand Junction; Metropolitan State College in Denver; Ft. Lewis College in Durango. The University of Northern Colorado is good in music and education.
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations?
The better schools are all in the eastern part of the state.
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students?
Some of them, especially CU-Boulder. About 40% of the freshman class is out of state. The largest group of out-of-staters is from California.
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
There are several different systems, AFAIK. CU has a board of regents elected from the voting districts of CO (7) and two elected at-large. CSU has a 13 member board of governors appointed by the governor and four appointed by the colleges in the system. I don't know how the rest are governed.
There are community colleges throughout the state.
when did Rutgers turn into "The State University"? What served the state in the years before, when Rutgers was still private?
Keep in mind that California, at least before the recent era of cuts, was by far the most respected and innovative public higher education system in the nation. It is far more than NJ that would fall below the bar set by the Golden State in the golden days of when the concept of UC and CSU systems (with even JUCO being considered part of the mix) came into being (that would pretty much have to be the 1950s)
Rutgers officially became the State University of New Jersey in 1945. But it had been operated by the state since about 1864. So you'd have to back in time a long ways to get to a point when it was still private.
I thought it would be interesting to learn something about the public university systems in each of our states from people who live there.
I'm thinking of things like...
• How would you rate your state's univ system?
The systems are ok. Not really stellar across the board unless you are looking at the flagships, which are top notch.
• Which university is the flagship...or (in some states) which two have that role?
U Texas and Texas A&M are the flagships. However there is a lot of talk about elevating more schools to flagship status (such as TTech and University of Houston) because, per capita, Texas is blown out of the water by California and Mass. state systems when it comes to funding top tier universities.
• What are the member institutions and which are the real stars of the system? which ones would you consider weak?
The best are obviously UT and ATM. Also UT-Dallas, a small engineering-focused school near Dallas, has admission standards close to UT-Austin. There is a lot of talk about elevating UT-San Antonio and UT-Arlington as far as admissions standards and funding.
• Are all parts of your state served well in placement of universities or are some too removed from school locations?
I am not sure, but as a guess, I think so.
• Are you state's publics attractive to out-of-state students?
Definitely. Even my alma mater - U Houston - is very popular with international students, and you will find loads of out-of-state students there. This is despite the schools commuter-student image.
• Is the system organized as a whole (like Florida or Georgia) or are there a number of different systems (like UC and CSU in California?)
There are multiple systems. UT system, ATM system, Tech system, UH system, and a few more for smaller state schools. It is not like the system in California where UC are all top schools. There are pretty much 2 well funded flagships in 2 large systems (google PUF Texas), and historically the rest of the schools fight for scraps. However that is slowly changing.
I replied in bold above
Last edited by DanielWayne; 06-05-2012 at 08:38 AM..
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