What Does UH Need To Do To Improve Itself? (Houston: 2013, apartments)

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Originally Posted by Inphosphere

The latest college rankings place UH as #194 in national universities. This school continues to improve, and this score should be much better:
University of Houston | University of Houston - Profile, Rankings and Data | University of Houston | US News Best Colleges

Thus, what does UH need to improve this score, and become a more esteemed university? Should it add the college essay? More on campus-housing? Clean up 3rd Ward? Kick out NT students?

I majored in creative writing at UH and minored in the philosophy of science. English is the school's focus. They were paying their English professors a million dollars (they marketed that fact on area billboards). Their English department is supposed to be number two in the nation behind Princeton. They don't actually have a major in the philosophy of science, but focused a class on it every semester. My advice is to take nothing but the philosophy of science classes.

Graduating High School students aren't being prepared for college nowadays. Students in my classes seemed happy reaching the word count when writing essays unaware of the importance of rewriting and revision.

[TXbywayof]

I learned that UH is the priciest public school in TX. Does anyone have any insight as to why this is?

[jerbear30]

The English department at UH is nowhere near #2. At one time, they had a very highly ranked creative writing program--it's still pretty good but I'm not sure when/if it was actually #2. But again, that's the creative writing program--only one branch of the English department as a whole. And I can't think of a university anywhere that pays an English faculty member (no matter how prominent) a million dollars a year. Maybe they meant that the whole faculty budget for English was over a million?

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by mcfroggin

Definitely more on campus housing. Sports facilities are dated. Many of the buildings are also dated.

The biggest hurdle will be dropping the perception that UH is a commuter school. This designation will continue to consider it as a lower tier school.

I think this is a huge part of it. Honestly for every university in Houston - UH, Rice, HBU, St Thomas.

Commuter University = Houston.

Rice is prestigious but I feel like it's low on the prestigious totem pole. Rice gets you prestige in Texas but not so much outside. But that's really all Texas schools outisde of A&M and UT. Go coast to coast and wave the Aggie ring or Hook Em sign and the red carpet is rolled out. Mention Rice and it's oh wow...Rice.


In Housto we drive everywhere so staying on campus seems moot. People live in the Woodlands and drive to the Galleria for work so why stay on campus if you live in The Woodlands? And so on and so forth?

I think the commuter mentality really is what brings it down sadly. All of them really. Then UH has so many offshoots that just boost more of the commuter mentality - UHCL, UHV, UHD.


If flagship school was stronger then the offshoots would be too. A&M is strong so it's offshoots Corpus, Commerce, etc aren't so looked down on. The same with UT and UTSA, UTPA, etc.

[Yellow pool of piddle]

Originally Posted by jerbear30

The English department at UH is nowhere near #2. At one time, they had a very highly ranked creative writing program--it's still pretty good but I'm not sure when/if it was actually #2. But again, that's the creative writing program--only one branch of the English department as a whole. And I can't think of a university anywhere that pays an English faculty member (no matter how prominent) a million dollars a year. Maybe they meant that the whole faculty budget for English was over a million?

That million dollars was paid out over a number of years. U of H also had a physics professor win a Nobel in cold fusion. I had one if his assistants as a teacher in a physics class.
Great undergraduate school of philosophy.

[Texascrude]

I've heard the problem from several of you. Great philosophy program. Great creative writing program. Great English program.

I suppose it's better to be great at something than nothing, but great schools are known for their engineering programs, their medical schools, their business schools, and their science programs.

[Inphosphere]

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

I think this is a huge part of it. Honestly for every university in Houston - UH, Rice, HBU, St Thomas.

Commuter University = Houston.

Rice is prestigious but I feel like it's low on the prestigious totem pole. Rice gets you prestige in Texas but not so much outside. But that's really all Texas schools outisde of A&M and UT. Go coast to coast and wave the Aggie ring or Hook Em sign and the red carpet is rolled out. Mention Rice and it's oh wow...Rice.

Nope, wrong, Rice is the highest ranked school in Texas, as per National College Rankings (from the site I provided). A&M and UT just happen to be larger public schools, with more famous sports programs.

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

In Housto we drive everywhere so staying on campus seems moot. People live in the Woodlands and drive to the Galleria for work so why stay on campus if you live in The Woodlands? And so on and so forth?

I think the commuter mentality really is what brings it down sadly. All of them really. Then UH has so many offshoots that just boost more of the commuter mentality - UHCL, UHV, UHD.

If flagship school was stronger then the offshoots would be too. A&M is strong so it's offshoots Corpus, Commerce, etc aren't so looked down on. The same with UT and UTSA, UTPA, etc.

Apples and oranges.

[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.
  
• If you believe the US News rankings then:
  
• UH engineering is ranked #73 overall. Oklahoma is #98, for comparison.
• UH chemical engineering is #33. A&M chemical engineering is #26 for comparison..
  
• UH Law school is #50 which ties with Tulane and surpasses Baylor and Case Western Law.
• UH computer science is in the top 50 in the nation. It is 3rd in Texas.
  
• UH is pushing for it's own medical school.
  
• There is a lot more, but this post is already getting large. Basically UH is already academically on par with a lot of middle tier Big 12 or SEC schools.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't reiterate again, how inaccurate the US News Rankings are despite their immense popularity. If you don't believe me, then just do a google search for "us news rankings flawed." Then you will likely come back saying Daniel was right!

Here is one short example for the impatient:
4 reasons to ignore U.S. News' college rankings - CBS News

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

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

I see this in terms of campus culture, but it shouldn't matter for academics. On-campus housing has definitely improved over the years, but activities haven't been keeping up with this rate.

It shouldn't matter for academics, but it does. Look at the top 50 schools in almost any ranking system. Almost none are commuter schools. It's probably more a function of money than anything else. People like to think of education as a system for social mobility, and it is for some students. When studies look at the system as a whole, it reinforces divisions. Wealthy students have higher grades and test scores, and are more likely to go away to prestigious schools. They went to good high schools and have the background to succeed. That's not to say there aren't a lot of stupid or lazy rich kids that squander their opportunities, we all know some, but the odds are they have a better college prep and will go to a better school than a poor kid. A commuter school tends to be less attractive as many kids want that going away to college and living in a campus environment feel. If you look at UH, it's only a little smaller than UT, but really only draws from the Houston Metro compared to UT which draws from not only all over the state but also nationally. Those students that go there, while good, are a mix of students who don't have the money to go away to school and those that have the money but didn't have the grades to get into a more selective school.

Having previously lived in Minneapolis, The University of Minnesota had similar issues. It used to be 70% commuters, and 30% living on campus or in nearby neighborhoods. Over a 20 year time frame, that flipped and went to 30% commuters, and 70% living on campus or in adjacent neighborhoods. It was a a specific focus of the administration because at the time many of the best students in the state were electing to go to the University of Wisconsin instead of Minnesota (Many of the States in the Upper Midwest had reciprocal in-state tuition agreements). One of the main reasons students cited was they didn't want to go to a commuter school so they went to Wisconsin. The University built more facilities, worked at improving nearby neighborhoods, and built a new on campus football stadium and moved the team from the off campus Metrodome. As it became more of a Residential campus, they got more highly qualified applicants and became more selective. Their 6 year graduation rate doubled, their academic rankings climbed, and while not a top 25 school they are much improved and compete more closely with UW-Madison for top students.

Originally Posted by DejaBlue

I think this is a huge part of it. Honestly for every university in Houston - UH, Rice, HBU, St Thomas.

Commuter University = Houston.

Rice is prestigious but I feel like it's low on the prestigious totem pole. Rice gets you prestige in Texas but not so much outside. But that's really all Texas schools outisde of A&M and UT. Go coast to coast and wave the Aggie ring or Hook Em sign and the red carpet is rolled out. Mention Rice and it's oh wow...Rice.

Actually, 75% of Rice Undergrads live in campus housing, and probably the majority of the remaining student rent in a neighborhood immediately adjacent to rice. Probably 5-10% commute from further away.