What Does UH Need To Do To Improve Itself? (Austin: 2014, schools)

[stan4]

Originally Posted by Inphosphere

Of course it won't, UH is a public school, Rice is private, so different mentalities will result. UH should be striving to be like UT, or UCLA, and, thus, I just want to know what currently "holds it back."

Interesting question.
What is the difference between UH and UT Dallas (which is 50 places higher in ranking)?

Bc UT Dallas is highly regarded locally and full of a lot of kids who could have gone to really good schools but chose to be local and save $.
They also have some great STEM grad programs.

The answer may lie in what the difference is.

Student population?
Specialty strengths in programs?
UTD isn't a sports powerhouse, but you have Tiger Mom parents who are totally happy to send their kids there for academics.

[kylerobi]

Here are US News' ranking criteria:

Graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent) - To improve this metric, UH needs to limit its part-time student population. Instead, send these students to UH-D, UH Clear Lake, etc.

Undergraduate academic reputation (22.5 percent) - I would expect that UH does well here already, given its level of research, patents, and national academy member faculty.

Faculty resources (20 percent) - Since class size is 40 percent of this measure, UH would have to build more classrooms ($), hire more teachers ($), or admit less students.

Student selectivity (12.5 percent) - UH currently admits 60% of applicants. Again, limiting its part-time student applicants should improve this metric.

Financial resources (10 percent) - Could always use more funding. To be ranked up there with UT/TAMU, state funding needs to match.

Graduation rate performance (7.5 percent) - I expect UH already does well in this metric.

Alumni giving rate (5 percent) - No idea why this is an indicator of the quality of the school, but to increase, UH needs more students living on or near campus to truly build a 'bond' with the school.

--

Ultimately, I think the State of Texas needs to make a choice regarding UH-- Does it want UH to be a highly ranked alternative to UT/TAMU? Or does it want UH to be a place for local students to get a quality education without having to leave home?

If the state wants a 3rd highly ranked public school, which I think it needs, then the state needs to fund UH at a level commensurate with its other flagship schools.

Based on the current funding formula, UH has to increase enrollment numbers to get additional funding, which is counter-productive to improving US News rankings. If the state/UH want to increase UH's profile, that funding formula needs to change.

[Houston parent]

UT Dallas is focused mainly upon STEM degree programs. They don't spend resources of a broad based athletic department. They have the highest average SAT score of any public university in Texas. They are a small school with a relatively narrow focus and do a good job within that arena.


UH is trying to do everything at once while they are located within an easy drive of schools like A&M & UT. UH has no competitive advantage over those schools except that it might be slightly cheaper. Most kids with a choice will not opt for UH, except for students interested in a few key areas like hotel management or possibly architecture. If UH wanted to be perceived like UT Dallas, they would probably need to narrow their focus to those degree programs where they are most competitive.

[Houston parent]

UH isn't without competition for the #3 slot among public universities in Texas, either. In many ways, Texas Tech has a lead on UH. Further, Texas State is making a big push to move into that #3 spot. They may be farther behind in terms of professional graduate schools and research dollars, but they have a great location and are pushing hard to move up the rankings. A visionary leader could probably close the gap on Tech and UH over the next several decades.

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by land161

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

I'll never forget the day I passed by USC on the 110 freeway on my trip last year. It was the day the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of same sex-marriage and got stuck in a traffic jam all the way to DT L.A. about 2PM PDT. I couldn't believe that I was seeing tinges of smog (might have been worse if not for the California emissions system in all CA cars) towards the bottom of the blue sky as I sighted the downtown L.A. skyline. Also noticed that the neighborhood was scarier than the 3rd Ward and the famous globe sculpture & bell tower was not impressive from the freeway. It was hard commuting to UH and wouldn't imagine commuting through unpredictable L.A. traffic to attend USC. (2PM on a Friday, really???)

[The_Man74]

These are some good arguments...

UTD is VERY, VERY much a STEM school... I bet maybe 1/10 or LESS that go there aren't a STEM major... but that's good as STEM will ALWAYS be something that is "needed" in society.

***ONE BIG THING... UTD has a well regarded MBA program, and for it's cost and efficiency(online/executive/weekends)... I think it pushes it ahead in terms of "recognition"***

Tech and State are definitely fighting for that number 3 spot... State OBVIOUSLY has the better location and ARGUABLY the best location of ANY SCHOOL in Texas as UT is a mess with traffic (although Austin is a great city obviously). State will ALWAYS ALWAYS carry that "party school" vibe though because that's just going to stick forever

Tech has a medical and law school
State has a nursing/pt/ot school in Round Rock

Ultimately, I think Tech is still number 3... Also Tech has a solid Engineering program

I think UH could (and WILL) make a push when O&G picks back up. Isn't UH one of the few schools that actually "offers" Petroleum Engineering??? NOT Chemical... BUT SPECIFICALLY "Petroleum". Obviously that is down right now but when the recovery happens I could see that being popular with the Cougars doing well and also due to close proximity to Galveston.

I still think UH has a long way to go for top 3 but it's very doable. The close proximity to TMC leads me to believe it could partner with any of those nursing/medical schools in the area pretty easily as perhaps a "filter" school. Didn't UNT do something similar?

But there's a number of reasons it doesn't get more recognition... again, it's not that UH is a "bad school" b/c it's not, in fact it's a very very solid school but the aforementioned competition and the location(again as I noted in a previous post that some parents won't even let their daughters go to UH b/c it's in such a bad area... i'm not joking!! lol) make it not as recognizable.

[DanielWayne]

Agreed with above ^ UH is far more solid than a lot of people give credit for.

UH explored a medical school partnership with Cornell and Methodist in 2007. That didn't materialize, but UH did partner with Cornell doing research in the medical center:
UH exploring proposal to start medical school - Houston Chronicle

Recently they altered the plan to focus on primary care, and are trying again:
Despite challenges, UH wants to open medical school by 2019 - Houston Chronicle

[Texas Ag 93]

I'm not sure about the need for a Medical School. There are already 3 in the Houston metro area (4 if you include College Station). The argument that we are in a doctor shortage is true in some areas, but not true in many others. There is no shortage of physicians in urban and metro areas. The shortages are in rural and small cities; places where it's hard to recruit because young professionals don't want to live there. That won't necessarily be solved by merely opening more medical schools.

But, if UH wants to establish a Med school, I would hope they can do it as an allopathic school. A DO school would be at a pretty significant disadvantage recruiting students as compared to the other local schools, IMO.

[HTownNearNative]

Originally Posted by The_Man74

I think UH could (and WILL) make a push when O&G picks back up. Isn't UH one of the few schools that actually "offers" Petroleum Engineering??? NOT Chemical... BUT SPECIFICALLY "Petroleum". Obviously that is down right now but when the recovery happens I could see that being popular with the Cougars doing well and also due to close proximity to Galveston.
.

UT Austin offers Petroleum Engineering. http://pge.utexas.edu

[reneecr2002]

Here's a statement released by Dr. Khator:

New Initiatives
For the past year, we’ve been speaking about our goal to establish partnerships that would work toward elevating the quality of life in Third Ward. As a good neighbor and university dedicated to academic excellence, we are developing ways that UH will partner and collaborate in our shared neighborhood to improve educational outcomes, secure jobs, develop and strengthen businesses, and celebrate the arts and history of the area.

Houston faces serious health disparities, and we envision developing a medical school that can help address this need, diversify the physician workforce, and can be delivered in a cost effective way by building upon the existing strengths of our University. The business case to validate this need and for UH to provide a different kind of medical school is still under review.