Bristol: plans for King College med school moving ahead (Kingsport: credit, loans)

[kamoshika]

In less than a year, a proposed King College medical school has evolved from dream to drawing board.

College President Greg Jordan raised eyebrows last November when he announced the small, private school’s desire to create a program to educate physicians. The plan was accompanied by a sobering $100 million price tag for construction of facilities in Bristol and Kingsport.

Thursday’s $25 million vote of confidence (http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/education/article/proposed_king_school_of_medicine_receives_25_milli on_grant/34938/ - broken link) by the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission breathed life into the project. The money is earmarked for construction of the primary campus on an undetermined Virginia site “in close proximity” to Bristol Regional Medical Center, which is on the Tennessee side of town.
From dream to drawing board for proposed King College medical school | TriCities (http://www2.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/from_dream_to_drawing_board_for_proposed_king_coll ege_medical_school/35073/ - broken link)

[TopshelfTom]

Sounds very cool!

[jchometeam]

This will either work out or bankrupt the school. I personally think it will fall on its face.

[TopshelfTom]

Originally Posted by jchometeam

This will either work out or bankrupt the school. I personally think it will fall on its face.

They can do what my school did.....raise tuition by 50%.....

[jabogitlu]

Successful or not, I wonder about the implications for the Quillen College of Medicine. Already concerns have been raised about the number of available positions for residencies etc. in the area.

[NorthernLights]

When one looks at the classifieds/job postings in the area there seems to be no end of listings for occupational therapists, physical therapists and RNs. But little else. No ads for art historians, environmental scientists, philosophy majors, political scientists...

I can only guess that for the local colleges, [homes for retired high school students], that this is about the only way to grab intelligent high school graduates who's family will pay for, or who can get gov't loans, into a program that will:

A] get them paying customers.
B] produce graduates for the only good paying jobs in the region.

Other than that they are forced to accept 'idiot' children from out of state who were denied entrance to quality schools in their region.

The ultimate truth about colleges is that they are no different from fast food restaurants or Jiffy Lubes.

Colleges are businesses that exist for one reason which is to convince people to pay them for a diploma in...something.

Diploma Farms.

They have used car salesman that work the high school circuits to enlist 18 year olds into their schools promising grand rewards for the chance to attend their institution, indeed those folks are usually paid a commission, just like any salesperson.

Theoretically, this college degree will get them farther up life's ladder to start out at than the average poor sap with a high school diploma who has to win someone's favor or start out down in the mailroom. But you have to ask yourself, the colleges want 15-20,000 dollars a year [or more!] times 4 or 5 years of college. That means I start my life almost 100,000 dollars in debt. And for what? a 35,000 dollar a year job....if I'm lucky enough to that!!!

This may ultimately be one of the biggest scams going

Buying Accreditation, pure and simple. Sadly, it doesn't mean what it used to. College....is a tax on good, decent, family type people.

Look to demograpics. People do not need colleges any more.

Colleges expanded and built dorms in the 70's to accept all the baby boomers that were 18 years old.

Those same Baby Boomers will need some place to go to die.

College campuses are perfectly set up to be the nursing homes for the baby boomers. Put them back in the dorms they lived in back in the 70's

Smart REITs will look for beautiful college campuses that have gone bankrupt to be the nursing homes of the future. I'll bet you 100 bucks on this!!! Invest in them. Think about it, beautiful college campuses without kids to go to them. Sitting empty, what better facilities to put all the baby boomers???

[rccrain]

College is the new high school. You need that degree to get a decent job, if not, your working at wally world. To get a good job you NEED a graduate degree to distinguish yourself.

With out my college degree, I know I wouldn't be sitting where I am right now.

[jchometeam]

The fact that college is the new high school (which is true) is because we have made it too easy to get a college degree.

Now King is wanting to start a medical school with those students who couldnt get into Quillen. This is a continuation of that trend and will hurt Quillen in the process.

[DiderotsGhost]

Originally Posted by rccrain

College is the new high school. You need that degree to get a decent job, if not, your working at wally world. To get a good job you NEED a graduate degree to distinguish yourself.

Not completely true. This is the myth that has been fed to people for years, but in reality, there are tons of blue-collar jobs that don't require a college degree and lots of them pay more than service jobs that people get with college degrees. Often you'll find some rednecks working in construction or a certain trade making more than people with college degrees. Moreover, you can make a fairly comfortable salary in restaurant management and that doesn't require a degree.

What is more accurate to say is that if you want a job that does not involve manual labor and is not low-level, you need a college degree. If you want one of those jobs that is really good, you probably need a graduate degree. And if you want one of those really good jobs, you probably need to move somewhere other than the Tri-Cities (unless you are in the medical field).

But honestly ... the fact that no one is willing to work the 'get your hands dirty' type of jobs are one of the reasons why skilled people in those areas make so much money. You can make a pretty good living for yourself as a plumber, technician, or something of that variety.

[gsp4ever]

Originally Posted by jchometeam

Now King is wanting to start a medical school with those students who couldnt get into Quillen. This is a continuation of that trend and will hurt Quillen in the process.

King College is all about money. The administration is gimmicky too. They want more students (which equals more revenue) so they've added a lot of questionable programs to try to meet these goals. (athletics teams like bowling, private school k-12 or whatever, adult ed. programs and now the medical school) They've been this way for about ten years now and it has really begun to show on the academic side.