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The State universities, Central, Easter, Western, Southern, are different and have different missions from UConn. They are more teaching focused and less dedicated to research which is really UConn’s bread and butter. The regional schools are comparable to places like the traditional MAC schools, the MASCAC schools in Massachusetts. They have a different role than UConn.I agree that it would be a mistake to take away legitimate four year college options within reasonable driving distances from Connecticut kids. But I would call them all University of Connecticut and make them all pseudo-branches. I think it would raise the profile of the "directional schools" and bring more pride to the UConn name in the state. You may even get kids from out of state to go and pay non-subsidized tuition.
Look at the North Carolina system. We have kids from NJ going to UNC Charlotte and UNC Wilmington. I don't know a lot about the Connecticut state schools, but I'd think they are of similar quality to some of the UNC schools.
Or probably more appropriate since the UNC schools have pretty big enrollments, look at Penn State. Every kid in NJ that applies to Penn State gets accepted in some capacity. Often it's branches, but those branches are actual four year schools with dorms and other students that plan on being their for four years. Seems to give a better option than UConn Hartford.
What I’d like to see is some of the UConn regional campuses, notably Stamford and Hartford, become universities in their own rights more like NC Charlotte, or UMass Lowell. A component of the UConn system but separate entities that offer more than a place to put kids who can’t fit into dorms in Storrs and MBAs taught by pseudo-faculty moonlighting from Aetna and M&T Bank. Make them real universities with real programs and real faculty.