OT: UConn's academic budget

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Meanwhile, the umess system mess

 

[UConn9604]

Did you read the article?

Not a costs issue.

I disagree - costs play a huge role. The biggest problem is that UConn is a political entity. For instance, Susan Herbst commissioned a study that recommended a reorganization which would save UConn $39-67 million and raise non-tuition revenues by another $30 million.

The only problem? The no-layoffs deal that Gov. Malloy made with state unions killed about 30% of the plan.

http://www.raisinghale.com/2013/08/13/malloys-no-layoff-agreement-savings-uconn/

The process by which we appoint trustees and choose a President is political enough. Legislative or executive nit-picking on operational decisions is usually unhelpful.

 

[upstater]

I disagree - costs play a huge role. The biggest problem is that UConn is a political entity. For instance, Susan Herbst commissioned a study that recommended a reorganization which would save UConn $39-67 million and raise non-tuition revenues by another $30 million.

The only problem? The no-layoffs deal that Gov. Malloy made with state unions killed about 30% of the plan.

http://www.raisinghale.com/2013/08/13/malloys-no-layoff-agreement-savings-uconn/

The process by which we appoint trustees and choose a President is political enough. Legislative or executive nit-picking on operational decisions is usually unhelpful.

Not sure what there is to disagree with. Article is clear that there is a huge budget cut. There is nothing there about expenditures outpacing inflation. Plus the post I responded to was talking about national trends. Nationally the story has been budget and research cuts since 2008.

 

[shizzle787]

I think there is a way (controversial) to stymie the rising student debt problem. Here goes: Israel has a program where every man or woman who graduates high school either has to join the military or do community service (more for girls or those with physical and mental disabilities) for two years. I would advocate the same thing here in the US, but with a catch. The military currently does this, but it is not mandatory. It should be. Here's why: 1) young adults learn discipline, 2) 18 and 19 year old girls aren't getting pregnant because they're in the Coast Guard instead of college (initally) or in slums, 3) wealthy children do not get to have a sense of entitlement because their parents are wealthy, they have to earn it by sacrificing two years of their life for their country. By the way, poor kids are just as spoiled because the government gives them everything (the only kids that don't really have a sense of entitlement are those from middle class families). This system would reward US teens for their service by allowing them to attend the college of their choosing (that they are accepted to) for four years. Would this cost a lot? Sure, but other items in the federal budget (which we haven't had in a while) would be slashed (such as loopholes in taxes or welfare entitlement programs). NOTE: these military appointments would be non-combat: Army reserves, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, National Guard.

 

[intlzncster]

I don't know if this will help you any but here goes. I have degree in Psychology with an emphasis on schizophrenia. My goal through college was to be a Psychologist. One year after I graduated I to

No wonder you're a mod here.

 

[hjoerring]

I would like to add 3 things to this interesting discussion: An explosion in human knowledge took place when the universities went from being ultra elite institutions for the 1% to a significantly higher number. Think of how much more productive we are because of the basic knowledge being poured into our society from knowledge institutions. If you are service person at NcDonald after 4-years of college it is because job creation lags well behind the output of students. This is not an argument against the need for Universities as it is how to create jobs or, the need for a more entreprenural self; 2) Uconn- unlike a number of other flasgship state schools competes and is surrouned (in-state and adjoing areas) by a lot of small private colleges that cipher-off perhaps the top students in most cases; 3) Extending on the latter, it is forever fighting an image problem. I bet there are, still to be found, people in CT who think 'all this sport thing should be stopped and the money saved be used for proper things'. That is, the dream is that of Uconn as a little 'public-private college' taking its place behind Yale and the others.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

I don't know if this will help you any but here goes. I have degree in Psychology with an emphasis on schizophrenia. My goal through college was to be a Psychologist. One year after I graduated I took a job in IT and have been doing that for over 25 years. I don't know how closely you follow posts and responses, but I think the boneyard would agree that I am pretty solid when it comes to technology. My area of expertise is not programming. I mostly do infrastructure, hardware and data center. I do have a team of 10 people under me at this point and I can tell you when it comes to hiring, I don't give a rats ass about certifications or education. People do have to have a degree (not necessarily CS) to work in IT positions in my company, but we are government, so that may not be the case in other organizations.

I guess the point is you have to pass an interview to work for me and I don't care if you know the stuff you will be working on, you need to know how to think, learn and have a serious dedication/love for IT and show that you will work your ass off to figure out how to do your job.

A degree can't hurt (in my case, required) but I only hire people who are obviously interested in technology and I know will work their ass off to be a great technician. You have that and you have a job.

This is exactly how it goes. Even more so, if you ask a few very specific questions about the type of work that you do and the problems you run into and the person CLEARLY knows what they are talking about, that cant be faked, cant be studied for online, either you have the experience and you can do the job or you cant. Thats the beauty of IT. But yea i'll take someone who is enthusiastic, and has the right attitude and willingness to work as a team but doesnt have the skill or experience any day, they can be taught and molded the way that best fits your situation!