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Post by DOOMS on Mar 13, 2007 13:03:30 GMT -5
Push the panic button too soon he says!!! Hilarious.
I was telling y'all about this three years ago and now that we're next to last (repeated for emphasis) NEXT TO LAST in the state in graduation percentage it's not quite time to push the panic button.
If I'm sending a kid of mine to college and I see that stat, he ain't going to an hbcu in NC. Period. These are the kind of stats that lead to schools being consolidated and/or closed.
Gee, UNC P and FSU ain't but one county apart. Let's kill one off. Gee, UNC A, Western and App are close by, let's make them all App. Heeeeey, A&T and UNC G are on the same street. It's time G had an engineering program.
Panicking yet?
I would be because the solutions I just presented are very credible. If most of your state schools are struggling in a cash-strapped state, you have to change your spending habits. It'll be easy since many people don't think it's panic time yet. Hell, if only 50 people bothered to show up for the presentation how many will really rally to keep a school that can't even do the basic thing it was opened to do?
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:05:43 GMT -5
I don't follow this statement, please expand. 12 months (one academic year) is awfully optimistic when you have 2500 students currently on academic probation or suspension and no internal resources to accommodate this need. [/quote] If quality of education becomes a priority, changes can be made quickly. You can: 1. Temporarily cap enrollment while doing an analysis of what the ideal size of A&T should be. 2. Make changes in the admissions/recruitment policies/staff 3. Redirect some of the capital funding that is not part of the bond to academic counseloring resources 4. Re-evaluate the goals of each academic department. Determine which ones at the most value to the university, which ones need more resources, which ones need less. 5. Evaluate all senior staff and make changes immediately in order to align with new goals and priorities
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Post by DOOMS on Mar 13, 2007 13:16:55 GMT -5
Maxell, we've done the exact opposite of everything you just listed for the past nine years. And that my friends is how we got into this mess and that is how we will get out of it.
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Gator
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Post by Gator on Mar 13, 2007 13:18:06 GMT -5
Raising academic standards, I don't feel, will do the trick. There are a lot of good students that are told no because they didn't do well on a standardized test. Until we level the playing field in public education, we won't resolve anything.
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Post by DOOMS on Mar 13, 2007 13:19:20 GMT -5
Academic standards aren't simply an SAT score Gator.
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Gator
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Post by Gator on Mar 13, 2007 13:21:28 GMT -5
Credible! In your dreams.
What world do you live dude?
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Gator
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Post by Gator on Mar 13, 2007 13:22:41 GMT -5
I do believe I responded to what was previously posted.
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:25:17 GMT -5
Push the panic button too soon he says!!! Hilarious. I was telling y'all about this three years ago and now that we're next to last (repeated for emphasis) NEXT TO LAST in the state in graduation percentage it's not quite time to push the panic button. If I'm sending a kid of mine to college and I see that stat, he ain't going to an hbcu in NC. Period. These are the kind of stats that lead to schools being consolidated and/or closed. Gee, UNC P and FSU ain't but one county apart. Let's kill one off. Gee, UNC A, Western and App are close by, let's make them all App. Heeeeey, A&T and UNC G are on the same street. It's time G had an engineering program. Panicking yet? I would be because the solutions I just presented are very credible. If most of your state schools are struggling in a cash-strapped state, you have to change your spending habits. It'll be easy since many people don't think it's panic time yet. Hell, if only 50 people bothered to show up for the presentation how many will really rally to keep a school that can't even do the basic thing it was opened to do? I think the stats only tell half the story. If Bowles said to NCCU and A&T "increase enrollment" now, then Renick and Ammons did it. If then Bowles said you aren't graduating folks. Graduation rate is a percentage. Duh! All this with no additional resources. Battle needs to say to Bowles I am not going to increase enrollment if I sacrifice graduation rates. The reality is we're graduating higher numbers of students. But we're admitting more than that. Based on all of the factors that influence graduation for poor families, our graduation rate should be around 50% if we're doing a good job. 25% don't graduate because of finances, 25% because of academics. A lower graduation rate means you gave more folks a shot at a college education. Some deserved it, some didn't. Some made it some didn't. We have to decide what our mission is. To give chances, to be selective or both.
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Gator
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Post by Gator on Mar 13, 2007 13:25:32 GMT -5
Surely the situation calls for a more extensive study on determning what factors are contributing to this. I don't think the current administration has a clue. All of this speculation is making me tired.
Remember folks, we've been here before... All of this is nothing new!
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:32:24 GMT -5
Raising academic standards, I don't feel, will do the trick. There are a lot of good students that are told no because they didn't do well on a standardized test. Until we level the playing field in public education, we won't resolve anything. Like Dooms said, it's not about test scores, It's about the student. That's why we have to improve the admissions office and give them the resources to better evaluate each student. Add an essay to the application on 'why you want to attend A&T and why should we let you in'. That alone would improve the quality of the admission process. Our application is not rigorous enough. It would give you insight into the student underneath the test scores. But you need to have staff to read it.
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Aggie77
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Post by Aggie77 on Mar 13, 2007 13:34:44 GMT -5
#3 is the most important solution. If we enroll students that are unable to produce college level work then we owe them not only counseling, but the necessary resources for remedial assistance. We still have 2500 students still not progressing towards a degree.
I don’t remember the solutions, all were credible and doable. But it’s going to take leadership, financial assistance, alumni and community support. Battle can only direct and lead the corrective action, he can’t fix the problems.
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:34:53 GMT -5
All of this speculation is making me tired. ..we've been her before. That's the problem, all of us don't have the fortitude to want to get underneath the issue and discuss it. We'd rather be "tired". We haven't been here before. Not 39% graduation rate, never.
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:38:10 GMT -5
He can’t fix the problems. Yes, he can. He just can't do it alone. But HE has to be the one to FIX it. He has to surround himself with the right people first. He won't get it done with the same ole crew. Trust me.
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Mar 13, 2007 13:58:26 GMT -5
We still have 2500 students still not progressing towards a degree. That number can be misleading. That's the number of students that are not on track to graduate in four years. I didn't graduate in four years, many of us don't. Stuff happens. We drop classes, take a semester off, run out of money, etc. Even the graduation rate is calculated based on a six-year period. Many of these students are progressing, but they need a wake up call or a swift kick in the butt to get them to the finish line. And getting that letter usually does it. That's a proactive list not a reactive one which is a good thing. I would have been on that list at least 3 semesters. ;D
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Post by Bornthrilla on Mar 13, 2007 13:59:28 GMT -5
I never understood why people hated him so much.
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