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UH-D Proposes Name Change


JLWM8609

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Well lets see, they NEED to change the name because it is confused with the University of Houston, they are trying to elevate themselves to Tier 1 (and i really hope they do!!) a good name would be Houston University Downtown. (HUD) (Not to be confused with the Rural Housing Program lol) or even Southeastern Texas University (STU).

Quite frankly, if you are confused with the names... then you should keep on driving north on 45 until you either get to dallas or run out of gas...

I think all this hyped-up confusion has been artificially engineered or the like.

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i gradumagated from UHD in 2001 and i'd hate to seem them change the name. if you're looking into going to college or are a student, you should have no problem figuring out that UH and UHD are two separate entities. starting with the two very distinct logo's for each school, separate application process not too mention the lack of shasta or anything else referring to UH.

if they do change it, i'd rather have it have somewhat of a collegiate sounding name rather some PC contrived crap like "university of hopes and dreams"

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Same here. My BS is from UHD while my BBA and MBA are not. This does not detract from the fact that anyone who knows anything should be able to tell them apart.

I smell ulterior motives.

you forget that a LARGE number of first time college students especially at a school like UHD DO NOT have any idea about colleges or universities and neither do their parents because many of them probably never went to college

High School counselors are for the most part worthless and in a district like HISD with huge high schools there is no way they will take the time to truly advice every student especially those that look marginal to get into most schools

how anyone but the most paranoid could smell ulterior motives is beyond me......UH is as diverse as any school in the USA and has a minority for a president and chancellor and UHD has a minority of a different ethnic background as a long term president and he is the one that first put forth the suggestion for the name change and to date he has been the longest term and strongest president UHD has had so I hardly see any reason to question the motivation or see anything sneaky based on the administration of The UH System or UH or UHD.....but paranoia has a way of looking past reality

we have seen several members of this forum alone tell their stories of confusion about what campus to be at and or the relationship between UH and UHD so I think it should be clear that people who are first time college students and especially those from a family with no college history could have a great deal of confusion as well as corporations and HR employees of large companies being confused about the relationship between UH and UHD

they are two separate schools in the same system with ever diverging goals for what they want to be...time to clear up ANY confusion as the administration, I, and many others feel

Edited by TexasVines
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you forget that a LARGE number of first time college students especially at a school like UHD DO NOT have any idea about colleges or universities and neither do their parents because many of them probably never went to college

High School counselors are for the most part worthless and in a district like HISD with huge high schools there is no way they will take the time to truly advice every student especially those that look marginal to get into most schools

how anyone but the most paranoid could smell ulterior motives is beyond me......UH is as diverse as any school in the USA and has a minority for a president and chancellor and UHD has a minority of a different ethnic background as a long term president and he is the one that first put forth the suggestion for the name change and to date he has been the longest term and strongest president UHD has had so I hardly see any reason to question the motivation or see anything sneaky based on the administration of The UH System or UH or UHD.....but paranoia has a way of looking past reality

we have seen several members of this forum alone tell their stories of confusion about what campus to be at and or the relationship between UH and UHD so I think it should be clear that people who are first time college students and especially those from a family with no college history could have a great deal of confusion as well as corporations and HR employees of large companies being confused about the relationship between UH and UHD

they are two separate schools in the same system with ever diverging goals for what they want to be...time to clear up ANY confusion as the administration, I, and many others feel

Why do you care? Doesn't your random piece of paper say Sam Houston State or such? Like I said, if you're confused... that tells me you didn't do your homework.

Perhaps UH Central should change their name to...

Party Central University of South East Houston State.

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Why do you care? Doesn't your random piece of paper say Sam Houston State or such? Like I said, if you're confused... that tells me you didn't do your homework.

Perhaps UH Central should change their name to...

Party Central University of South East Houston State.

sensing a little anger here....... Face it the UHD kids are mad that they are changing the name because somehow they think that since it has the "University of Houston" part in it, they somehow belong to UH, their degree is worth a little bit more. Sorry to tell you but you are NOT UH. UH will elevate to Tier 1 while you will always be "that" univeristy, they should change the name IMMEDIATLY! Lets stop being nice and say, "No UHD is not changing their name to disaccoiate themselves from UH because we give UH a bad connotation, we are doing it to stop the confusion", no your not, I am sure the powers to be at UH are applying A LOT of pressure for UHD to change thier name! :o

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sensing a little anger here....... Face it the UHD kids are mad that they are changing the name because somehow they think that since it has the "University of Houston" part in it, they somehow belong to UH, their degree is worth a little bit more. Sorry to tell you but you are NOT UH. UH will elevate to Tier 1 while you will always be "that" univeristy, they should change the name IMMEDIATLY! Lets stop being nice and say, "No UHD is not changing their name to disaccoiate themselves from UH because we give UH a bad connotation, we are doing it to stop the confusion", no your not, I am sure the powers to be at UH are applying A LOT of pressure for UHD to change thier name! :o

I'm not angry. I'm in shock as to how someone can confuse the two. UHD IS part of the UH system... And yes UHD is not UH. We all know that. And at the rate good professors/researchers are leaving UH Central I think it's going to take a lot longer than most realize for Central to get Tier 1 status. Probably longer than that new lady is going to keep her job.

As for the rest of your post... well let's just say you probably skipped a lot of classes...

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Why do you care? Doesn't your random piece of paper say Sam Houston State or such? Like I said, if you're confused... that tells me you didn't do your homework.

Perhaps UH Central should change their name to...

Party Central University of South East Houston State.

I care because I consider higher education important for the future of Texas and Houston and I was born in Houston and raised there so I will always be concerned and have an opinion on anything that goes on in Houston that I feel is important to the future of Houston

and I keep up with Higher Ed a great deal after having been a student at 4 state universities in Texas and 3 community colleges and working for yet another state university and seeing the difference that comes from various schools depending on community and alumni involvement and having interacted (briefly) with the idiot royce west and THECB

I feel it is important for UH to become a top world university and having UH confused by even a few people with an open enrollment school will not aid that

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I like Cullen State University because it honors the Cullen family. They were instrumental in helping the original UH grow. It now seems that UH-D will take over the main role of the old UH; namely to be the place for first generations to earn a degree. It's not a bad thing that the original UH is transforming into something different these days and it's not a bad thing to realize that UH-D has become the new "working man's U."

However, if Cullen State isn't chosen, how about The University of Downtown Houston? Or maybe Central Houston Univeristy? Let's go Chu!

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I like Cullen State University much better than Houston Metropolitan University now that I think about it. Sounds much more "university-like".

Edit: I must say though, having "University of Southeast Texas" would make it seem more regional. I would like either Cullen State University of University of Southeast Texas. Both are good.

Edited by Trae
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you forget that a LARGE number of first time college students especially at a school like UHD DO NOT have any idea about colleges or universities and neither do their parents because many of them probably never went to college

having attended UH, UHD, and UHCL (got degrees from latter two) any confusion as to the ambiguity of these colleges is quickly dispelled during the application process.

I feel it is important for UH to become a top world university and having UH confused by even a few people with an open enrollment school will not aid that

if UH is has obstacles in becoming a top university, it will be because of it's own merits, not because of some open enrollment school with a similar name.

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having attended UH, UHD, and UHCL (got degrees from latter two) any confusion as to the ambiguity of these colleges is quickly dispelled during the application process.

one would think. i work with someone that has 2 masters from UHCL and calls the main campus the downtown campus.

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If these universities are SO independent then why is it that I owed "UHD" $50 from a previous semester, they put a hold on my UH-Central registration? <_<

Well since you owed money you probably had a "Hold" on your account. Its like saying, I went to UT and transferred to A&M but forgot to pay a certain fee while at UT, when you apply to A&M and you send in all your official transcripts and all that 'Hold" is going to remain on your Official transcripts regardless of where you go, thus appearing when you registered at UH-Main. :P

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Liberal arts don't count.

I guess we can argue this later, but I worked just as hard for my Liberal Arts education as you did for whatever the f*ck you have. I have taught at UHD, and San Jacinto College, and maintain a private voice studio. I work at UofH main. I have sang professionally in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Little Rock, New Orleans, and Kansas City metropolitan areas, and have even sang as a cantor for Ely Cathedral in England. Wish I could say there's more, but hey I'm only 26. Not bad for a degree that "doesn't count". Talk about your own education, but don't make generalities about someone else.

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I guess we can argue this later, but I worked just as hard for my Liberal Arts education as you did for whatever the f*ck you have. I have taught at UHD, and San Jacinto College, and maintain a private voice studio. I work at UofH main. I have sang professionally in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Little Rock, New Orleans, and Kansas City metropolitan areas, and have even sang as a cantor for Ely Cathedral in England. Wish I could say there's more, but hey I'm only 26. Not bad for a degree that "doesn't count". Talk about your own education, but don't make generalities about someone else.

Curious. Clam down.

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Please don't get me started right now... I've had a few drinks. :)

Either way... I'm not sure about Cullen U... interesting though...

you probably need a few more.

But Liberal Arts counts just as much as anything else. It ain't my fault if there are lots of lib. arts grads that are slackers... I'm not one of them. And no one complains about the validity of my degree when I'm spending my money, and I wasn't complaining when I walked off stage last night with an extra $750 in my pocket. Not bad for 45 mins worth of work.

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I like Cullen State University because it honors the Cullen family. They were instrumental in helping the original UH grow. It now seems that UH-D will take over the main role of the old UH; namely to be the place for first generations to earn a degree. It's not a bad thing that the original UH is transforming into something different these days and it's not a bad thing to realize that UH-D has become the new "working man's U."

However, if Cullen State isn't chosen, how about The University of Downtown Houston? Or maybe Central Houston Univeristy? Let's go Chu!

Just want to reiterate this beautiful post.

This is quite a bit like the role of Houston itself. I just don't want people to get in a rush to revamp Houston, UH-like, into a 'mature' city a la the classic major cities of the country. Because when our city becomes as frozen for the working man as the East and West Coast costlies are, then the fluidity is just gone for good.

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and I keep up with Higher Ed a great deal after having been a student at 4 state universities in Texas and 3 community colleges

That says plenty. I'll be sure to keep this in mind if I ever make my way back to this thread.

I feel it is important for UH to become a top world university and having UH confused by even a few people with an open enrollment school will not aid that

Good luck. For that UH will first need to move out of Darfur- no one in their right mind makes UH their first choice. No one. And I know PLENTY of students from all social circles and echelons [from the classical singers, to engineers. From the architects to law school grads (I think you might have seen his statue around the Law Center ;) ). The sorrorities, frats, etc.] UH is the safety school when even Sam Houston rejects you, and you forget that Texas State has a kick ass river and it's close enough to Austin, San Antonio, and Georgetown.

Bauer School of Business, Hilton School of Hotel Management, and the UH Law Center stand by themselves in spite of the rest of UH, not because of it. Lets just be honest and make that distinction.

As far as UHD staying as UH-something, or declaring independence via a name: They stand to benefit more than UH ever will, especially once they do away with open admission. Just wait and see.

And lets be honest about this as well: The only names that really matter are the Ivy's. If all you have is a BS/BA, zero to nil experience, and you're applying somewhere outside the state of where you got your diploma UT will be the same as UH. And this holds true even at the graduate level: UTLaw/UHLaw vs. a Georgetown, Cornell, Columbia, etc.? Good luck. At least STCL has the best trial advocacy program in the nation.

And to anyone that's salivating at the opportunity to tear my post appart: go for it. There are obviously quite a few M.Ed. grads and USN&WR insiders in this thread that know the exact national and international ranking of every school in Texas, so I really don't stand a chance.

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I guess we can argue this later, but I worked just as hard for my Liberal Arts education as you did for whatever the f*ck you have. I have taught at UHD, and San Jacinto College, and maintain a private voice studio. I work at UofH main. I have sang professionally in the Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Little Rock, New Orleans, and Kansas City metropolitan areas, and have even sang as a cantor for Ely Cathedral in England. Wish I could say there's more, but hey I'm only 26. Not bad for a degree that "doesn't count". Talk about your own education, but don't make generalities about someone else.

Just curious - why is 'Arts' prefixed with 'Liberal'? Is it liberal as in Conservatives' poison or what? I think courses like music, dance, and painting should be plain 'Arts'; philosophy & co may be labelled liberal.

Back to topic. Houston City University still sounds good to me, or City University of Houston.

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you probably need a few more.

But Liberal Arts counts just as much as anything else. It ain't my fault if there are lots of lib. arts grads that are slackers... I'm not one of them. And no one complains about the validity of my degree when I'm spending my money, and I wasn't complaining when I walked off stage last night with an extra $750 in my pocket. Not bad for 45 mins worth of work.

After reading thisI probably do... I do tend to disagree with you on your main points however. We shall leave that for another thread.

BOT, I am uneasy about this whole mess... Cullen sounds good... I *guess*... I wonder what/when/how UHD will change their strategy about open enrollment...

And just FYI, just because it's open enrollment doesn't mean you cannot get kicked out... some girl in a math class I took (Ring Algebras) was kicked out for cheating on a test... test 1 for that matter... ugh.

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So.....No word on the streets as to what the Downtown college name is, yet?

As a side note...While we are talking about Liberal Arts vs Other degrees...I find it interesting what an architect has to know to graduate, he has to have an understanding of Fine Arts (Liberal Arts), as well as the Engineering/ Technological side of things.

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So.....No word on the streets as to what the Downtown college name is, yet?

As a side note...While we are talking about Liberal Arts vs Other degrees...I find it interesting what an architect has to know to graduate, he has to have an understanding of Fine Arts (Liberal Arts), as well as the Engineering/ Technological side of things.

There are lots of things that are wrong with the educational system (just ask anyone that just lost a job in the manufacturing sector), but Liberal Arts education is essential for society as a whole, just like engineering and business degrees are essential. Your average artist may make much less money than a businessman or engineer, but what they do causes people to think differently about their daily lives, and expand their understanding. I'm proud of my education in the liberal arts, and the life that I am making for myself.

The topic at hand... I hope they go with Houston City University.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Gulf Coast State University

South Texas State University

South Texas University

Southeast Texas State University

University of South Texas

University of Southeast Texas

Seguin State University

Southeastern Texas University

Texas Gulf Coast State University

Texas Southeast University

every one of those names is just stupid....I never met anyone in my life or living in Houston that ever considered Houston to be south Texas......most in San Antonio think it is only on the cusp of South Texas and that is only because it is to the direct north of what IS south Texas.....most people I ever met considered Houston to be Houston, but if they gave it a directional location it was more EAST than anything though Houston is not really in what people consider east Texas as well especially those behind the pine curtain IN east Texas

Seguin State.....what total idiot came up with that especially since there is a TOWN CALLED SEGUIN that is nowhere near Houston and Seguin has a university in it.....talk about STUPID....and it has been studied time and again that bidirectional named schools are less respected which makes a number of those other names worthless.....then you add in the CLEAR confusion with South Texas College of law and again MANY of those names are stupid and if I was STCL I would be considering cranking up some of those lawyers to prevent the false association and I hope they do...which leaves the Gulf Coast choices and the inclusion of State in them makes them wordy and stupid as well

Houston Metro was the best too bad some ignorant fool with a complete lack of understanding of the total LACK of "gravitas" that UHD holds stood in the way of that

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(2) Those who opposed the name change opposed it because they value the confusion with UH;

The survey that came to that particular conclusion was flawed. The person who owns the company that did the survey actually has some ties to UH, and of course would bring those findings in favor of those who want the name change, namely Max Castillo and the UH Board of Regents. There are a minority of students that value the confusion with UH, bunch of posers, they need to be dunked into Buffalo Bayou. I can tell you as a UHD student that I oppose the name change, NOT because I value any perceived confusion with UH, I make it a point to tell people that I go to the University of Houston-Downtown when asked where I attend school. I oppose the name change because it's a long standing, established name. Employers and grad schools know what the University of Houston-Downtown is, having been around for 35 years. If it truly were a confusion issue, wouldn't the logical thing be to also change the names of UH-Clear Lake, and UH-Victoria? You may say they're too far away to warrant confusion, but they still have "UH" in their names, which is the main point being pushed by those in favor of the name change.

I don't like the crop of new names at all, "Texas Southeast University" could cause confusion with TSU (which the UH system probably wouldn't like). South Texas just sounds like a regression, as UHD was called South Texas College prior to 1974. Might as well sell the name to the highest bidder, and welcome folks to "Centerpoint Energy University." :rolleyes:

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If it truly were a confusion issue, wouldn't the logical thing be to also change the names of UH-Clear Lake, and UH-Victoria? You may say they're too far away to warrant confusion, but they still have "UH" in their names, which is the main point being pushed by those in favor of the name change.

I'm still confused. I guess because I don't understand how they're not a branch of UH-Main Campus, yet they're still associated??? How does that work?

Are UH-Downtown, UH-Clearlake etc fundamentally the same in that they're not a branch but still associated, or are they in two different states(situations)?

UHD is a separate university with its own budget, admission requirements, degree programs and tuition-and-fee structure

I mean, if the above is true, why is the UH-Main Campus having to approve anything? If they're so separate and distinctive, why is she included in the process at all?

Maybe this is the answer to my question?...

Why do people get UH and UHD confused?

The geographic modifier of “Downtown” doesn’t register with people when they read or hear it. People understand UT-Dallas or UT-Austin because Dallas and Austin are separate locations. UH and UHD are inside of Loop 610, and are both considered “downtown” by many. Most institutions that use a hyphenated extension to designate location do so to indicate “branch locations and branch campuses.”

I totally understand that if you enrolled with the Main campus, you won't be having any classes downtown, and vice versa.

Edited by lockmat
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They go on and on about confusion with UH is real and the name must change, then they turn around and come up with this list as a solution? Really ? Their school is 2 miles or less from a UST, and TSU, and a South Texas College of Law and this is the best they could come up with ???

Guess they aren't creative enough to stick to their guns on not naming it "directional" U.

Allen College of Houston.

Allen St. University.

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I'm still confused. I guess because I don't understand how they're not a branch of UH-Main Campus, yet they're still associated??? How does that work?

Are UH-Downtown, UH-Clearlake etc fundamentally the same in that they're not a branch but still associated, or are they in two different states(situations)?

I mean, if the above is true, why is the UH-Main Campus having to approve anything? If they're so separate and distinctive, why is she included in the process at all?

Maybe this is the answer to my question?...

I totally understand that if you enrolled with the Main campus, you won't be having any classes downtown, and vice versa.

Anyone who doesn't understand the one is in downtown and the other is not should be deported. For chrissakes it's painfully obvious... Can we say the Astrodome is also in downtown? What about the med center? Is that downtown also? How about the galleria? Or the woodlands? Come on... give me a break.

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I'm still confused. I guess because I don't understand how they're not a branch of UH-Main Campus, yet they're still associated??? How does that work?

Are UH-Downtown, UH-Clearlake etc fundamentally the same in that they're not a branch but still associated, or are they in two different states(situations)?

I mean, if the above is true, why is the UH-Main Campus having to approve anything? If they're so separate and distinctive, why is she included in the process at all?

Maybe this is the answer to my question?...

I totally understand that if you enrolled with the Main campus, you won't be having any classes downtown, and vice versa.

UHCL, UHD, and UHV are freestanding universities within the UH system, UH Sugarland, and UH Cinco Ranch are system centers within the UH system

UHCL, UHD, and UHV all have their own president of the university and all have their own distinct degree requirements for degrees sometimes even the same degree in the same subject will have different requirements at the different schools.....UH Sugarland and UH Cinco Ranch offer degree programs through the various universities of the UH system and only upper level courses......so if you go to UH Sugarland and get a degree from there in Biology then that degree will meet the same requirements as the biology degree from UHV because that is who it is offered through...if you get a B.A. in English then it will meet the exact requirements of the main campus of UH because that is who it is offered through

Dr. Renu Khator is the president of the main UH campus and also the Chancellor of the UH system which means she is over all the presidents of the free standing universities and she is over the system centers that do not have their own presidents and do not have the authority from the state of Texas to offer or create their own degrees or degree plans

The main campus of UH does not have to approve anything to do with the name change, but Dr. Khator as the Chancellor does approve it after the president of UHD does

the UH System functions as the representative to the State of Texas when it comes time for all the universities to lobby for funding which means the individual presidents of the university don't go before the legislators as individual representatives of their school to lobby the state and the system as a whole coordinates the universities to try and avoid duplication and take advantage of synergies when possible

There is a possibility that you could take a course at UHD while going to UH main campus, but it would be rare, but there is a good chance you might take a course at UH Sugarland and have a telecourse from UHV or any of the other schools especially related to the university that the degree is offered through or even take a course at that free standing campus as well

UH is what is called a "strong system" which means the above....the chancellor lobbies on behalf of the universities in the system and tries to coordinate degree offerings.....TAMU, UT, and Texas Tech are also strong systems.......the Texas State System with Lamar, Texas State San Marcos, Sam Houston, and Sul Ross is a "weak system" which means the presidents of the universities lobby for their own funding and they are more independent in their choices about what degrees and types of degrees to offer.....there is really not a huge difference between the two per say other than a "weak system" does not have a flagship campus as well which is the one that is usually the oldest, largest, and the one that offers the broadest number of masters and PhDs....this is not always the case like Berkeley is "Cal" and considered the "flagship" of the UC system, but UCLA is larger and does more research and probably offers and graduates the same or more graduate degrees

in the end both strong and weak systems have their own Board of Regents as well that represent all the universities and agencies in that system

at this time the Texas State System is moving towards becoming a strong system and that is part of the reason Angelo State left that system and joined the Texas Tech system

Edited by TexasVines
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UHCL, UHD, and UHV are freestanding universities within the UH system, UH Sugarland, and UH Cinco Ranch are system centers within the UH system

UHCL, UHD, and UHV all have their own president of the university and all have their own distinct ...

I understood they were "separate" but not fully. That was a very helpful explanation. Thanks for taking the time.

Next question...this is a change in name only, correct? They will retain their same status as part of the UH System, right?

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They should have chosen Cullen State University. Don't know what was wrong with that name, or why they now have stupid names to choose from.

...or Hobby University, or Duncan University, or Sarofim University, or [Whoever commits $200 million to us] University. Although they might have to push back on any naming interest from Houston Endowment b/c they wouldn't want to be confused with Bob Jones University.

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That's a lot of words for such a non-issue.

wait until you see the reply in the UH tier 1 thread

I understood they were "separate" but not fully. That was a very helpful explanation. Thanks for taking the time.

Next question...this is a change in name only, correct? They will retain their same status as part of the UH System, right?

yes

happy ltawacs :lol:

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