Jump to content

Should/when should the UT system establish an undergrad program in Houston?


VicMan

Recommended Posts

In another forum I asked whether the University of Texas should consider establishing an undergraduate program in Houston.

The UT System had success in establishing UT Dallas in Richardson, TX. Should it follow suit and establish a school in Houston?

Should UT acquire TSU, or should it build a new campus? If it builds new, where should it build?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would the state duplicate efforts by supporting 2 schools in Houston. If they wanted to give more students in Houston access to Higher Ed, then just give more money to UH to build more infrastructure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would the state duplicate efforts by supporting 2 schools in Houston. If they wanted to give more students in Houston access to Higher Ed, then just give more money to UH to build more infrastructure.

The University of Texas and University of Houston groups are separate public university systems which report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. While they are public university systems, they have separate management. The UT system is based in Austin, while the UH system is based in Houston.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area multiple university systems exist in the same metropolitan area. The Dallas/Fort Worth area, for instance, has multiple university systems. UT operates UTD in Richardson and UTA in Arlington. In addition University of North Texas has a campus in Denton. In the Houston area, there is the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, and Prairie View A&M in Prairie View; the last one is far out in periphery in Waller County.

One advantage is that a UT System school could be used as a way for people to transfer to UT Austin. I.E. people at UT San Antonio could transfer to UT Austin after two years at UTSA. People at a Houston campus could do the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In another forum I asked whether the University of Texas should consider establishing an undergraduate program in Houston.

The UT System had success in establishing UT Dallas in Richardson, TX. Should it follow suit and establish a school in Houston?

Should UT acquire TSU, or should it build a new campus? If it builds new, where should it build?

UH has already made very clear that it would like to build or expand new campuses in Pearland, Sugar Land, and in northwest Harris County, and they're also moving towards providing a broader selection of classes as UH-Clear Lake. Meanwhile, UH-Downtown continues to expand, and they also have satellite facilities that I wouldn't be surprised to see become full-fledged campuses in the future.

It's really remarkable, in a way, that Houston has a home-grown university that is expanding so much not only at its core campus but so aggressively into the suburbs...all without the ridiculously high amounts of Tier One funding that are granted to the UT and A&M systems or the commensurate level of alumni support. Its an ingenious strategy too, by way of which they use open-enrollment suburban campuses as a feeder system to the main campus, filtering out the wheat from the (Cougar High) chaff to create a respected institution without neglecting their traditional role as a low-cost provider of four-year degrees. In a matter of perhaps 15 to 25 years, I can very easily see UH not only achieving Tier One status, but using the funds to make them one of the preeminent universities not located on the east or west coasts.

UH should absorb TSU as a conservator (in exchange for Tier One status) and consolidate its regional market share before UT or A&M realize the opportunity they're missing to block the expansion of the UH footprint within the State's education budget.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The University of Texas and University of Houston groups are separate public university systems which report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. While they are public university systems, they have separate management. The UT system is based in Austin, while the UH system is based in Houston.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area multiple university systems exist in the same metropolitan area. The Dallas/Fort Worth area, for instance, has multiple university systems. UT operates UTD in Richardson and UTA in Arlington. In addition University of North Texas has a campus in Denton. In the Houston area, there is the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, and Prairie View A&M in Prairie View; the last one is far out in periphery in Waller County.

One advantage is that a UT System school could be used as a way for people to transfer to UT Austin. I.E. people at UT San Antonio could transfer to UT Austin after two years at UTSA. People at a Houston campus could do the same.

They have separate management, but both are primarily funded by the state.

I think UT-Austin is big enough without having another feeder school that can transfer after 2 years. Why would we want an institution in Houston whose primary goal is to transfer students to UT-Austin after 2 years. That's what HCC, San Jac, Lonestar are for.

Houston should focus on supporting the efforts of the school we already have rather than drool over being able to transfer to UT-Austin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

I think a UT system school could have a place here... or we could continue to grow the University of Houston's system. In either case, we are still severely lacking in 4-yr. universities in Houston.

Here's some web facts about why Houston has to have more 4year universities...

HCCS... 61,396 (HCC factbook)

Lone Star... 51,494 (Lone Star statistics)

San Jac... 30,000 (from San Jac article)

Lone Star... 51,494 (from LSCS Census Day Report)

Community College total... 142,890

Region 4 (houston area school districts) seniors: 60,560. So the FTIC pool for our region is greater than the entire UH system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a UT system school could have a place here... or we could continue to grow the University of Houston's system. In either case, we are still severely lacking in 4-yr. universities in Houston.

Here's some web facts about why Houston has to have more 4year universities...

HCCS... 61,396 (HCC factbook)

Lone Star... 51,494 (Lone Star statistics)

San Jac... 30,000 (from San Jac article)

Lone Star... 51,494 (from LSCS Census Day Report)

Community College total... 142,890

Region 4 (houston area school districts) seniors: 60,560. So the FTIC pool for our region is greater than the entire UH system.

When you add in the prospective transfer students from the Houston area, it's clear that we are in desperate need of more universities.

Many of those high school seniors won't step foot in a university. Of a number of those who will though, a two-year college will suffice. I count about 7 four-year institutions inside the city limits. For a city of 2.5 million, that's more than a reasonable number. I weighed in on this subject on the other site, but I think my opinion has changed since then. On that site, I insisted the state would be better served funneling more cash into the UH system, but now I think it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give UH some more local competition. Plus, while the number of universities the city has is ample for our current population, and even though the number increases when you toss in the post-graduate institutions, it never hurts to have more educational facilities. I say while we're at it, let's bring in the new Texas State system, the A&M system and whatever system Stephen F is in. I consider Huntsville close enough to not need Sam's system. I think we should keep with the theme set by UH, TSU, Rice and St Thomas though, and keep them consolidated within the loop. The Heights needs a university, as does the East End and the Fifth Ward.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many of those high school seniors won't step foot in a university. Of a number of those who will though, a two-year college will suffice. I count about 7 four-year institutions inside the city limits. For a city of 2.5 million, that's more than a reasonable number. I weighed in on this subject on the other site, but I think my opinion has changed since then. On that site, I insisted the state would be better served funneling more cash into the UH system, but now I think it wouldn't be such a bad idea to give UH some more local competition. Plus, while the number of universities the city has is ample for our current population, and even though the number increases when you toss in the post-graduate institutions, it never hurts to have more educational facilities. I say while we're at it, let's bring in the new Texas State system, the A&M system and whatever system Stephen F is in. I consider Huntsville close enough to not need Sam's system. I think we should keep with the theme set by UH, TSU, Rice and St Thomas though, and keep them consolidated within the loop. The Heights needs a university, as does the East End and the Fifth Ward.

The combined enrollments of the seven 4yr institutions in Houston is approximately 95k... that includes Sam. Which means there's a wide disparity of nearly 100k between the yearly number of eligible students to enter a 4yr school, and the number of facilities in Houston that can support them. College is of course not for everyone, so many people will be more than happy to make it out of places like HCC, and go on with their lives. But even then, we're still ending up about 30k short of what's needed to retain the area's talent.

One other factor about post-secondary ed... it's taking longer. The average student now stays in school for 5 years. Thanks to the bad economy, even fewer jobs are available and competition is getting fierce. You've got lots of students that are staying in school and ciphoning resources just so they can pay their rent. So the number college-bound students is on the sharp increase. It'd be nice to say that this will lessen once the economy has recovered, but it doesn't work that way. The educational standard for our workforce continues to be raised, and more people will be expected to have a 4yr education. Compare today to 20 years ago... are high school grads getting high quality jobs anymore? In 20 more years, a 4yr degree will be the minimum standard for the whole workforce.

We have to be prepared for what's down the road in Houston.

BTW Sam is part of the Texas State system... SFA is independent

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have to be prepared for what's down the road in Houston.

It may have appeared I was being sarcastic, and ift so it's not unreasonable to assume I would be, but this is actually what I meant. I agree that Houston needs more four-year universities. However, I wish more of them would be private, if only for the prestige factor. It's not as if there aren't enough bazillionaires in this city to build an instantly reknowned university, but it seems that culturally at least, the days of granting huge endowments are long dead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think we should keep with the theme set by UH, TSU, Rice and St Thomas though, and keep them consolidated within the loop. The Heights needs a university, as does the East End and the Fifth Ward.

Where would you put a decent sized university campus, public or private, inside the loop? Surely you're not suggesting tearing down part of The Heights for it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where would you put a decent sized university campus, public or private, inside the loop? Surely you're not suggesting tearing down part of The Heights for it?

There's a ton of either cheap or completely open land just north of downtown. Also, with the economic downturn, east of downtown hasn't filled up nearly as quickly as some speculators had hoped. There's definitely still some land available in the 2nd Ward as well. I just like the idea of universities being centrally located in the city making them a bigger part of the city's social fabric.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a ton of either cheap or completely open land just north of downtown. Also, with the economic downturn, east of downtown hasn't filled up nearly as quickly as some speculators had hoped. There's definitely still some land available in the 2nd Ward as well. I just like the idea of universities being centrally located in the city making them a bigger part of the city's social fabric.

I agree that it's better for them to be centrally located, but all the universities with traditional campuses (green space, trees, room for dorms, etc) that I can think of were originally founded on the edge of a town or city where the land was cheaper and the neighborhoods were, at least originally, nicer or non-existent. I don't see a major university picking up a large chunk of land in a run-down section of town. Not when they can put it in a cheaper suburban location nearer a large base of affluent students.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a city of 2.5 million, that's more than a reasonable number.

I don't think including on the Houston city limits is an accurate measure of how popular a group of universities should be, as Houston does not exist in a vacuum. I would consider the entire metropolitan area, which has an overall population of at least 5 million people, as a better subject for determining the possible demand for a group of universities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a ton of either cheap or completely open land just north of downtown. Also, with the economic downturn, east of downtown hasn't filled up nearly as quickly as some speculators had hoped. There's definitely still some land available in the 2nd Ward as well. I just like the idea of universities being centrally located in the city making them a bigger part of the city's social fabric.

Depends on what "type" of university situation you're going for. If you're wanting a direct comptitor for UofH (i.e. a school that is planning on being at an exemplary level), then you'd want to look at a prime location like the inner loop. But if you're just working on another region-centered school like UHD, then it should really go in one of two locations... Southwest to Sugarland, or Nort between The Woodlands and Tomball. That's where another 4 year university is most desperately needed.

UHS-Sugar Land is "next up" in the system master plan to become a four-year university.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...