BroadwayVik
Active member
Good points all around. The freshman gpa has been raised to 3.00 for HS graduates for quite some time now, but many still get in through the back door community college "transfer associates degree." They are considered co-enrolled lower-division students.
I think PSU is going first for greatness in numbers---a large student body size and greatly expanded university district---while simultaeously looking for comparative advantages of academic strength. We have a lot of Harvard and Berkeley grads on staff as faculty (perhaps PSU should specialize in hiring Reed grads---it would make sense and be a natural kind of thing to do).
President Wiewell talks about expected enrollment climbing up to 35,000 soon and then possibly realizing another leap in magnitude after that. This will drive the physical growth of the university district east and southeast relative to the present core area. He wants also to simultaneously raise academic standards while continuing to expand metro area relationships.
I agree that PSU's mission needs to be about graduating high-powered earners and donors, eventually leaving the "access issues" to the community colleges, WOU, SOU, EOU, COU, and the Boise States of the world. It needs not to be the "we'll take anybody" type institution.
Perhaps when the optimal student body size is realized and retention challenges are met, say, a decade hence, the university will be free to focus attention and energy much more weightily on the qualitative academic aspects---the good stuff. PSU should then first emulate Houston and then maybe even Pittsburgh. Rough economic mission ahead first, more elegant academic mission then to then fill in the space.
I think PSU is going first for greatness in numbers---a large student body size and greatly expanded university district---while simultaeously looking for comparative advantages of academic strength. We have a lot of Harvard and Berkeley grads on staff as faculty (perhaps PSU should specialize in hiring Reed grads---it would make sense and be a natural kind of thing to do).
President Wiewell talks about expected enrollment climbing up to 35,000 soon and then possibly realizing another leap in magnitude after that. This will drive the physical growth of the university district east and southeast relative to the present core area. He wants also to simultaneously raise academic standards while continuing to expand metro area relationships.
I agree that PSU's mission needs to be about graduating high-powered earners and donors, eventually leaving the "access issues" to the community colleges, WOU, SOU, EOU, COU, and the Boise States of the world. It needs not to be the "we'll take anybody" type institution.
Perhaps when the optimal student body size is realized and retention challenges are met, say, a decade hence, the university will be free to focus attention and energy much more weightily on the qualitative academic aspects---the good stuff. PSU should then first emulate Houston and then maybe even Pittsburgh. Rough economic mission ahead first, more elegant academic mission then to then fill in the space.
