(05-25-2016 07:47 AM)cotton1991 Wrote: (05-25-2016 07:40 AM)SNF6 Wrote: (05-25-2016 07:32 AM)cotton1991 Wrote: I don't know what you'd call it, and the university may well be doing it already, but I would fund a program that allows dual-enrollment in high schools and the UM.
Taking college credit courses while you are still in high school is done all over Iowa, and not just in community colleges where I used to teach, but at the state universities as well.
I don't just mean having high school students come to the university campus. In my area, at least two college level courses are taught each semester on site at area local high schools by college teachers. The local school boards fund the tuition and books. Regular online courses are also available to the high school kids. And they are also welcome to take courses on the college campus during regular semesters and summer school. They are eligible for all these programs after they complete their high school sophomore year.
I once had a student who had somehow gotten enough college credits that she received an AA degree a week before she actually got her high school diploma, then transferred to the university of Iowa as a junior--at age 18.
Christian Brothers University has a duel-enrollment program. In fact, a young man in Memphis has 60 college hours as he is graduating this year. I have seen in the past that the program has many young people enrolled.
I read that article. I think UM should do something like that as well. My point too is not just about the academic superstars like that kid or my example of a student with an AA.
Up here, 50% of high schoolers are in some form of dual enrollment. It's not just for the academic overachievers. Plus, with college tuition costs, the program here is paid by school board tax dollars so the students save a bundle.
A lot of good ideas, such as Chem E, Architecture, etc.
Id create a multidisciplinary research tower/park downtown. North of the Pyramid, convert that tract of land by the harbor. Call it University or Research Harbor, and combine engineering, environmental sciences, bio sciences, tech, and marketing as well as IP implementation.
Id also look into a medical school, maybe around that same area. UT is already expanding to Nashville, diluting their commitment to Memphis. Whether it's public or private, we are a large enough metro to have multiple med/law/engineering schools, particulary as talent attractors for the workforce. Since the question is about U of M, I wont explore my hopes for the other institutions of higher ed in the region.
A third option is to explore what the University Advancing Tech is doing in Phoenix, and consider adapting that to the Delta.
Medicine, Tech, Science, and especially innovation. Get those IP residuals and investments. The greatest service a college can provide students is to avoid being another cog of the proletariat, and instead become a leader in something they are passionate about. Given skyrocketing tuition, we cant settle for churning out worker bees. The best way to produce future leaders is to promote leadership and creativity skills as students.
This isnt a chair, but promote more coding skills, maybe a game production school, and possibly club esports. VR expertise and skills? Adding Twitch and Youtube seminars to podcasting resources so people can learn how to supplement their income with passive earning strategies?
The future is looking less traditional and more decentralized even if the gigs plateau out (which I dont think they will). Help the students create and maybe innovate avenues of passive income in school, and as they pocket those checks after graduation, maybe they donate back.