Thanks for letting me post on this board. I am re-posting this here to get thoughts of EKU fans.

(07-27-2023 03:50 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Have you heard the news about a study on a new university being built (or converted) in Kentucky?

Speaking of enrollment.

The KY legislature is considering adding a new university.

I am against the idea. The legislature does NOT fund EKU, WKU, Morehead adequately Now.
They have been cutting Higher Ed almost every year for a long time--and now they want to add a new school?

I think this would hurt enrollment at Morehead, EKU, and even a little at WKU.

IMO we need to properly fund and/or restore the cuts before considering such a move.

Also the 2026 enrollment "cliff" is coming--and they want to build an additional school? Ridiculous politicians!

Where? The Manchester-- Corbin area has been mentioned. Another idea is to make UPIKE a public university and expand it.

Your thoughts EKU fans?

(07-27-2023 04:25 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Thanks for letting me post on this board. I am re-posting this here to get thoughts of EKU fans.

(07-27-2023 03:50 PM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  Have you heard the news about a study on a new university being built (or converted) in Kentucky?

Speaking of enrollment.

The KY legislature is considering adding a new university.

I am against the idea. The legislature does NOT fund EKU, WKU, Morehead adequately Now.
They have been cutting Higher Ed almost every year for a long time--and now they want to add a new school?

I think this would hurt enrollment at Morehead, EKU, and even a little at WKU.

IMO we need to properly fund and/or restore the cuts before considering such a move.

Also the 2026 enrollment "cliff" is coming--and they want to build an additional school? Ridiculous politicians!

Where? The Manchester-- Corbin area has been mentioned. Another idea is to make UPIKE a public university and expand it.

Your thoughts EKU fans?

I haven't seen anything. EKU has regional campuses in both Manchester and Corbin offering I think 8 degree paths. Why not just expand on that?

Google it for news report links. There is a $600,000 dollar study going currently. Report due to the Legislature by December 1st.

This has been in the works for a while now and would be for students in that part of the state. Eku is only about 20 miles outside of Lexington so it’s not in eastern ky at all. Eku president just released an article discussing a 30% growth of incoming students over the last 3 years. Eku can only grow so much so fast and with how quickly Fayette, madison, Scott co, etc are growing, eku could be rather large in 2025 and beyond. (It’s a major selling point for eku to go FBS)

The part of the state they are doing the study on is 3+ hours away from eku and would focus on majors for jobs in the area (nursing, teaching, etc). They are fixing all the roads and highways in that area so it makes sense to either have a college like pike or union to become public so it’s an affordable option for students in those areas or just turn the Manchester eku campus into a legit campus with dorms and dining.

I’m all for bettering the college options for all ky students.

(07-28-2023 09:28 AM)bleedmaroon Wrote:  ...just turn the Manchester eku campus into a legit campus with dorms and dining.

This might be the best option. That location could serve the Pike County area as well as the Knox and Bell County area but Corbin can cover that already. I don't see a new major university doing much in the Barbourville/Corbin area right now. While Union is private, the story I found didn't list the University of the Cumberlands which is in the next county over in Whitley County. While it is a private university, its tuition cost is on par with the regional public universities already. They slashed their tuition rates a couple of years ago by almost 60%.
The story did say one of the options could be to pay for a private school and make it public. I would think UPike would be the best option there again due to Cumberland.
Southeastern Ky can be looked at as two different regions with the Barbourville/Corbin/Middlesboro area being one area while the Pikeville/Prestonsburg/Painstville as being another. Traveling between these two areas is not a fun trip. I made the trip between Paintsville and Barbourville several times and if the weather is bad at all, might as well not take the trip. Getting students to want to go from one of these areas to another will be a tough task.

dj