PASSHE Institutions Merging

[Ship69]

The older I get the more I think a peacetime draft or compulsory military service for those able-bodied and not working or studying full-time would do our country good. The lack of self-discipline and life experience most 18-25 year olds have is staggering.

I'd like to see some kind of service, but I'd leave it open to choice between the military or other alternatives such as the Peace Corps or the Teach America program.

What is certain is that if we're going to have a volunteer military we'd better start getting more volunteers. Recruiting goals are not being met. One of my grandsons who is in the Navy had a recent deployment of several months aboard a destroyer in the South China Sea. One of the reasons they have to stay out so long is a shortage of personnel. It doesn't do much for retention in the military and makes it very hard for our military personnel to have anything approaching a normal family life.

The ironic thing is that never in my relatively long lifetime have I seen this country more gung-ho about fawning over the military than it is now. Sports events at all levels are tuned into shows of patriotism, news shows have nightly "salutes" to veterans of 40 or 50 years ago, we see very expensive Air Force flyovers at bowl games, and on and on. And don't get me wrong, I certainly have zero problem with honoring those who have served the country in the military. But all this adulation hasn't seemed to result in a rush of young people to join the service.

One disturbing thing was a recent statement by an Army general in which he asserted that only 23 percent of our current youth would meet both the physical and mental standards required to get into the military. With many kids living in a tenuous household situation, added to growing up on fast food diets and too much time sitting around on their butts goofing with their phones or playing video games, the physical condition of the non-athletes among our young people is probably the worst it's been since the Great Depression. The Pennsylvania State Police Academy recently lowered the physical requirements to accept officer trainees, although they say they'll train them up to standards once they get in. We'll see.

Problem now is the compulsory service model has left the barn, and it would take braver persons than most of our risk-averse legislators these days to bring it back.

[Fightingscot82]

How much self-discipline and life experience did you have between 18 & 25?

A hell of a lot more than the average college student now. You'd be surprised how many have never had a job, have their drivers license, have spent more than a weekend away from their parents, etc. Or don't know how to ask questions on their own behalf. I'll excuse things out of their control like not having siblings or having shared a bedroom.

If you want to lose all faith in the future generation, try to join the Facebook group for your college's parents and see the very basic questions that perplex questions so much that they put it out for public assistance.

[WarriorVoice]

A hell of a lot more than the average college student now. You'd be surprised how many have never had a job, have their drivers license, have spent more than a weekend away from their parents, etc. Or don't know how to ask questions on their own behalf. I'll excuse things out of their control like not having siblings or having shared a bedroom.

If you want to lose all faith in the future generation, try to join the Facebook group for your college's parents and see the very basic questions that perplex questions so much that they put it out for public assistance.

I'll speak for myself, but I didn't have much self-discipline, nor much life experience at the age of 18, but I was a parent at 24, so those years were very formative, but I made plenty of mistakes between 18 & 24.

[IUPNation]

A hell of a lot more than the average college student now. You'd be surprised how many have never had a job, have their drivers license, have spent more than a weekend away from their parents, etc. Or don't know how to ask questions on their own behalf. I'll excuse things out of their control like not having siblings or having shared a bedroom.

If you want to lose all faith in the future generation, try to join the Facebook group for your college's parents and see the very basic questions that perplex questions so much that they put it out for public assistance.

My mom was pretty strict with me while in high school. My brothers were all boomers born in the 50's. The youngest of those three was the problem child. He caused a lot of pain and anxiety for my parents in the 70's. He went into the Navy to "fix himself" (took years for it to take hold...like the 90's)...so he did the crime...I did the time. I wasn't allowed to do much...was pretty used to being on my own in the house not in need of anything..and if I was let out...boy did i have to be home right after the event happened. The one time my senior year in high school...I was out until after midnight and all we were doing was bowling..no drinking (i get to that later) and just having fun literally weeks before graduation. She was up waiting for me and let me have it.

BUT....like most of that generation with the Gen X kids...they threw me in the pool.

So...watched like a hawk up until high schools graduation. Three weeks later as a Summer-January Freshman at IUP...I'm being dumped off 265 miles from home and left on my own. Talk about doing a 180 on a dime. So...there I am...barely knew how to wash my own clothes...learned that in a day...never was drunk despite going to a Catholic High School full of teenaged alcoholics...was drunk within a week or two after sneaking into Esch Hall bottles from Uncle Sudsy's...and basically unraveled everything I was in the 9 weeks I was IUP that first summer....

I HATED being in The Yinzerlands when i first arrived...but again...a year later I adapted to the environment...most likely because I was now much happier being on my own which I was already used to most of my life up until then and turning into an adult.

So yeah these kids today would go in full meltdown mode if they were treated like Gen X was treated...

[iupgroundhog]

The ironic thing is that never in my relatively long lifetime have I seen this country more gung-ho about fawning over the military than it is now. Sports events at all levels are tuned into shows of patriotism, news shows have nightly "salutes" to veterans of 40 or 50 years ago, we see very expensive Air Force flyovers at bowl games, and on and on. And don't get me wrong, I certainly have zero problem with honoring those who have served the country in the military. But all this adulation hasn't seemed to result in a rush of young people to join the service.
.

Most of these so-called Patriots have no idea why we fought the wars.

[IUPNation]

Most of these so-called Patriots have no idea why we fought the wars.

Those who advertise they are patriots are just a bunch of right wing fascist ****heads.

[Fightingscot82]

Cheyney's accreditation is on probation again. Accreditation from a recognized agency is required to be eligible for federal & state grants & loans, most job licenses, and smooth transfer of credits.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/c...-20231128.html

Interesting noted in here is that there is an effort to have the federal government take over ownership & control of Cheyney. I guess they assume it will be better run?

[IUPNation]

Cheyney's accreditation is on probation again. Accreditation from a recognized agency is required to be eligible for federal & state grants & loans, most job licenses, and smooth transfer of credits.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/c...-20231128.html

Interesting noted in here is that there is an effort to have the federal government take over ownership & control of Cheyney. I guess they assume it will be better run?

How is the National Park System equipped to run a university?

If their alumni is proposing that nonsense no wonder the school is so ****ed up,

[Fightingscot82]

Upper level administrators at PASSHE schools regularly tell me that there is no tuition ROI on athletics. This article seems to say otherwise: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...st-enrollment#

[Ship69]

Upper level administrators at PASSHE schools regularly tell me that there is no tuition ROI on athletics. This article seems to say otherwise: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...st-enrollment#

Well, I think there is certainly a return at non-scholarship schools where the major expenses would be travel and coaching, assuming facilities were already there. Obviously when you're paying for scholarships the ROI would be less. The power D1 programs can overcome that by drawing huge crowds with expensive ticket prices and making a killing on TV rights.

The big controversy about affirmative action programs in recent years cracks me up since athletic programs have obviously been a form of this at many schools for years and continue to be so. There is not a major university in the country, including such relatively strict schools as Stanford and Northwestern, where the admissions standards for athletes are as high as they are for most students.

[iupgroundhog]

Cheyney's accreditation is on probation again. Accreditation from a recognized agency is required to be eligible for federal & state grants & loans, most job licenses, and smooth transfer of credits.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/c...-20231128.html

Interesting noted in here is that there is an effort to have the federal government take over ownership & control of Cheyney. I guess they assume it will be better run?

That's disappointing. I read both the Inquirer article and The Philadelphia Tribune article. Of course, the CEO of The Tribune is Robert Bogle, a Cheyney alum, trustee, and the biggest supporter of CU over decades. Interestingly, the Tribune article just speaks to the facts - none of the usual hype. Either that is Bogle coming to terms with Cheyney realities or his relationship with the university has changed.

[Fightingscot82]

Well, I think there is certainly a return at non-scholarship schools where the major expenses would be travel and coaching, assuming facilities were already there. Obviously when you're paying for scholarships the ROI would be less. The power D1 programs can overcome that by drawing huge crowds with expensive ticket prices and making a killing on TV rights.

The big controversy about affirmative action programs in recent years cracks me up since athletic programs have obviously been a form of this at many schools for years and continue to be so. There is not a major university in the country, including such relatively strict schools as Stanford and Northwestern, where the admissions standards for athletes are as high as they are for most students.

Pretty much. For private schools that award scholarships, nearly all scholarships are really discounts on the sticker price so that is budgeted into the net revenue projection. In PASSHE, since all athletic aid is externally funded and real dollars, from a university budget perspective, we're not any different than a D3 campus. The sports that tend to attract wealthier students (golf, tennis, swimming, field hockey), scholarships aren't as crucial as in football and basketball, so if you pay $65k to a full time men's & women's golf coach plus some modest operating expenses like travel, recruiting, uniforms, and facility rental, you're still maybe at $100k a year bringing 20-30 new students to the university who would never have attended. In PASSHE that's a $400k net ROI for golf. Golf!

[iupgroundhog]

Cheyney's accreditation is on probation again. Accreditation from a recognized agency is required to be eligible for federal & state grants & loans, most job licenses, and smooth transfer of credits.

https://www.inquirer.com/education/c...-20231128.html

Interesting noted in here is that there is an effort to have the federal government take over ownership & control of Cheyney. I guess they assume it will be better run?

Also, the agency outlining a "teach-out" plan seems to be getting close to the final straw. The federal government proposal appears to be desperation. Looks to me like it's just not working.

[iupgroundhog]

New Prez at WCU. Note that she is stealing IUPNation's thunder when she refers to WCU as "flagship institution" in her goals at the bottom of the article.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/care...e3fb3e0b&ei=15

[IUPNation]

New Prez at WCU. Note that she is stealing IUPNation's thunder when she refers to WCU as "flagship institution" in her goals at the bottom of the article.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/care...e3fb3e0b&ei=15

She can live in her fantasy but she knows it’s not true.

There is only one flagship and it sails in Indiana County.

:-)