<p>In the School of Education where my son is a student, 15/17 faculty have doctorates. The two who do not are Assistant Professors in Spanish and Art. I can’t speak to the entire departments, but I know the faculty my son has had in English and History have been doctorally prepared. He has had no TAs.</p>
<p>BrownBear1 - What is your interest in this discussion?</p>
<p>Curiosity sparked my interest. High Point is an institution that i have never heard of so i decided to do some digging. I wanted to look at professor bios and noticed that non of their backgrounds were mentioned which seemed kind of odd. If I offended you i am sorry.</p>
<p>Brownbear- so if Harvard had an opportunity to hire Ann Rice or some other successful mega author for a writing seminar they would pass her/them up for a PHD in Literature?</p>
<p>LOL tom1944 i think you know what i was suggesting with PHD’s but sure if Harvard had the chance to hire Ann Rice as a teacher why not…she’ll add great insight but isn’t a credible teacher.</p>
<p>I agree with you that most of the professors at a given school should have the highest academic degree for their expertise. But and it is a big exception there are some individuals that trump any academic credential.</p>
<p>James Carville or Carl Rove to teach a course in politics. How about James Baker teaching International Relations. Ron Howard and Tom Hanks teaching film courses. We can name thousand of exceptions. In fact I bet you could have a college with no PHD’s that could hire experts which would generate so much excitement students would want to flock to the school.</p>
<p>Questions for harwo001:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is the school’s religious affiliation a strong one? I did notice a required religious course. Is religion an important part of the school’s culture or is there only a loose tie? How comfortable would a person with no religious ties (e.g. agnostic) be at this school?</p></li>
<li><p>Getting back to your point on conservatism, I did notice that the school had a fairly conservative visitation policy which included specific hours in which a member of the opposite sex could be in someone’s room and specific penalties for violating this policy. I asked my tour guide (a female junior student) about this visitation policy and she told me the school took it very seriously. Frankly, I was extremely surprised to see such a policy in this day and age and it caused me to question how conservative this school actually is. I saw other policies related to mandatory room inspections, which again surprised me. I also found piped in classical music (Monday - Friday) throughout the campus loudspeakers rather odd. Nothing against classical music, but as someone else noted, it did seem a little like something out of 1984 or an episode of The Prisoner (of Patrick Magoon fame).</p></li>
<li><p>I’ve heard varying opinions on the area surrounding the University. Some have described it as ghetto, while others have described it as blue collar, middle class. Labels aside, is the immediate outside the campus area safe? Would one feel comfortable walking off campus at night? Is safety outside of campus a concern and have there been any incidents? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I ask these questions not to trash or pass judgement, but rather to properly evaluate fit. Clearly, there are many, many positives at High Point, including a gorgeous campus and beautiful facilities. It is a school on the rise and the President has put a lot of his own money into the school and works for free.</p>
<p>My only comment is that I have had many PhD professors who were HORRIBLE teachers (but brilliant researchers and experts in their field) and a number of non-PhD professors who were excellent teachers and brought to the classroom very valuable outside experiences. Just because someone has a PhD doesn’t mean they can teach.</p>
<p>Took the words right out of my mouth… someone needs to go hibernate</p>
<p>HPU - - it just sounds curiouser and curiouser!</p>
<p>RyanJudy06,</p>
<p>What was your major at HPU? Are you from NC? Are you employed now or attending Grad school? </p>
<p>My daughter will be a freshman this fall majoring in Education. We are from Massachusetts. After visiting once and attending the Presidential Scholarship weekend we are very excited for her to attend. I agree that this school is going places.</p>
<p>How rude!!! i will not go hibernate!!!..professors need PhD’s maybe if your a communications major it can slide because we all know communications studies is a BREEZE. How come no one is questioning why HPU doesn’t post teacher bios??? isn’t that questionable??? all other credible schools do it why not HPU???</p>
<p>BrownBear1 - - just sounds curiouser and curiouser!</p>
<p>I majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. I am from Virginia. I am gainfully employed, love my job and my alma mater. I am excited for her as well. She is in for a great experience!!!</p>
<p>this thread is amusing. Anybody see the movie with Jim Carray called “The Truman Show”?</p>
<p>Some of the descriptions above remind me of that :)</p>
<p>Questions for harwo001:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is the school’s religious affiliation a strong one? I did notice a required religious course. Is religion an important part of the school’s culture or is there only a loose tie? How comfortable would a person with no religious ties (e.g. agnostic) be at this school?
REPLY: I would not say that the formal religious affiliation is really strong like it is at some Catholic schools (having gone to grad school at Catholic Univ of America in D.C.) but I would say there is a definite prevailing focus on Christianity. My son has moved towards the agnostic side and it’s impacted his dating options 
as many girls won’t go out with him because of that. </p></li>
<li><p>Getting back to your point on conservatism, I did notice that the school had a fairly conservative visitation policy which included specific hours in which a member of the opposite sex could be in someone’s room and specific penalties for violating this policy. I asked my tour guide (a female junior student) about this visitation policy and she told me the school took it very seriously. Frankly, I was extremely surprised to see such a policy in this day and age and it caused me to question how conservative this school actually is. I saw other policies related to mandatory room inspections, which again surprised me. I also found piped in classical music (Monday - Friday) throughout the campus loudspeakers rather odd. Nothing against classical music, but as someone else noted, it did seem a little like something out of 1984 or an episode of The Prisoner (of Patrick Magoon fame).
REPLY: The policies about visitation are pretty conservative; the enforcing of the policy depends a lot on the RA. As a freshman, my son got fined when the RA found him playing cards with a couple girls in the common room of their suite after hours. On the other hand, he’s woken up more than once in the middle of the night to his roommate having sex 8 feet away from him. </p></li>
<li><p>I’ve heard varying opinions on the area surrounding the University. Some have described it as ghetto, while others have described it as blue collar, middle class. Labels aside, is the immediate outside the campus area safe? Would one feel comfortable walking off campus at night? Is safety outside of campus a concern and have there been any incidents?
REPLY: I am not aware of any incidents but I don’t think there’s anything in walking distance that they’d want to be going to at night. It seems like they hang out on campus a lot, drive into HP to go to the movies or out to eat, make Target runs…</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t think anyone doubts that the school is “going places,” but a number of posts express concern regarding the campus culture. After visiting the campus, a student I know remarked that the HPU dorms and other campus amenities were comparable to the facilites of a Ritz Carlton. For some applicants and their families, that is a good thing; but for others, it’s pampering or pandering. </p>
<p>More troubling to me is the fact that (1) the school apparently has very conservative visittion rules which I find to be outdated for a non-religious school and (2) those rules are either casually or selectively enforced. If the rules are on the books, they should be taken/treated seriously; if they are just a vestige of a more conservative era, get rid of them.</p>
<p>As for the number of profs w/ PhD’s (or terminal degrees) - - this is common factor considered in ranking and rating colleges and unis, as are class size and student:teacher ratios. I have also noticed that at many urban unis, fewer faculty members have PhD or terminal degrees b/c the urban schools to take advantage of high-quality practitioners. But even in urban areas too few PhDs suggests a weakness in the academic program, and at HPU it may be a lingering weakness, despite the fact that, by all accounts, the school is on the up-swing.</p>
<p>Overall, it doesn’t sound like a good school for my D, but who said HPU or any other school had to be all things to all people.</p>
<p>My daughter is about to complete her first year at HPU, so I thought I’d add my comments and reactions to this thread. First of all, it makes me very sad that HPU is concentrating so strongly on asthetics/amenities that many view the university as a frivolous institution for wealthy spoiled students. Based on my kid, and the many wonderful friends that she has made at HPU, this is not an adequate portrayal. These students, while very satisfied with their education and lifestyle at HPU, are very aware that HPU puts too much emphasis on the “fluff” and are a bit embarassed re: the “county club” reputation.</p>
<p>That being said, my daughter has had an incredible year at High Point. She has grown academically, made deep friendships both within the campus and the local community, and most importantly gained self confidence and independence. While she does note that their is a lack of diversity, I have noted her increased acceptance and non-judmental attitude toward those that don’t share her values or lifestyle.</p>
<p>She has not had a single professor, whether she liked them or not, that was not there to support her if she needed them. She has received unsolicited assistance from administration and even the president during her early “lost and confused” days. While the neighborhood may be “shady”, I have never lost sleep worrying about her safety on campus. (And believe me, I’m a worrier!) I have also not heard of any dangerous incidents on or off campus during her year at HPU. </p>
<p>As far as academic “rigor”: yes, I think it could be better. My daughter ended first semester with a 3.75 and will probably reach a 4.0 this semester. She is organized and studies daily but has a very active social life. For her, that is happiness. She’s majoring in Special Ed and is passionate about her future career. I have no doubt that she will be successful.</p>
<p>So, I guess my point is that for my kid, HPU was a great choice. Even though we get annoyed with the “country club” rep, a growing, thriving, happy daughter is all we ever wanted. HPU has not made her spoiled or feel entitled. She’s well aware of how fortunate she is to live in that beauty and comfort every day while receiving a good education. Our daughter thanks us often, even sending notes in the mail, for allowing her this oppourtunity.</p>
<p>I know this post has been long winded and perhaps sounds defensive. I’m just tired of HPU being portrayed as a college without any sound academic merit. HPU was not my daughters only choice. It was her first choice and has turned out, so far, to be an excellent one for her.</p>
<p>Anothermommy, Thanks so much for the post! I am so glad we are finally getting some first hand info on High Point and not just about the ice cream truck. My daughter will be attending in the fall. She also had many excellent choices, but kept comparing every campus to High Point. She also is planning on majoring in Education. Where are you from? We are from Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Anothermommy – nice to see that the kids recognize all the marketing fluff for what it is (insert pejorative), and are happily going about their business learning in the classroom Kids have very well tuned BS meters these days.</p>