<p>Shawbridge explains the Mass problem quite well. Unfortunately we have a one party state and the entrenched state workers and politicians have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Where else can workers retire after 22 years with a full pension (MBTA)? We have the only state with police details on all construction jobs. Have you ever heard of Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day? In Suffolk county, they are full paid holidays for state workers. Don’t forget about the double dippers - they collect a state pension and then start “working” on another state job. We have layer upon layer of bureaucracy, all appointed positions. Billy Bulger carried this practice out to UMass when he was president. There were assistant deans, provosts, chancellors etc popping up all over the place. That was about the same time the UMass fees skyrocketed.</p>
<p>If the voters have the temerity to pass a referendum that threatens the status quo - like term limits or reducing the state income tax back to 5%, the legislature simply overrides it and it doesn’t become law. They have no fear of being voted out, since most incumbents run unopposed. Now the legislature calls for “more revenue” so we have a sales tax about to increase by 25%, gas tax and toll increases to follow. So you see there is no money left for the state colleges, roads, bridges and other things where we should be spending our tax dollars.</p>
<p>Sorry to rant but I just get so frustrated. Mass could learn something by what happened to GM today but most of us just don’t get it.</p>
<p>I think it’s a broader issue. Unless there is something distinctive about the State U (like football at OSU or UGA) the local state U is looked down on compared to other state U’s. I grew up in NJ and at that time Rutgers was not considered a competitive school. Now, paying for my daughter’s schooling, I weigh schools differently.</p>
<p>What about New York State? There are many excellent private colleges in that state (Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Rochester, RPI, Yeshiva, Syracuse, Fordham, Clarkson) yet THREE of their SUNY colleges (Binghamton, Stony Brook and ESF) rank above UMass. </p>
<p>Yes, it is funny how people outside of NE would love to come to UMass. UMass does have a good engineering major but again as shown by the US News engineering rankings, the UMass engineering reputation lags behind many other state universities such as Arizona State or Michigan State</p>
<p>I think superstar12 is talking about UMass. The campus is pretty atrocious but that is not really my concern, I am more worried about the academic quality at UMass. And also by “commuter students”, I think superstar is saying that the majority of students live relatively close by to the school, however umass does have one of the largest number of students living on campus in the country.</p>
<p>Despite the nickname Taxachusetts, Massachusetts isn’t really a high tax state – it’s below the U.S. average – and until taxpayers of the Bay State show that they value public higher education and the benefits it affords (especially to lower and middle income families), the state’s public higher education system (not just UMass) will continue to lag.</p>
<p>I disagree with Erin’s Dad. In my school, people think of UGA as if it’s like Harvard. It is def. looked up upon and people think your a genius if you go there. It is def. overrated in Georgia. It is kids number 1 choice, lol. It may be different since it’s the south. I find it the same about UF.</p>
<p>early_college, no all Georgia schools like that. Top students at NorthView High (North Fulton) or Walton High (East Cobb) routinely pick Ivy leagues and/or MIT, in many instances, Emory U over Tech/UGA. Tech/UGA only get students after top 15%. Of course, North Fulton and East Cobb are considered wealthy neighborhood in Georgia.</p>
<p>Also, due to Hope scholarship and current economic, admission standard for both GaTech and UGA increase a lot during the past ten years. GaTech incoming freshman has average of 1358 (very close to Emory U’s range) and UGA is close to 1230 range.</p>
<p>This post is going to make me sound like a spoiled child, I’m sure, but I told my parents that I would not go to college if they made me go to a MA state school, even though I had the Adams Scholarship (free tuition). I never even toured any of the schools; their reputations were enough to turn me off. That, or an undesirable location. I’d have gladly gone to MCLA- that was the one state school I applied to, because of the association with the Berkshire theatre festival- but it’s in the middle of nowhere and it snows way too much there.</p>
<p>(also, until I was about a sophomore, whenever I’d get a mediocre grade, my parents would say to me “you’ll never get accepted anywhere but Salem State with grades like these!” I’m sure they regret that! though actually, Salem State has a rep in my HS for being the school for the kids who weren’t smart enough to be in honors classes.)</p>
<p>I went to high school in Mass. a while back, before private college prices got out of control. Going to UMass was almost a disgrace at my high school (and it was a pretty crappy public high school). I remember one guy who ended up at UMass who had one brother at Princeton and another brother who went to Harvard. Ouch! </p>
<p>But to people from out of state and from foreign countries, the name “University of Massachusetts” sounds pretty important and classy. The same goes with “New York University”…the name sounds GREAT.</p>
<p>On the flip side, you have schools whose names probably make them LESS attractive than they should be: Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Tufts, Colgate, Washington U in St. Louis, and Haverford.</p>
<p>At Umass the bad reputation does not spring from academics, which are excellent - but from drinking, parties and obsession with jock culture. Its the culture that turns families off, not the education.</p>
<p>Locally, folks admitted RPI and Smith are NOT being admitted to Umass/Amherst’s commonwealth college. Very selective.</p>
<p>Announced increase in U-Mass tuition and fees was reversed when salaries for department heads were leaked to the press. For example, the environmental science department head makes in excess of $600,000. Tuition increases disappeared. </p>
<p>Tuition is capped by the legislature - the creeping costs at Umass are through the fees - 4 to 5 times tuition. Beware. </p>
<p>National Merit Scholar guidelines rank state schools. Mass and DC have the highest threshold for Scholar designation: PSAT of 223. Where as a student from Montana can receive NMS designation with only a 207. Massachusetts public education must be doing something right.</p>
<p>Some of the researchers at UMass bring in a lot of money to the university and may very well be worth their compensation amounts. Was the $600,000 in salary? I think that things are working well when a researcher brings in 7 figures which goes to research for the professor and some number of students and then that turns into one or more courses for students to learn and get hands-on experience with the latest technologies.</p>
<p>Massachusetts is not alone in having mediocre public higher ed. It is a New England wide phenomenon - who ever hears about U. Maine? U. Rhode Island? </p>
<p>As others have suggested, the problem is both historical and political:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>few states outside New England would appoint a former political hack whose brother is on the lam as president of their flagship university - Bolger. </p></li>
<li><p>historically, all through New England, private universities and LACs provided higher ed, and quite affordably at that. It was, after all, only a few decades ago when a small minority of our population went to college. And their needs were served well by the private colleges. The cost was reasonable, especially with scholarship aide to poorer kids (i.e. most of our grandparents…).</p></li>
<li><p>Before blasting U. Mass, ask yourselves why U. Mich, or UVA or UNC are so good? Because there was not the same private college tradition in those states. The Morrill act also helped a number of state universities around the country (but not U. Mich!) which became our land grant institutions.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>"- few states outside New England would appoint a former political hack whose brother is on the lam as president of their flagship university - Bolger. "</p>
<p>I’m no big Billy Bulger fan (note the “u”), but the logic behind his appointment as president was that the university system’s lifeline was legislative appropriation, and who better to squeeze a few more dollars out of the legislature than the guy who had spent the previous couple of decades running the Senate with an iron fist? Didn’t work out that way, but it seemed like a reasonable idea at the time. He wasn’t appointed because he was an educational visionary or a brilliant administrator–that’s not what state university CEO’s are there for. They’re there to bring in money.</p>
<p>That logic doesn’t hold up. UCONN has stepped it up big time. Back in the day, UCONN was a safety school for many in Connecticut with the reality that many didn’t even apply there. Now, very good students are concerned about getting into Storrs. Parents are curious what G.P.A. / S.A.T. it took to get into Storrs as well as some of the high flight programs which have higher standards than others. I had lunch with a parent whose youngest son turned down some really good schools because he preferred UCONN. He’s not the only one. </p>
<p>They spent around one billion on a new core campus. I could not believe how great a job they did. Outstanding. Only thing of note that is subpar now are the tiny rooms in the Freshman dorms. In a state with many fine schools including Trinity College, Wesleyan, Connecticut College, The Coast Guard Academy, Fairfield University, Quinnipiac and some school called Yale, if UCONN can pull it off, so can UMASS.</p>
<p>ctyankee, is that table accurate? It has an assistant professor with an annual salary of $60K making over more than $400K (and the same with more senior folks). How does this occur? It also has a Dean emeritus at $370K+. How does that happen?</p>