More from Chicago State

Parents Forum
1

<p>
[quote]
during the 2008-09 academic year, 449 Chicago State students received state grant money even though, under university policy, an untold number of them should have been dismissed for poor academic performance.</p>

<p>Of those students, 106 had a grade-point average of 0.0 and still received aid from the taxpayer-funded Monetary Award Program, known as MAP.</p>

<p>The state's largest grant program for low-income students is persistently underfunded, and 151,000 qualified students were shut out of aid last year. The maximum MAP award is $4,968 a year.</p>

<p>...</p>

<p>[State Sen. Edward] Maloney encouraged the university to do a better job recruiting high-performing students in the city and suburbs. He questioned the university's decision to admit students with ACT scores as low as 15.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Failing</a> Chicago State students were allowed to stay enrolled — and got financial aid - chicagotribune.com</p>

2

<p>Now this school may be a good candidate for elimination or takeover by a better school such as becoming a branch of UIC or NIU.</p>

3

<p>There was an investigative article a couple years ago that called Chicago State one of the worst universities in the US.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/feature/college_dropout_factories.php[/url]”>http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/feature/college_dropout_factories.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Excerpts:</p>

<p>"Chicago State has the worst graduation rate of any public four-year university in Illinois and one of the worst in the nation, with just 13 percent of students finishing in six years…</p>

<p>If we want better outcomes in higher education, we need to hold dropout factories like Chicago State accountable in the same way the Obama administration proposes to hold underperforming high schools accountable: transform them—or shut them down. "</p>

4

<p>“He questioned the university’s decision to admit students with ACT scores as low as 15.”</p>

<p>This seems unreasonable, considering that there are public colleges/universities where the AVERAGE ACT score for admitted students is 16. (I do think a study is warranted to determine characteristics of students who are successful at Chicago State. Clearly the current admission parameters aren’t working.)</p>

5

<p>Yes, there is a place in the world for public universities without strict admissions. The big issue is whether the public should continue to fund those students if they don’t try or don’t even show up.</p>

6

<p>A lot of the issues at CSU were the result of policies of the previous administration. The new president is, from news reports I’ve read, making some progress in cleaning up the mess and raising the standards. Given the population it serves, it’s clearly never going to be a top-tier university, but the situation may not be hopeless.</p>