Just realized he was there quite some time ago. 2014-18. Feels like it was more recent. The USC contingent were 2018-22 and 2020-2024
OT: College enrollment and financial issues?
- Thread starter Leonard23
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Colleges and universities were originally set up for wealthy families and the true brainiacs out there. The curricula reflected that, as well as teh religious aspect that created the idea of higher learning in the first place.
What purpose do they serve now?
I asked Grok to look through Rutgers New Brunswick offerings and classify them by discipline (I doubt it is complete).. my purpose would be to eliminate the "soft sciences" and nebulous humanities which create degreed individuals that need careers created for them rather than finding work that needs the skills they learned.
Feel free to take this list and note which you would eliminate
What purpose do they serve now?
I asked Grok to look through Rutgers New Brunswick offerings and classify them by discipline (I doubt it is complete).. my purpose would be to eliminate the "soft sciences" and nebulous humanities which create degreed individuals that need careers created for them rather than finding work that needs the skills they learned.
Feel free to take this list and note which you would eliminate
Mathematics and Statistics (5 majors)
- Mathematics
- Actuarial Mathematics
- Biomathematics
- Statistics
- Statistics/Mathematics
Physical Sciences (10 majors)
- Astrophysics
- Chemistry (Business/Law, Chemical Biology, Chemical Physics, Core, Environmental, Forensic, General ACS)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (Environmental Geology, General, Geological Sciences, Planetary Science)
- Physics (Applied, General, Planetary, Professional)
Life Sciences (8 majors)
- Biochemistry
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
- Exercise Science
- Biology/Biological Sciences
- Evolutionary Anthropology
- Biomathematics
Computer Science and Data Science (7 majors)
- Computer Science
- Data Science (Chemical, Computer Science, Economics, Societal Impact, Statistics)
- Information Science/Studies
Engineering (9 majors)
- Aerospace Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Bioenvironmental Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Electronics Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Humanities (30 majors)
- African, Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages & Literatures
- Art History
- Asian Studies
- Chinese
- Classics (Classical Humanities, Greek and Latin, Greek, Latin)
- Comparative Literature (Advanced Studies, General)
- English
- European Studies
- French
- German
- Global Humanities
- History (Ancient, French, Political Science, General)
- Italian
- Japanese
- Jewish Studies (Advanced Language, General)
- Korean
- Latin American Studies
- Linguistics
- Medieval Studies
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Philosophy
- Portuguese
- Religion
- Russian
- Spanish (Intensive, General)
- Speech and Hearing Sciences in Linguistics
Social Sciences (15 majors)
- Africana Studies
- American Studies
- Anthropology (Cultural, General)
- Criminal Justice
- Economics
- Geography
- Latino and Caribbean Studies
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
- Environmental Studies
- Sport Management
Arts (7 majors)
- Cinema Studies
- Music
- Theater Arts
- Art & Design
- Dance
- Filmmaking
- Art History
Business (6 majors)
- Finance
- Marketing
- Supply Chain Management
- Management Science
- Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management
- Business Analytics and Information Technology
Communication (4 majors)
- Speech Communication and Rhetoric
- Journalism and Media Studies
- Information Technology and Informatics
- Communication
Health Professions (5 majors)
- Registered Nursing
- Public Health
- Health Administration
- Exercise Science
- Sport Management
Public Policy and Planning (5 majors)
- Public Policy
- Urban Planning & Design
- City and Regional Planning
- Public Health
- Health Administration
Environmental and Agricultural Sciences (6 majors)
- Environmental Studies
- Environmental Science
- Animal Science
- Food Science
- Biotechnology
- Plant Biology
RU doesn't need to eliminate anything. We're not IU or WVU and playing that dumb game.
We're now in the position where the state backs us. Finances aren't the problem they once were.
So they pay 8.25%, which is 1.625% more than NJ and includes a 2% local tax which is not statewide. Neither taxes groceries. You'd have to buy one shitload of stuff before you're paying more in Texas. Hell, the tax on a 30k new car is under $500. and hopefully you're not buying 1 per year.
And then there's gas tax, 44.9¢ in NJ per gallon and 20¢ per gallon in Texas.
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Pretty much any major that ends with the word "studies" is BS and should be cut.
And in NJ, you don't need to use a car everyday in much of the populated parts of the state. And in TX, your electric bill will be significantly higher. And on and on.
Again, if it was actually a free ride, more people would have caught on.
Now a NJ wage and living in CDMX, that'd be much closer.
Yeah definitely. Why bother having Asian studies, or Eastern European studies, or Middle Eastern studies. We have no need for people who speak those languages or understand those cultures at all. There's no impact on us from those parts of the world.
The cool thing is, as usual, your opinion carries no water, and as other schools make idiotic cuts (WVU for example cutting all foreign languages and IU cutting math) RU just excels and gets all the bright kids and the credit when they change the world for the better.
College isn't a jobs program, never going to be, for obvious reasons. A lot of Gen Z who were told to not be educated are finding out the hard way.
I agree with your reply. I hope you can see why the same reasoning can extend to kids choosing to attend out of state schools over Rutgers.
Both of my kids could have gone to RU. Both went out of state and cost me more. But the schools they chose offered features/opportunities that were important to them that RU couldn’t match. One of those was better study abroad programs than were offered by RU at the time they were in school. My kids took full advantage of them and those experiences have helped them in their careers and life.
So true…frankly most of the information that anything such a major would add, can be completely replaced by the ever evolving AI movement. What academia needs to do is scrub what they offer because many fiends (mine absolutely included) will go the way of the dodo within a decade or two.
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Adapt or die!
Retiring in 2027…thankfully my adaptation will deal with whether I focus on vodka, gin or both!
So this. I love our school but my daughter has options and the brand is meh and the campus plays like a dump compared to many of the southern schools mentioned. The only bright spot was the b school. They have thier stuff together. It’s just in a tough spot. Putting a bunch of nice buildings in a field doesn’t make a campus.
It will take some time for them to grow, but would really like to see a lot of trees planted in Livingston. I swear years ago there were trees breaking up the RAC parking lots, but don’t know what happened to them.
I disagree with this. Society and cultures need humanities as they are the repository for any civilization. Not everyone is cut out to be a scientist or Investment Banker, you need to people that think differently, contribute to the arts, and the like.
Rutgers doesn't need to cut anything except the bloat in administrative services. Having taught in the grad business school for almost 10yrs, I saw first hand just how bloated it was. I'd wager RU could cut 20% off the top here and not skip a beat!
Id' rather those funds go into the classroom, resources for study and funding more chairs.
There are plenty of quality liberal arts/humanities majors that don't end in the word "studies". Just talking about the wacko made-up ones that have no value in the real world.
I'll qualify
if you are referring to womens' studies, gay/LGBTQ studies, and the like then I agree. Remember, 'African Studies' is one with studies and I'd keep that as there is some interesting history there. The main issue with 'studies' is the woke/political overtones to which I think we don't need.
so agree on some, not on others so would have to be a case by case for me
IF there is a program that doesn't exist, it's one thing.
I find that implausible for the average NJ student. I don't see people going to Clemson to study abroad.
Rutgers actually has one of the top women's studies departments in the country from back in the Douglass days long before anyone was so angry about it. They're not going to get rid of it nor should they.
We are beyond the point of trying to attack higher education (and sports programs) in NJ. This battle was permanently won with the rising cost of education and the gov moving to get GS back among other notable events. NJ is now like most of the other states where attacking the state U is a losing electoral proposition.
Not to mention that most of the other "studies" are a vestige of studying what goes on here in NJ (not many other colleges study Hungary, for example, as much as RU does given the influx of refugees in 1956).
Crying about it is great for social media. Not the real world. Sadly, someone in WV who wants to learn Chinese, Spanish or any other crucial foreign language outside of an online program has to leave the state. That's worth a complaint.
We are beyond the point of trying to attack higher education (and sports programs) in NJ. This battle was permanently won with the rising cost of education and the gov moving to get GS back among other notable events. NJ is now like most of the other states where attacking the state U is a losing electoral proposition.
Not to mention that most of the other "studies" are a vestige of studying what goes on here in NJ (not many other colleges study Hungary, for example, as much as RU does given the influx of refugees in 1956).
Crying about it is great for social media. Not the real world. Sadly, someone in WV who wants to learn Chinese, Spanish or any other crucial foreign language outside of an online program has to leave the state. That's worth a complaint.
you and I are on the same page here
it's actually mind boggling the mental gymnastics people go through to justify a bad take/position on things.
I always liken it to the sociology professor at Princeton who won the Nobel Prize in Econ for his cups experiment. MIND BOGGLING
Mental gymnastics? As when people use broad generalizations to judge whether or a not a person they don’t know made a wise college choice for themself?
When I started at Rutgers, the first question all the students were asking each others was, "Why are there so many deans here?"
My niece went to Clemson and cancelled study abroad because the country she wanted to go to only did it in the fall. Why didn't she go? Because she would miss the football season. She doesn't follow football - it was the social aspect.
I did study abroad even though I like football and went to every Rutgers home game when on campus.
That is the difference between Clemson and Rutgers.
The Veterinary School that should have been at Rutgers, New Jersey’s first, opens today at Rowan.
www.nj.com
N.J. opens its 1st veterinary school as nation faces a severe vet shortage
The new school at one of New Jersey's largest universities opens this week with a class of 75 future veterinarians.
www.nj.com
Marshall offers foreign languages—French, Spanish, and Japanese.
Department of Modern Languages
Idk what about that makes it worth the extra cash for a worse reputation.
Michigan, USC, UNC, Duke...I'd get the athletics and academics combo argument
Marshall offers foreign languages—French, Spanish, and Japanese.
Department of Modern Languages
www.marshall.edu
I should say with in state tuition.
No Chinese though.
My NJ public HS had Spanish, French, Latin, Italian and Russian.
I took two years of Spanish in high school and one year at Rutgers. I, like 90 percent of people, never needed it or used it. I might remember 15 words with a cannon to my head. Not saying it is completely worthless for some people, though. Could see one public college in each state offering a specific foreign language-especially in a state with smaller populations. Example-French, Spanish, Japanese at WVU and German, Chinese, Russian at Marshall.
Clemson offers six foreign languages plus Sign Language ( not many universities offer this).
Modern Languages
Clemson University is a leading public research institution located in Upstate South Carolina. Here, researchers create solutions that change the world.
www.clemson.edu
I have a friend that moved from beautiful wine country in California to NJ as a post doc because of the equine veterinary hospitals in NJ. Many of her friends in her program were from across the country. We should definitely capitalize on that at Rutgers.The Veterinary School that should have been at Rutgers, New Jersey’s first, opens today at Rowan.
N.J. opens its 1st veterinary school as nation faces a severe vet shortage
The new school at one of New Jersey's largest universities opens this week with a class of 75 future veterinarians.
yes Rutgers should have had that school and there is an amazing equine culture in NJ. In fact, NJ has a few equine related enterprises that are tops in the country. Amazing that we do not have a Vet school over at Cook.....
Foreign languages are essential for someone that ever has a desire to travel outside the US, which I'd hope college students and grads do.
Clemson having only 6 foreign languages is honestly sad. RU is well into the double digits. I took classes in 5 foreign languages at RU and I didn't come close to touching the breadth of what we have.
Six plus Sign Language is plenty. If someone can afford to visit a zillion foreign countries, they can certainly afford to hire a guide/translator. I also notice we don’t offer any American Indian languages such as Cherokee, Apache, Navajo which could be useful visiting Indian reservations and communities. No college offers everything—we still don’t have a Vet School, Architecture major at the Piscataway/New Brunswick campus,and I don’t think we have much regarding the Nuclear Energy field as compared to a school like the University of Tennessee.
Clemson is the number 39 public university in the country and number 80 among American universities. Maybe not quite at Rutgers’ level, but then again, Rutgers is rated below the University of Florida. In the end, none of this matters. Where or if someone went to college, what job they have, or how much money they make doesn’t make someone a better person. None of that gives them better morals.
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New student living program for Health/Science/Engineering majors on the Busch campus—
A lot of it reflects the surrounding area, so sure, I'd expect RU to be less focused on Native American languages, but I'd imagine, say, OU, to be very focused on them. Same with Tennessee and energy given the TN Valley Authority versus say, Pharma here in NJ at RU.
BUT for a global university, of which I would categorize RU, I'd expect a huge foreign language offering. Some of the other colleges I think preferred by NJ parents are less interested in that, for what I'd say are not such great reasons.