Tammy Miller and Steve Burian had a letter to the editor recently, on behalf of the Fargo and Grand Forks based Valley Prosperity Partnership, backing a proposal which would take $100 million out of the state’s Legacy Fund to fund research projects at North Dakota State in Fargo and the University of North Dakota in…
Burgum’s Proposal for Governing North Dakota’s Universities Isn’t Likely to Fix Anything
Much of the turmoil in North Dakota’s university system in recent years has been a product of the struggle by the State Board of Higher Education, and the Legislature, to get the state’s 11 public campuses to work together as a unified system. The NDUS is addled by parochialism, particularly at the largest institutions in…
The Magical Thinking Behind Dumping Money Into Higher Education
It was illuminating, I think, that the recent headline to a Fargo Forum editorial supporting a proposal to dump more taxpayer dollars into UND and NDSU was “Create brighter future for UND, NDSU.” It was not “Create brighter future for North Dakota students” or “Create brighter future for North Dakotans” but rather “Create brighter future”…
Enrollment Numbers Are the Wrong Metric by Which to Measure Higher Education Success
News from North Dakota’s two largest universities – UND in Grand Forks and NDSU in Fargo – is that fall enrollment is down this year. Based on preliminary numbers, NDSU is seeing a drop of about 700 students while UND’s enrollment has dropped by about 500. Those might seem like big drops at first blush,…
Where’s the Evidence That Football Championships Boost Campus Enrollment?
Collegiate sports at most universities – including North Dakota’s two largest campuses, UND and NDSU in Grand Forks and Fargo respectively – do not make money. In fact, they cost taxpayers and students quite a bit of money. Not even the top-tier teams, which would be the men’s hockey team at UND and the men’s…
North Dakota's Two Biggest Universities Score Low For Value
College rankings can be tricky business. But they’re also big business. For instance, the annual ranking of universities by U.S. News & World Report has become so influential in terms of driving students to the campuses which do well that some less-than-scrupulous institutions have taken to gaming them. Others criticize the rankings. As The Economist notes:…
SBHE Candidate Steps Down After SAB Post
Yesterday I wrote about SBHE member Kevin Melicher embarrassing himself during testimony before a Senate committee. The guy was clueless about some of the scandals which happened at Dickinson State University, though today the Fargo Forum editorializes in his defense which isn’t surprising because he’s definitely a rubber stamp for NDSU on the board (the guy is…
UND Task Force Recommends No Nickname As A Permanent Option
At the legislature, University of North Dakota officials showed up to testify against a bill introduced by Rep. Scott Louser which would extend the moratorium on the school picking a new nickname (that bill will get a vote on the floor of the state House this afternoon). They claimed – as credulous Grand Forks Herald reporter…
LegitSlater: UND Nickname Survey Another Facade
As I wrote about a few weeks back, the University of North Dakota has appointed a nickname and logo taskforce to address concerns surrounding the nomination of a new “identity” for the school and its athletic teams. This taskforce conducted a virtual town hall by video teleconference in several cities across the state simultaneously on…
LegitSlater: No Name Is Best Way To "Move On"
The fight over the Fighting Sioux name and logo is one that has gone on for some time. As you may recall, it really began in earnest when the NCAA inserted itself into what was (and many still feel is) a North Dakota matter almost a decade ago, deeming the name Fighting Sioux and it’s…