My Testimony - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 28, 2005

RE: My Testimony

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Invictus wrote:

I see RR's post as a combination of (a) a student "losing" connection to an institution, (b) a young person who's tasted "freedom" & finds that the 'rents ain't what it used to be, and (c) a good student who doesn't feel challenged. . . .

Could RR be (d) a troll looking to stir things up?

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Multiple Choice wrote:

Invictus wrote:
I see RR's post as a combination of (a) a student "losing" connection to an institution, (b) a young person who's tasted "freedom" & finds that the 'rents ain't what it used to be, and (c) a good student who doesn't feel challenged. . . .
Could RR be (d) a troll looking to stir things up?

If so, she failed miserably, as the responses have in general been fairly moderate.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Multiple Choice wrote:

Could RR be (d) a troll looking to stir things up?

Here's an issue I want to raise: Why does she have to be a troll just because she expresses a negative opinion about USM that is not directly and uniquely tied to Thames? Most of her points relate directly to his actions (or lack thereof), but the mere fact that she has struck a chord with others (and echoes a sentiment heard by others before) should quell "troll talk."

Date: Jun 28, 2005

RR writes like a student, and the post is too detailed and emotional for me to think she's a troll. We're expecting and evaluating a person who is 19-20 years old as if she were 35 or 40. Give the girl a break. A lot of her comments did strike a nerve.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Gentleman's "C" wrote:
What is relevant is Returning Rebel's description of the academic atmosphere and course rigor at Ole Miss as compared to USM. .

Although it seems pretty clear that the lack of academic standards has been a problem at USM for many years, the important question to ask now is if academic standards are better or worse currently than they were three years ago.

What's the answer? Who's collecting the data? Isn't SACS going to want to know something about this? Where is the outcome information? If we have data on anything we should have data on that.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Dr. Feelgood wrote:

the important question to ask now is if academic standards are better or worse currently than they were three years ago. What's the answer? Who's collecting the data? Isn't SACS going to want to know something about this? Where is the outcome information? If we have data on anything we should have data on that.

We probably do have the answers but they may be answers you do not want to hear. Don't you think that if the answers were overwhelmingly positive they would have been shoved in our face already?

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Students get the sense that USM will fall short in many areas from day one. While summer orientation for new students at bigger places is an overnight affair with lots of activities, at USM is like a bad day camp.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

house pet wrote:

Students get the sense that USM will fall short in many areas from day one. While summer orientation for new students at bigger places is an overnight affair with lots of activities, at USM is like a bad day camp.

I agree, hp. I think it sends a bad message to incoming students that they can come to orientation, stay a few hours, and then go home for dinner. It sets them up for the idea that USM is a commuter school and not a place to "live" as RR described in her post.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

house pet wrote:

While summer orientation for new students at bigger places is an overnight affair with lots of activities, at USM is like a bad day camp.

Do we still give academic credit to students who attend preview orientation?

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Easiest course in the universe wrote:

Do we still give academic credit to students who attend preview orientation?

Yes, they receive 9 hours of 600 level credit toward a USM doctorate in Economic Development. And, the course may be repeated for credit each academic year.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

You Don't Know Half of It wrote:

Yes, they receive 9 hours of 600 level credit toward a USM doctorate in Economic Development. And, the course may be repeated for credit each academic year.

I was referring to undergraduate preview orientation. I thought some departments gave their grad students credit just for registering in order to bring them to full time status.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Easiest course in the universe wrote:

I was referring to undergraduate preview orientation. I thought some departments gave their grad students credit just for registering in order to bring them to full time status.

I understood your reference. And then there are some departments which give their grad students credit for merely writing a tuition check, namely, ED...

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Easiest course in the universe wrote:

house pet wrote: While summer orientation for new students at bigger places is an overnight affair with lots of activities, at USM is like a bad day camp. Do we still give academic credit to students who attend preview orientation?

Yes, they get one hour of course credit.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

I've been here through 3 presidents and have a criticism common to all three. The lack of planned student activities at USM (or lack thereof) has been beyond belief. During all three there has been no discernible attempt to create events or activities that would "bind" the students to the campus. For whatever reasons, the campus is being made more conducive to those sorts of activities (student union, etc.). In the house cleaning to come, I hope we get someone to focus on these issues as this never happened in the past. Perhaps a good place to start would be with a new person in a certain spot in the organizational chart that doesn't currently have much to do.

You don't create a "culture" like UM or Texas A&M out of thin air. However, for pete's sake I wish someone would "try" before I retire.

Date: Jun 28, 2005

48 hours required for a Ph.D. in ED:

3 hours for each semester tuition payment that doesn't bounce (six semesters)
plus 3 hours of call center accounting
plus 3 hours of call center management
plus 3 hours of ED Law (focuses on the S.C.'s recent ruling, aka "Land Grab 699")
plus 3 hours of ED for Southern States
plus 18 hours of Special Problems in ED

Total of 48 hours credit

Date: Jun 28, 2005

Special Registrar for ED wrote:

48 hours required for a Ph.D. in ED: 3 hours for each semester tuition payment that doesn't bounce (six semesters) plus 3 hours of call center accounting plus 3 hours of call center management plus 3 hours of ED Law (focuses on the S.C.'s recent ruling, aka "Land Grab 699") plus 3 hours of ED for Southern States plus 18 hours of Special Problems in ED Total of 48 hours credit

Your post is incorrect. You left out an unspecified number of credit hours for the dissertation. Your post is implying that the program is less rigorous than is actually the case. Flying from New Orleans to Belize is very tiring.

Date: Jun 29, 2005

Hannah Reb wrote:

More than once I have commented to my parents and friends in the H'burg area that I am absolutely SHOCKED at the lack of response from USM alumni. You can bet your eagle feathers that if this had transpired in Oxford, it would have resulted in a MAJOR outcry from the alumni. Regardless of whose side an alum of USM is on (faculty or Thames) the fact remains clear. His presidency is causing and has caused tremendous turmoil and embarrassment for USM. I wouldn't let anyone mess with my Ole Miss like that. I am a very proud alumna of The University of Mississippi, and I will not let ANYONE take her down without a fight. I feel sure that there are many Rebels who feel the same way.

FWIW, I too have been shocked at the lack of comment from USM alumni. The values of their degrees have been degraded in the eyes of the whole nation by Shelby and his gang, and yet we have heard surprisingly little from them, or from current students. I do not understand this.

Date: Jun 29, 2005

While an administration that encourages grade inflation can clearly destroy university standards, in my experience, they can be shored up by at least two things: strong professors who aren't cowed by an administration and a major where grades don't matter as much. I'm not sure how mant of those majors exist at USM - Medical School and Engineering are well-known examples - but they have definitely had many profs of the type they need. Some very good ones have left. RR, I think you could have found some of the sort of classes you wanted, but the number may be dwindling.

Activities - my impression from a couple of schools is that a little more money and planning go a long way. Big name performers are obviously the best, but you can get the same sort of enthusiasm for an expert pool player, superb author, etc. If you have more events that are of very limited interest, they are nearly invisible to students.

Cult classic movies are generally a big draw. What is today's Rocky Horror Picture Show?