USM was in the 4th tier a few years ago. All the Mississippi schools suffer from low funding, low admission standards, and high student faculty ratios. What has hurt USM in the past is the academic reputation category.

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Originally posted by: Tear Drop
"I hope the reported tier drop is not true, but if it is, an appropriate USM faculty representation should run, not walk, to the nearest IHL board with some demands - not suggestions, but demands. "

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Between your name and your message, I am seeing some definate award potential in you!

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Originally posted by: Indy Eagle
"This is unbelieveable. Didn't USM just have a "feature" in US News? "

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No, USM had a *paid advertisement* in the US News.  Big difference.  But it's all about the spin.

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Originally posted by: Indy Eagle
"If SFT counters by saying rankings don't tell the whole story . . .

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I may have mentioned this before, but once upon a time when the prestigious NRC ratings were out, our department was pitifuly low on the scale, and I pointed that out that fact to a high-level USM administrator. The response was disheartening, to say the least. I was told something like 'ratings don't mean a thing,' 'must be a computational error,' or 'they didn't use the proper criteria.' I hadn't pointed out our low rating just to be mean or anything like that (I only got that way after I had been here a few years). I called attention to our very low rating because I thought, incorrectly, that it might help in obtaining some much needed personnel resources for our deparment when positions were allocated. My point is: When the rankings/ratings are high, they seem to be touted to the public; but when those ranking/ratings are low, they seem to be hidden, denied, or rejected.

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Originally posted by: Verified
"Welcome to tier 4...the last and final front-tier."  

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An even more discouraging consideration is that the U.S. News data were probably collected before the terrible publicity last Spring. Even considering the fact that the negative Spring publicity was probably not factored into the current ratings, USM's rating fell from tier three to tier four. Last Spring's events have now filtered to all parts of the country. It would be surprising if USM can even retain its current position in the ratings next year. It will be tough for USM to recover. We will likely go from tier four to tear drop.

What will be really interesting to see is if Shelbo and LSM acknowledge the fall and how they handle this external validation of their mediocre management.  Will the Hat-American write about this?  Admin. will probably blame faculty no doubt. 

The IHL plan is coming together well.  I hear corks a-poppin in Oxford and Starkville.

hey, what about our "worl' class standing"??????  Tier 4??? How SFT must deplore.

Sideshow Barker: All right, fellow carnival workers, the US News ratings show that USM has dipped from a 3rd tier institution to a 4th tier institution. How are we going to show the public that things are still well and good in River City?

Merry-Go-Round Operator: I know, I know. The US News data is evidently scheduled to appear in a book entitled America's Best Colleges 2005. So why don't we simply prepare a press list that says "USM named in "America's Best Colleges 2005." No need to call attention to the drop from third tier to fourth tier. Razzle dazzle them. Light up the midway. Open up the gates, here comes the press. Truth in packaging. Yes Sireee!

 

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Originally posted by: Tear Drop
"Sideshow Barker: All right, fellow carnival workers, the US News ratings show that USM has dipped from a 3rd tier institution to a 4th tier institution. How are we going to show the public that things are still well and good in River City? Merry-Go-Round Operator: I know, I know. The US News data is evidently scheduled to appear in a book entitled America's Best Colleges 2005. So why don't we simply prepare a press list that says "USM named in "America's Best Colleges 2005." No need to call attention to the drop from third tier to fourth tier. Razzle dazzle them. Light up the midway. Open up the gates, here comes the press. Truth in packaging. Yes Sireee!  "

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With a Capital P that stands for T that stands for THAMES

It was so nice, not to mention important, for USM to have academic pockets of excellence (e.g., English, Nursing, Fine Arts) when our overall ranking has always been suspect. From what I read, many of those pockets of excellence have been allowed to wither during the past couple of years. I fail to understand why some of the very departments which helped us maintain the higher tier rating have been treated in this manner.

Mississippi Woman's University: tier 3

County Class?

Hardy High and Institute of Technology (HIT), as in we are hitting bottom. Or are we already there?

 

If the team physician says "this player's leg is broken" - believe the professional

If the conductor says "the violin section is out of key"  - believe the professional

If a corporation's CFO says "the company is bankrupt" - believe it the professional

If a veteranarian says "this dog has rabies" - believe it the professional

If a judge says "30 days in jail"  - believe the professional

If a plumber says "This faucet's leaking" - believe the professional

If a ship captain says "man overboard" - believe the professional

If a flight attendant says "storm ahead, fasten seatbelts" - believe the professional

If a lumberjack yells "TIMBER!" - believe the professional

If a university faculty says "we're going down the tubes" - believe the professionals

Why does the IHL not believe the professionals? (Or perhaps it does)