Unease at Wayne State University - Are policies freezing out minorities?

[noise]

WSU needs a much better adult-undergrad student schedule program/accommodations.. it's frustrating to have to deal with work + midday classes, with few options for evenings and weekends...

WSU should be operating charter schools, DPS tutoring programs if they are concerned about DPS graduation rates/equivalency levels. Prioritizing research over undergraduate retention is a longtime gripe of mine with colleges in general..

recruiting national/international students while ignoring the local student pool is disingenuous, at best.. And this is a public university, I'm not trying to hear all this stuff about elitist entitlement protocols..

I disagree with this. WSU is not a community college and should not compete with a community college. WSU is a RU/VH [[formerly Research I) institution. I don't think jeopardizing that status is wise. In my opinion, it would be better for Detroit to have something more like University of Michigan. That's why Wayne County Community College exists. Asking WSU to do more with less funding isn't fair, especially when it's struggling to build a stronger reputation.

I'm a strong advocate of community colleges. Many students who end up at a large research university [[especially WSU) would be better suited to start at a community college. I went straight to MSU when I was 18, but a large part of me wishes I'd have started at a CC.

Ultimately, I feel that you either want a premier research institution or a poorly-regarded, open-door diploma mill. You can't have both. WSU is trying, seemingly unsuccessfully, to straddle these extremes.

[Zacha341]

Agreed. The university cannot be both. And as I touched on earlier, WSU has a post under-grad and grad school aspect to maintain standards for and there are less problems at that level, IMO.

WSU is not perfect, but I'm taking post under grad classes their and have several colleagues and friends who've earned their Masters degrees from WSU. The problem of is mainly at the beginning of process. Too many students presenting absent of core skills or the commitment to study and work hard.

Students not prepared for the university setting should seek other alternatives to prepare.

Ultimately, I feel that you either want a premier research institution or a poorly-regarded, open-door diploma mill. You can't have both. WSU is trying, seemingly unsuccessfully, to straddle these extremes.

[MrNittany]

I disagree with this. WSU is not a community college and should not compete with a community college. WSU is a RU/VH [[formerly Research I) institution. I don't think jeopardizing that status is wise. In my opinion, it would be better for Detroit to have something more like University of Michigan. That's why Wayne County Community College exists. Asking WSU to do more with less funding isn't fair, especially when it's struggling to build a stronger reputation.

I'm a strong advocate of community colleges. Many students who end up at a large research university [[especially WSU) would be better suited to start at a community college. I went straight to MSU when I was 18, but a large part of me wishes I'd have started at a CC.

Ultimately, I feel that you either want a premier research institution or a poorly-regarded, open-door diploma mill. You can't have both. WSU is trying, seemingly unsuccessfully, to straddle these extremes.

This is exactly it. It is IMPOSSIBLE for Wayne State to simultaneously:

[[1) offer an essentially open-admissions policy for undergrads, and
[[2) CREDIBLY market itself as a "top-tier [[RU/VH)research instuition" [[which it is).

If you have to sacrifice one of the two, it MUST be the former. Sorry if that hurts others' feelings, but that's what I want as a Wayne State alum myself.