Leatherneck Nation

Or U of I could run it like a business and see the red on the WIU side and just say well we have plenty of campuses and.then shut WIU down.

leatherface wrote:How about WIU become a branch of the U of I, and be the official Liberal Arts campus? U of I at Macomb?

I don't see our becoming a part of the University of Illinois system as a "positive" for Western.

In times of financial difficulties (like the present time), the money would be flowing in to keep the "top dog" UIUC campus going while the "forgotten step-children" (Western, Eastern, etc) go without.

wiu712 wrote:

leatherface wrote:How about WIU become a branch of the U of I, and be the official Liberal Arts campus? U of I at Macomb?

I don't see our becoming a part of the University of Illinois system as a "positive" for Western.

In times of financial difficulties (like the present time), the money would be flowing in to keep the "top dog" UIUC campus going while the "forgotten step-children" (Western, Eastern, etc) go without.

Common sense says the current dichotomy is already a big negative for all schools which are not a part of the U of I system. They (mostly UIUC) have the REAL lobbying clout in the state and the endowment dollars to back it up. I think putting all public 4 year colleges under the same umbrella makes a lot of sense when trying to "right the ship" state-wide.

ST_Lawson wrote:

RedNeck wrote:What is a "Directional School"?

Generally used to refer to the "non-state" state schools.
Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western....they are directions...therefore "directional".

University of....
... State University
Those are not considered "directional" usually, even if occasionally some will be relatively comparable to some of the directional schools in the state (Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State)...people usually think more of Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan State, etc.

You'll also occasionally see directions like Central (Michigan, Arkansas), Southeastern (Louisiana), etc.

Obviously there are exceptions, but in general, each state has one or two "primary" state schools, and the rest are "directional".[/quote

"Directional University" is a Pejorative term.

One person's opinion:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... university
Directional university
A state-supported university in the United States whose name includes a compass direction, e.g. "North state name State University." Many directional universities started out as teachers' colleges, broadening their educational missions in the 1950's or 1960's. In most instances a directional university has easier admissions standards than its state's flagship university ("The University of state name") and serves a greater proportion of commuter/part-time/older students.

U.S. news and World Report classifies Western Illinois University as a Regional University....others in that category include Truman State, Missouri State, SIUe, EIU et cetera.

The only time I hear "Directional University" used it is the context that the person that is saying it is trying to sound superior comparing to another school that may not have a Geographical Reference in name of the School.

Northwestern is a direction.

I would half to gather that Northwestern University is a "Directional School" (yes I know it is in reference to the Northwest Territory)

USC, would also be a "Directional School"

Missouri State used to be a "Directional School" but they changed their name which means they must also be a completely different and better quality of University.




Directional does not indicate a certain type of university.

Maybe Western should go the route that Northeast Missouri State went.

How does Grant State University sound?

RedNeck wrote:Maybe Western should go the route that Northeast Missouri State went.

How does Grant State University sound?

That's definitely one option that's been discussed for the state universities in Illinois, depending on where things go with the budget. Become more focused in what majors we offer, specialize, raise standards and cut enrollment some. I'm a little worried about what that means for current employees who are still a long ways from retirement, but are pretty settled in their current situations (like, myself and my wife, for example). Something like this could be a pretty rough transition depending on how they decide to reorganize things.

Redneck- Yes, the term "directional school" I heard was oftentimes used by sports announcers in a rather mocking context. Usually meant a smaller upstart program- not one of the established major schools.

Like this guy, I hope and pray our colleges do not become too business-like. I have taken a few courses at a for-profit place (Strayer). You get a certificate or piece of paper when you come out of there - a pretty cold and impersonal place IMO. A lot of what you learn at college does not come from any classroom or lab - or at least it seemed that way to me coming from a small town in west-central Illinois.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/daily ... e-college/

RedNeck wrote:Maybe Western should go the route that Northeast Missouri State went.

How does Grant State University sound?

When NEMO became Truman State that emerged as a very different, and much improved university. It takes a great deal of leadership to dare to be different, but it certainly worked out very well at Truman - higher academic standard, improved retention, etc.

But rather than Grant State, I think we should be looking at famous names well connected with Western, at least as notable as Sherman.

Who was Sherman, and his/her association with WESTERN?