HBUC v. UMUC

[Albert Hidel]

Morgan attacks planned online Ph.D. program

Here in a nutshell we have the fundamental battle of distance learning. A government protected special interest entity fighting against modern, innovative education.

In one corner we have the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), one of the leaders in providing distance learning throughout the world, with online programs as well as live extension courses taught at military bases overseas.

But Kirwan said UMUC created its program at the request of the American Association for Community Colleges, which forecasts a growing need for administrators because of booming enrollment and the impending retirement of many current campus leaders.

UMUC, based in Adelphi, is a perfect candidate to meet the need because of its flexible course schedules and worldwide reach, the chancellor said.

UMUC saw a market need and moved swiftly to fill it. Simple and correct business sense.

In the other corner we have Morgan State College, a "historically black university" protected from competition by the state for fear they would be driven out of existence.

Morgan State didn't trouble itself by assessing the market and found no need to develop or market innovative programs. Why bother? They have a special interest group constituency and are protected by the government from competition, new technology and progressive thought.

Morgan President Earl S. Richardson has used civil rights arguments to block more than a dozen proposed programs at area colleges in his 25 years at the university, including history and education programs at Towson and an electrical engineering major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His effort to block the Towson/UB MBA program was unsuccessful, though the battle spread to the state legislature and local courts.

Time for all government and protected private interests to wake up and get in step with the modern world. Either accept true "equality" and compete on even turf in the marketplace, or give it up. If your constituency values your continued existence they will step up, and if they don't they won't. Don't force taxpayers to foot the bill for the indifference of the special interest. Don't penalize the innovators for political reasons.

[Geoff Vankirk]

While I understand the legal principle involved, it's clear that the courts didn't want to allow parallel programs at a state funded HBCU and its nonblack counterparts because that would tend to reinforce segregation, because of the online nature of the UMUC program it is an apples and oranges comparison.

The solution will be to either 1. mandate that Morgan State offer the program online or 2. if Morgan can't or won't, let UMUC offer the program. Occasionally commonsense prevails, even in the court system and the state legislature. I think that it interesting to note that HBCU are no longer nearly as segregated as they were even 20 years ago and that a degree from such an institution is no longer automatically seen as inferior.

The Morgan State University president sounds like he's right out of the Rev. Wright mold.

[Don Dresden]

Lots of interesting comments accompany the article.  I particularly liked these:

...A college is a business, if you can't please your customers, someone else will. That is all it is. The same program that Morgan tried to shut down has more minorities receiving advanced degrees than the "white man." But if you cant beat something, then try to have it stopped I suppose, right?

Morgan is always talking about civil rights but what about people's right to choose? The last time I checked, I was free to apply to and enroll in whatever school I chose. Their traditional college structure is not for everyone. I'm an African-American female who works full-time and even if I did want to go to Morgan (which I don't), it would be a lot more difficult for me at a school that educates primarily traditional college students than at a school that caters to working adults. Schools like UMUC and UB offer way more night, weekend and online courses than Morgan. The people who want to take this online program most likely are not going to go to a traditional college campus as an alternative. They are taking online courses for a reason.

I am planning on enrolling in the UB/Towson MBA program and I am so glad that Morgan was unsuccessful in blocking it. I would not go to Morgan to get my MBA even if they had been successful. I love the fact that the UB/Towson program offers so much flexibility and I am really looking forward to enrolling in the future.

I really wish Morgan would put more energy into revitalizing their curriculum and being more innovative so that students will voluntarily flock to their programs rather than trying to limit and/or eliminate their choices.

As a mother of two young sons, I am angered by Morgan's stance to not offer this program to Maryland students. I would love to earn my doctorate, but value the time I have with my sons. As a full time employee, my time with my sons is already decreased, and I would feel guilty leaving them on evenings to further my education. UMUC's program would be an excellent opportunity for me, and I am angered by Morgan's meddling. As a black woman, it is frustrating for these institutions to continue using race as a determining factor,when it is obvious that this is a financial issue for Morgan, in that they do not want to lose the revenue from prospective students such as myself, who would rather enroll in an online course versu[s] the traditional face-to-face forum.

...If Morgan State truly wants to become competitive and integrated, Mr. Richardson should stop wasting time blocking programs at other schools and work to develop online degree programs at his own.

What kind of a university stands in the way of people getting an education? If these thugs are going to block educational opportunities for others then their university should be disbanded.

Seems like a total repudiation of the condescending treatment handed blacks by Morgan and the government.  Morgan just wants to defend its turf from interlopers, rather than serve its client base.   When the issue is "flexibility" (night, weekend, online courses) students with a need respond.  It's not a black vs. white issue, but rather a traditional (or obsolete) vs. modern issue.   Morgan is not responding to the needs of its clients, and so the clients are going elsewhere.  As the poster pointed out, more black people are being better served elsewhere, so why should the government force them back on the reservation?

[Dennis Ruhl]

This simply goes to show that the non-profits have perfected greed to a greater extent than the for-profits. At least they thrive by competing and offering a product people want.

[bustereva]

HI Albert Hidel,

Well,The solution will be to either 1 mandate that Morgan State offer the program on-line or 2 if Morgan can't or won't, let UMUC offer the program. Occasionally common sense prevails, even in the court system and the state legislature. I think that it interesting to note that HBCU are no longer nearly as segregated as they were even 20 years ago and that a degree from such an institution is no longer automatically seen as inferior.The Morgan State University president sounds like he's right out of the Rev. Wright mold. Morgan is not responding to the needs of its clients, and so the clients are going elsewhere.

Thanks

[Albert Hidel]

The solution will be to either 1. mandate that Morgan State offer the program online or 2. if Morgan can't or won't, let UMUC offer the program. Occasionally commonsense prevails, even in the court system and the state legislature. I think that it interesting to note that HBCU are no longer nearly as segregated as they were even 20 years ago and that a degree from such an institution is no longer automatically seen as inferior.

The Morgan State University president sounds like he's right out of the Rev. Wright mold.

Morgan is not responding to the needs of its clients, and so the clients are going elsewhere.

Well,The solution will be to either 1 mandate that Morgan State offer the program on-line or 2 if Morgan can't or won't, let UMUC offer the program. Occasionally common sense prevails, even in the court system and the state legislature. I think that it interesting to note that HBCU are no longer nearly as segregated as they were even 20 years ago and that a degree from such an institution is no longer automatically seen as inferior.The Morgan State University president sounds like he's right out of the Rev. Wright mold. Morgan is not responding to the needs of its clients, and so the clients are going elsewhere.  

Gee, bustereva, it is nice to receive a big "Hi" from you.  I'm sure Geoff Vankirk and Don Dresden are also pleased that you were so impressed with their comments that you decided to use them verbatim without attribution.  It looks like the only original thought in your entire post was the big "Hi."  

Well, it's true that this is one more original thought than we see at DD, but something tells me your real point was to create an excuse to use the word "homeopathy" as your signature.  I wonder if you don't have some more friends over there in India who would like to advertise phones and shoes and maybe their sisters for marriage on our board too?  

Next time just ask your relatives on the University of Illinois board of trustees, and I'm sure they will be happy to open an entire new School of Homeopathy just for you.   That's what degree mills do, you know.  And you won't hear a peep out of George Gollin, noted self-appointed, self-validating, self-abusing CHEA director and government agent who investigates these kinds of things.  Make sure to do it right under his big nose, just to be sure he won't notice.

BTW, do you have anything in your medicine bag that can cure whatever itchy skin disease it is that afflicts George Gollin?  He seems to have a bad rash, or perhaps even tertiary syphillis.  If you tell him it's "homeopathy" he might think you said "homo-pathy" and try to "collaborate" with you, so be careful.