Kentucky to cut college programs

www.insidehighered.com...

Basically, the Kentucky experiment continues. They cut taxes and didn't see additional revenues, so they started cutting everything the state funded. Currently they're $200 million in the hole for this school term, and they can't cut compulsory education further. As a result, they're going to start cutting college programs.

Basically, they want the colleges in their state to evaluate each program and stop offering anything that doesn't lead directly to meaningful employment.

Not only does this mean that Matt Bevin clearly doesn't understand the point of college, but his own degree is a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian history which has zero job prospects, and he recieved considerable funding assistance in order to get.

I always thought college was a place students went to get brain washed, party, and become so in debt when they graduate, that they have to get a job at Wal-Mart, in an attempt to pay it back.

Cut & Chop !!!

a reply to: Aazadan

The same state that found it a good idea to give an $18,000,000 tax break to a creationist museum.

Because humans riding Dinosaurs..

Ahhh, Kentucky. Training the next generation of worker bees. Same as it ever was.

a reply to: Aazadan

It's what they voted for. I am out of sympathy for rural counties. They are part of the purge to give more to the rich and corporations.

a reply to: Aazadan

Question. Is this strictly a state budget problem or is this due to declining enrollments?

Asking because I keep seeing stories of cutbacks at State U's because of declining enrollments which begs the question, why?

Just curious.
Thanks

originally posted by: underwerks
The same state that found it a good idea to give an $18,000,000 tax break to a creationist museum.

Because humans riding Dinosaurs..

I had to visit this place for work since we were supplying some of the material for the 'museum'. So don't feel too bad, some of that cash went to a good cause. Me.

a reply to: Black_Fox

Actually, that is not altogether true. The A&M (Agricultural and Mechanical) provide really good technical and business educations. People from all over the world come to Texas A&M for everything from engineering degrees to advanced Ag decrees. I read about a wealthy Italian gentleman who did 4 years at the school to learn the wine making business, then returned to Italy where he started and manages a very lucrative and successful vinyard and wine making/bottling and marketing business. He learned that at A&M.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: Aazadan

It's what they voted for. I am out of sympathy for rural counties. They are part of the purge to give more to the rich and corporations.

Bevin was elected because Democrats didn't go out and vote. Voter turnout was abysmal.

Turnout in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election was simply dreadful. According to the state’s chief elections officer, preliminary results show that only 30.7 percent of voters actually cast a ballot in this off-off-year election. That compares with 45.9 percent of voters in 2014 — a midterm election that featured the lowest turnout rate since World War II — and 59.4 percent of voters during the 2012 presidential race.

...

On the eve of the election, Real Clear Politics’s polling average of the Kentucky governor’s race showed Democrat Jack Conway leading Republican Matt Bevin by more than five points. Yet, with most of the state sitting out this election, Bevin instead defeated Conway 53–44.

Link

But, sure, go ahead and blame it on rural Republicans and not the Democrats who didn't vote. Conway was poised to win...but Democratic voters stayed home.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: underwerks
The same state that found it a good idea to give an $18,000,000 tax break to a creationist museum.

Because humans riding Dinosaurs..

I had to visit this place for work since we were supplying some of the material for the 'museum'. So don't feel too bad, some of that cash went to a good cause. Me.

You're a purveyor of plastic Dinosaurs? Can I order one with Jesus on top? I'd love one for my front yard to freak out all my liberal neighbors here in the PNW..

"You can take the boy out of Kentucky.."

a reply to: Aazadan

Kentucky needs to legalize recreational use marijuana to generate revenue for the state.

The end.

originally posted by: underwerks

You're a purveyor of plastic Dinosaurs? Can I order one with Jesus on top? I'd love one for my front yard to freak out all my liberal neighbors here in the PNW..

"You can take the boy out of Kentucky.."

I wish, then I could have them in every nativity scene from here to Nazareth.

a reply to: Aazadan

Hopefully it removes programs that teaches Regressive Leftists/SJW nonsense.

After the Shapiro incident, I believe all colleges in the US need to remove the Regressive Leftist programs in campus.

They have been nothing but trouble.

As for history courses (I'm a history major) they need to start teaching real history, not censor history like calling historians who dared to criticize Radical Islam "Islamophobe" and PC "history".

a reply to: Aazadan

Wait, you're saying that some of these professors and administrators, so beholden to and in love with government control as a general rule, are unhappy with the government telling them to cut things?

Whodathunkit?

Here's a mental exercise: Let's make every state college/university in KY prove the worth and value of their programs that they don't want to cut. I mean, anyone who has been to a college or university and seen the list of available degrees fully understands that, as a whole, there are so many degrees available that are utterly ridiculous to hold post graduation, or that have a job-placement percentage of the degree in the single digits.

There is absolutely ZERO wrong with the governor telling these institutions to cut the fat. However, like the article notes, I don't think that the programs that will end up being candidates to cut really are that big of a strain on the purse of education funding, so while I admire his goal, I think that it will fall well short of any major, positive fiscal impact.

But like the link cites in the story:

“It is reasonable to ask universities and community colleges to be more thoughtful than sometimes they are about when it’s time to downsize or close programs,” Johnson said. “It’s very easy to open programs and to respond to things that are happening in culture or technology, but they don’t tend to get shut down over time.”

But out of sheer curiosity, Aazadan, what is your opinion as to "the point of college?"

I must digress a little, but we are talking about Kentucky!

Murders are so hard to solve there. The DNA is the same and there are no dental records.

a reply to: iufan35

a reply to: Aazadan

Lol. Way to go Kentucky. Ruining the future of your state to save a buck...

a reply to: Aazadan


This seems rather short-sighted, if the original goal of its university system was to have more educated Kentucky citizens.

But I guess there's always coal and bluegrass music they can export.

originally posted by: icanteven
a reply to: Aazadan


This seems rather short-sighted, if the original goal of its university system was to have more educated Kentucky citizens.

My sister writes for grants in a state literacy program, in Frankfort. Their state funding has been slashed and slashed, over the last several years.

I am sure there's a ton of waste in state government spending that would be better targeted, but there are other educational programs that *might* benefit from this move.

I doubt it, but maybe.

From what I've read, the programs targeted by this initiative won't save much.

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: Aazadan

Question. Is this strictly a state budget problem or is this due to declining enrollments?

Asking because I keep seeing stories of cutbacks at State U's because of declining enrollments which begs the question, why?

Just curious.
Thanks

This has to do with state budgets, declining enrollments are a different issue.