I wish the school I went to had had an equine sciences program – with equestrian team! – when I was there.
I am very glad to hear of the present-day cooperation between the smaller and larger schools and this news that another school is closing makes me sad.
A small college – with an equestrian program – not far from where I used to live closed recently. 
I’m not sure it’s as much of a “cooperation” as it is creating a demand for their product. Though there is cooperation in some instances.
(Raises hand) I am one of these kids. Graduated in 2001 with an economics degree from a fancy New England private school. Which I have never used in my entire career. But we didn’t know any better in those days. My parents didn’t go to college, and they 100% bought into the narrative that college was a golden ticket. Of course I’m glad I went to college. I even went on to get a Masters (in another field). But I wish I could go back in time, tell my younger self some truths, and saved buckets of money. Which I probably would’ve spent on horses, but still.
9 Likes
Totally legit choice!!
8 Likes
Very similar story here, though I wasn’t first generation college. I graduated in 2004. I adore my alma mater and am very grateful for my education… but they were perfectly happy to let me make some huge mistakes that shouldn’t have happened. I don’t hold it against them because I also did courses at a large state school and they were even worse. It was the culture of the time. I think the incoming students, for the most part, have less stars in their eyes than our generation did.
1 Like
Hi, SUNY alum (and now employee) here. 4 years at a SUNY, worked in ResLife for 3 of them to take a sizable chunk out of the cost. Going to perhaps a less prestigious (but also much less expensive) state school for undergrad enabled me to have my pick of private graduate programs. The academic and extracurricular rigor at SUNY helped me secure a huge scholarship to my top choice.
I finished my undergrad and my Masters without student loan debt. I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunities I did as a SUNY student, and now to hopefully help current students enjoy the same.
10 Likes
A step on the right direction, remains to be seen if it works. The article mentions a few private equestrian schools that aren’t taking this approach.
1 Like
News like this really saddens me. I understand the appeal of a state-funded university, but that setting is not the right one for every student. I went to a small liberal arts college with an equestrian program, Being smaller and having an equestrian program were 2 of my most important criteria. I would not have been a good candidate for large, lecture-style programs. I do best in smaller groups that allow for discussion and questions. I went to school to be a teacher, so a college degree was required. I am no longer in that profession, but I feel that, regardless of career path, college was the right choice for me.
Sadly, my college has made some “interesting” choices since I left. When I was there we did have the “build your own major” thing, but to be honest, I don’t know anyone who chose that path. Most people chose more traditional paths. I believe they have done away with the “build your own”, but they have also eliminated some more traditional majors that lead to actual jobs, including my major of Special Education. Mind you, this college started off as a teachers college… Oh well. I’d rather see them make changes than disappear.
But I think that is part of the problem - the SUNY system has small liberal arts colleges. I went to a SUNY (State University of New York). I had small classes, and most of my classes were discussion based. I took very few lectures. The school I went to is about 2 hours away from Cazenovia, more selective, had a higher post-graduate employment rate, and a fraction of the cost. A robust state funded university system - where students can choose between a large university type environment or smaller liberal arts setting - makes it less attractive for students to pay 6 figures for their undergrad education.
4 Likes
That’s assuming that states have SUNY type programs. I’m not sure many do. I know that they do not exist in my state. So losing the smaller colleges like this does impact the options students have.
Yes, but I’m speaking speaking specifically to New York’s system since that is where Caz is located.
1 Like
For sure that could be a factor for Cazenovia, the conversation I was contributing to was about the decline of small liberal-arts colleges across the US, not specifically Caz/NY schools. Overall, I don’t see the SUNY type schools being the cause for decline of other smaller lib-arts schools.
But even speaking as a fellow private small liberal arts college graduate, I think the solution moving forward isn’t to prop up failing, expensive private schools but rather for MORE states to be like NY, and have a diversity of affordable, public institutions for students to choose from at lower cost, including smaller state schools and smaller honors programs.
I loved the education I received, but the grants and loans that helped me through just aren’t there any more. And truthfully, I would have loved access to both theoretical learning and more practical skills, which is what you can get at many SUNY schools.
7 Likes
I both agree and disagree… or at least I think I do.
In the mid 00s I was part of a team tasked with aligning the curriculum at all Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges with all Tennessee state universities (who were under TBR control at that time, they have since separated).
The idea was you could take a course, like a 100s level Biology 1 course, and it would be the same exact curriculum and materials whether you took it at a large state university or your local community college.
On one hand, it was wonderful for the community colleges. It made credit transfer guaranteed and bolstered their reputations, as you could say you were taking the exact same course that you would take at any of the larger universities.
But on the other hand, something is definitely lost with canned curriculum and the lack of autonomy of the instructor. Exactly how much of the curriculum will be controlled by single players if everything is aligned?
I don’t know if SUNY’s colleges are that aligned; I don’t think they are. But I fear a world where you have large government organizations dictating higher education.
I wish we could keep diversity in institutions without the sky high cost. But I also see the writing on the wall that aligned university systems are the way of the future.
1 Like
I agree that my own education was wonderful and unique, and wish I could do it over again with the appreciation of someone in her 40s! But, on the other hand, I admit that it didn’t really prepare me as well as it should have for the workforce, launch me into a career, or give me a taste of different occupations I could experience. And I didn’t have the loans kids today have. I agree it’s about balance, and schools seem to be tipping too far away from learning for learning’s sake. But on the other hand, the more costly an education is, the more people not only want but need to see some return on the investment.
New York really does have a great state system–even some programs at Cornell University offer in-state tuition to residents (the ag school, for example).
1 Like
There are certain types of education that just don’t “scale up” well. I graduated from Reed College, which at the time I was there was about 1200 students; it’s now around 1450 (30+ years later). All “big lecture classes” also had a weekly or biweekly “conference” or lab of 15-30 students – all taught by professors. The biggest of them was a required freshman class, so 250-400 students depending on the year, and a whole team of professors leading the conferences. Every student has a faculty advisor (providing real advisement) and writes a senior thesis.
“Elite” universities like those in the Ivy league are NOT going to grow bigger, as the exclusivity is a huge part of the value of attending.
