Another unaccredited university to open in CA

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by oxpecker, Aug 14, 2004.

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  1. oxpecker

    oxpecker New Member

  2. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    "Another unaccredited university to open in CA"

    Until they are accredited, courses wil be awarded by another UC school (The same approach as with Cal State Universities Channel Islands and Monterey)

    The location of this school should make it attractive to rock climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts because its proximity to Yosemite National Park.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 14, 2004
  3. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    A sensible approach. I wonder how many other examples of an unaccredited school doing the training and an accredited school granting the degree. There was the half-century arrangement between Henley and the Royal Chartered Brunel university, until Henley went off on its own.
     
  4. boydston

    boydston New Member

    I think they applied for WASC last year and I suspect that by the time the first class graduates in 2007 they should be fully approved. The first undergrads start in the fall of 2005 but they've been running a UC Merced program in conjunction with the community colleges so they will open with third year students. The first grad students start this fall.

    I've been working on starting a church in Merced so I've spent some time there. I was out at the campus just a few days ago. It's impressive seeing it grow out of the first rise into the foothills. A few years ago I played golf on the very spot where the first set of buildings are going up.
     
  5. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Not on the BPPVE list. Illegal in Oregon. Obviously a mill.

    http://www.ucmerced.edu

    In real life, this is the most impressive new university start-up in the state of California. Control by the UC system gives it as much credibility in my eyes as WASC accreditation would. A UC campus is just kind of inherently credible.

    Maybe Oregon could even be pursuaded to recognize it.
     
  6. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    Or at least candidates.

    I wonder if UCMerced will have to go through candidacy or whether it will move immediately from application and initial site visits to full accreditation.

    WASC kind of created a precedent for its strongest applicants when it inducted the Keck Institute of Applied Life Sciences without requiring it to undergo candidacy. Keck figured that they didn't need to screw around and could meet WASC requirements right out of the gate. WASC agreed and apparently were very impressed. I suspect that a University of California campus might prove equally impressive. But it's a much bigger undertaking too.
     
  7. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Was UC Merced thinking of opening a law school? I seem to remember seeing that the UC system did some research to determine whether the state needs a fifth public law school, in addition to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Hastings, and UC Davis. (Actually, I should've mentioned Boldt Hall FIRST)

    I would think that four public law schools for a population of, what, 38 million? runs a little thin. On the other hand, CA has 15 private (expensive) ABA accredited schools as well, so there are plenty of seats.

    I'm not even COUNTING the Calbar accredited, unaccredited, and D/L programs out there...
     
  8. oxpecker

    oxpecker New Member

    Insert gratuitous lawyer joke here.
     
  9. tmartca

    tmartca New Member

    Was UC Merced thinking of opening a law school? I seem to remember seeing that the UC system did some research to determine whether the state needs a fifth public law school, in addition to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Hastings, and UC Davis.

    The UC Regents were conducting feasibility studies to build a six and possibly a seventh public law school at UC Irvine and UC Riverside. However, any proposed plans were put on hold due to the state's financial situation.

    I don't think that UC Merced will have a law school due to where the current UC law schools are located. Berkeley, Hastings and Davis are in northern California. UCLA is is the only school in southern California. Considering that the majority of the state's population lives in southern California, I think the UC regents will look to balance things out.
     
  10. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Ah. So where was the proposed FIFTH public law school? Or did I leave one out?
     
  11. tmartca

    tmartca New Member

    Sorry, thanks for the correction. When I was at UC Riverside some of my professors and TAs (I was in the Political Science UG program) were talking about the UC Regents adding at least one law school and, if enough funding was raised, two law schools in southern California.

    I think this is pretty interesting. When the budget crisis hit UC San Diego signed a collaborative agreement with California Western School of Law. Maybe UC Irvine and UC Riverside will choose the same route in the absence of excess state funds available to them.

    http://www.cwsl.edu/main/default.asp?nav=news.asp&body=news/archives/2002_12_11.asp
     
  12. boydston

    boydston New Member

    I haven't seen a law school in the plans but they are pushing the med school button with some vigor. At least they are dreaming big. But it was big dreaming that managed to get a UC in a small slightly impoverished Central Valley city. Link
     
  13. tcnixon

    tcnixon Active Member

    Quite true. I know that Fresno pushed hard for it to be one of the local (to us) sites. We already have a CSU campus, but the comparison was made to San Diego (which has one of each). While Fresno isn't exactly a thriving megalopolis, it is a city of over 400,000 people compared to Merced's 67,500.

    Getting a UC campus will forever change Merced. It will be interesting to see if, 20 years down the line, they're happy with the change.



    Tom Nixon
     
  14. boydston

    boydston New Member

    Be careful about what you pray for. You might get it.

    I know they've been warned but I still think they are clueless as to what is about to happen to them. This is a socially and politically conservative part of the state. I, too, hope to be around to hear what they think of it all in 2025.

    It's not just Merced, though, the whole Central Valley is exploding -- a phenomena parallel to what is happening in the Inland Empire in SoCal.
     
  15. shosh

    shosh New Member

    I'm confused. I hope you're not trying to imply that there's a causation between being socially and politically conservative and being clueless.

    There have been UCs in other small towns before as well so look at their histories. Maybe I'm wrong but in 1965 (?) when UCSC was started SC was a small town, maybe smaller than Merced. Of course I don't know if Merced has anything near it that you could compare to S. Jose and environs with its relatively large job market.
     
  16. boydston

    boydston New Member

    Not at all! My point was that they are about to be swamped by a wave of less conservative thinking and lifestyle. No matter how much you brace yourself you're not going to be ready for that kind of thing. Perhaps "clueless' was a poor word choice.

    Nor am I suggesting that everyone associated with a University of California is liberal. (The largest student organization on the UC Berkeley campus is the young Republican organization). It's just that there will be a stronger more leftish element which will find or create a niche in the community, too.

    Santa Cruz is a good example of the point I'm making. Perhaps Davis is case in point #2. These were both relatively conservaitve communities that went through a dramatic ethos transformation with the arrival of the university. The city council in Santa Cruz was at one time controled by socialists. That would have never happened prior to the arrival of UCSC.

    Turlock (where I live) *grin*.

    Actually Santa Cruz wasn't very close to San Jose in the mid-60's. It took longer to get there than it does today. Generally speaking there was no commute traffic because people were less inclined to do that kind of thing back then. Santa Cruz was a small very distinct town catering to retirees, tourists, and a few clean-cut kids with surf boards. And yes I think it was probably smaller than Merced. It still is!

    Merced is about 70,000 people right now. That number is expected to double in the next 10 years and they are currently rolling out the streets to make that happen.
     
  17. BillDayson

    BillDayson New Member

    I agree with Boydston. Opening a University of California in a relatively small town is going to introduce a huge block of adolescent voters with counter-culture pretensions. They are going to be transient, with few long term ties to the community, and all of them are going to be renters. Merced should expect rent-control initiatives and stuff like that.

    The town's business mix is going to change from that of a sleepy agricultural county seat to something a lot more alternative and edgy. A lot of the town's middle aged and senior residents might feel a little out of place in the brave new Merced, particularly if the new residents decide that the longtime locals are the reactionary enemy.

    Town-gown conflicts date back to the earliest days of medieval universities.

    On the plus side, there will be a bunch of new bookstores and cafes, and the variety of local cultural events should grow tremendously. All the youth-oriented nightlife stuff will be completely transformed. There should be a lot of new business opportunities for those willing to seize them.
     
  18. boydston

    boydston New Member

    I agree. The positives will far outweigh the negatives. And once they catch their collective breath I believe that most people will realize it.

    I've really come to enjoy Merced. It's not a tourist destination but it is a wonderful mix of people in a great spot. It has always lagged behind the rest of the state economically and this is a chance for them, and the rest of us in the immediate area, to catch up a bit.
     
  19. shosh

    shosh New Member

    Hmm. all my quotes are gone. Anyway, this makes more sense. So its going to be cultural shock and its going to create, overtime, big changes in Merced and its political and cultural climate, perhaps not to the liking of the current inhabitants.

    That's amazing. I think of Cal as being extremely left wing. I think its just their reputation that continues to stick with them.

    I don't know what Davis is like but I never thought of it as an extremely liberal town; its still tiny and the UC sort of is the town. I suppose that could happen to Merced. About Scruz; Scruz is extremely liberal and almost restrictive in its being this way. I felt this when I lived there and at the time I was extremely liberal.

    I'm not surprised about the SC city council being run by socialists at one point at all. I had a housemate who boasted to me that she had just "smoked out with the mayor" (who will remain nameless).

    You're right. I was getting confused between the Scruz that I knew (late '80s to the late '90s) which was of course much different than when UCSC started in the mid '60s. My experience of SC is of when the high tech industry became large and established.

    I don't know about Scruz being smaller than Merced though. On one level its small and another level it has an overgrown feeling.

    Wow. The thing is. Merced might be worse than Scruz and Davis in terms of finding jobs. I know that a lot of grads wanted to stay in Scruz after graduation but aside from the UC there's not much there. Here though, who would want to stay in Merced? I assume though that people in Merced know that all of this change and growth is going to be accompanied by some major pains as well?

    All the best and thanks for clearing up my confusion!
     
  20. Anthony Pina

    Anthony Pina Active Member

    Cal State San Marcos had that kind of arrangment with San Diego State, until they became big enough to break away with their own accreditation. The folks at the Palm Desert Campus of Cal State San Bernardino hope to do the same thing in a few years.

    Tony Pina
    Faculty, Cal State U. San Bernardino
     

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