Maryland Commission rules against UMUC

The Maryland Higher Education Commission has ruled that state residents should not be able to enroll in an online degree program in community-college administration offered by the University of Maryland University College, reports The Sun, a newspaper in Baltimore. Morgan State University, a historically black college, opposed the program on the grounds that it could violate civil-rights laws.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Decision-on-UMUC-Online-Degree/8566/?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

How does this program violate civil-rights laws? Does Morgan State University support restrictions banning residents from enrolling in the online community college program. Is the commissions decision unconstitutional? I disagree with commission. I believe that all residents of any state should be able to enroll in any online and on-campus degree program, as long as they meet requirements for admission.

 

Sad to hear

 

Inexplicable...

 

Quite silly, actually. All the Maryland Higher Education Commission has done is cripple one of their state institutions. They obviously know veery little about the students who they presume to serve if they think that eliminating the UMUC online option will necessarily drive students to Morgan's program. It is likely that students interested in an online community college leadership PhD/EdD program will simply take it online from Colorado State, Walden or another institution that offers it.

How short-sighted--is Morgan planning to sue every university that offers a competing degree? I hardly believe that this is what the original civil rights leaders had in mind.

 

You're absolutely right. Morgan State's program doesn't even have a distance option. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a Baltimore entity is doing something to suppress income to another state institution; I don't think a good financial decision has seen Baltimore, or Annapolis for that matter, in ages...

 

Morgan's enrollments have always been poor in spite of the fact they were given some of the most sought-after programs. Instead of suing Morgan needs get its own house in order so that it is seen as an attractive place in which learning can occur. Isn't choice in pursuing an education a civil right?

 

Apparently this is what it stems from.

http://chronicle.com/article/Maryland-Senate-Passes-Bill/38357

A law was passed in Maryland preventing universities in the state system from adding new programs that would compete with existing programs at any of the four historically black colleges in Maryland. Morgan State fears that competing programs at other state universities will affect their white student enrollment.
It's a stupid law, but Morgan State was within their rights.

 

I couldn't believe this when I first read it thinking that I must have somehow misunderstood the decision. Sadly, I didn't. It's a racist law being upheld...

 

Happened in TN a while back. TSU (a HBCU) got mad at University of Tennessee for opening a campus in Nashville. TSU sued, won, and the Tennessee Nashville campus closed.
But not only was the Nashville campus closed, all other state universities in a certain radius had to have all programs go before TSU, where TSU could say
1. No, you can't have the degree. But we'll had the degree
2. You can have degree and so will we
3. You can have the degree.

Needless to say, it really hurt other state schools in the area

 

I think that this does a great disservice to the HBCUs. If a "white" school cannot offer a certain degree title if the same degree title is already offered by a "black" school, what kind of message does this send to blacks? Isn't the government, by "protecting" the HBCUs, inadvertently sending the (wrong-headed) message that blacks can't compete? Another example of liberals hurting the very people they are supposed to be helping.

 

Doesn't make sense to me. Didn't make sense to my grandfather who worked at a school that was hampered by this. IMO, all state schools should receive the same undergraduate funding per student. If a state school wishes to add a program and gets the Board of Regents approval, they should add it...