(03-03-2014 05:28 PM)10thMountain Wrote: (03-03-2014 03:39 PM)bullet Wrote: (03-03-2014 12:44 PM)10thMountain Wrote: I've always thought that they need to merge UTA and UTD into one stronger entity that would be a lot closer to A&M and UT in terms of enrollment, research and quality than anything that currently exists.
But you're still not going to get A&M, UH and Tech to agree to be part of the UT system. Fair or not, none of us are going to trust the UT System to be fair and treat us as equal members rather than as UT-satellite schools. None of us want to end up like NC State in the UNC system.
That's why a new, Texas Research University System Tier (TRUST) is needed so all 6 schools can be on equal footing in a system they all control equally.
You're speaking as someone with an Aggie mentality. UH would jump on an opportunity to get a piece of the Available University Fund before the offer could be finished. Same for Tech. A&M already has a piece of their 1/3 share.
The 2 are not the same thing.
Tech and UH want a slice of the PUF for sure but they DONT want to be members of a system run by UT Austin for UT Austin.
So why not do my recommendation instead and create a new research U system that combines PUF and HEAF funds to appropriately fund 3-6 flagships all with equal representation in governance.
Try to tell me they wouldn't find that preferable to being absorbed by the UT system.
there are no HEF (or HEAF) funds the HEF funds were moved to the NRUF endowment when the NRUF program was started
any HEF funds that are paid out now to non-PUF universities are from state general revenues now
and Texas Tech and UH would be stupid to join the UT System or the A&M System if they thought it would get them into the PUF because there is not enough money in the PUF to fund additional universities for "excellence" over and above what they fund now and even more so with UT-RGV and the Medical School at UT Austin and RGV now drawing infrastructure funding from the AUF/PUF now
it was said when the NRUF was started that it would take 50 to 70 million per university per year to get any of the emerging research universities to the BOTTOM BASELINE of AAU like metrics
so that is 50 to 70 million per year for universities that are 35,000 to 40,000 students (with the exception of UTD that is smaller) to get them to the very baseline of AAU metrics
the 2013-14 budget for UT Austin was 2.48 billion and 9% of that came from the AUF which is 223,200,000 and that (I am 99% sure) covers their formula infrastructure funding because the other state funding listed is 13% for general state revenue which is where every university in Texas gets their I&O from
and that 223,200,000 includes the "excellence" funding and probably 80 million of that is infrastructure funding which leaves about 143 million that is "excellence" that UT gets over and above state formula funding
so it is about 143 million in AUF dollars that stupid people that whine and cry about the PUF are going to fight over because they are too ignorant of the facts to understand basic endowment investing, what all the money UTIMCO manages goes towards and what amount of "excellence" funding UT actually gets over and above formula funding for I&O and Infrastructure
as of now UH and Texas Tech get just under 10 million each year from the NRUF so they would lose that if they went a different route and they would end up in with UT, A&M PVAMU and others fighting over 143 million + (what ever substantially less) amount of "excellence" funding that A&M and PVAMU get
so instead of being in a position to have a new NRUF endowment in place that is only able to be drawn upon by 8 universities after each of them qualifies (and that only UH and Tech draw from now and for at least the next 2 if not 4 years) it would put UH and Tech in the position of trying to get a piece of about 200 million (the 143 million UT gets for "excellence" and a guestimate of about what A&M and PVAMU get).......when of course it was said it would take 100 million to 140 million to elevate two universities (50 to 70 million each) to the BASELINE of AAU like metrics and that again is for schools that are 35,000 to 40,000 students on the high side while A&M and UT Austin are about 1/3 larger than that and they are WELL ABOVE the baseline of AAU metrics and they are not going to sit back and allow themselves to be torn apart so that other schools can get enough money to not even come close to baseline AAU metrics......so UH and Tech would be getting their asses whipped in that fight every year because UT and A&M are not going to be harmed to allow Tech and UH to make no real appreciable gains in stature
and the REALITY is A&M and UT will always be the bellwether public schools in Texas and if the legislature was stupid enough to cut their excellence funding and to give it (in an amount that would not raise other schools up significantly in stature) and UT and A&M were harmed by that (they would be) the results is everyone outside of Texas would view 100% of Texas higher ed as having taken a huge dump
no one is going to look and say "oh look UT is the number 75 public university and A&M is the #100 public university, but look where Tech and UH have moved up to!"
the are going to say UT and A&M took a dump imagine how much crappier UH and Tech and everyone else must be getting
that is like pretending that the UC System could cut a ton of funding to Cal and UCLA and give it to Merced and Santa Barbara and people would think "wow Merced and Santa Barbara really got better while Cal and UCLA slipped so far"........when of course what they would really say is "The UC System is slipping" and imagine what is happening to the Cal State System as well
only a fool goes to battle over crumbs and the 223,200,000 that UT gets from the AUF in 2014-14 that is not even 100% for "excellence" is crumbs in the reality of the amount of money it will take to get UH, Tech and at least one other if not 2 other universities in Texas to at least BASELINE AAU like metrics and only a fool would drag down UT and A&M to do that because in the eyes of the rest of the world that would still drag down the perception of all the rest even if they were getting 25-30 million more dollars per year (which is HIGHLY doubtful would happen because UT and A&M are not and would not lay down for that)
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Texas State Progression
