Is this REALLY true?

FredJacket

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Nerds have a hard time sorting out conspiracies... it's not in their nature.

No offense... nerds.

Wait What Instinct GIF by CBS
 

Augusta_Jacket

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OK. Do you have numbers for that? Not ghat I don’t believe you…. 😛

I'd have to dig, but there were articles posted several years ago talking about the need to drive more students into the fields to keep up with the changing employment landscape. There were two main issues in the state of Georgia. The easiest to fix was the amount of degree programs in state universities. uga getting a few engineering programs aided this. Since we have a business school, (ironically ranked higher than uga's), there wasn't a real valid argument for why uga couldn't have an engineering program. The second, and much more difficult, issue was getting rural and inner city high schools STEM programs up to par. They are still working on that.
 

GoldZ

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That was the BoR telling uga yes, not telling GT no. I still haven't seen where The Hill has approached them and been turned down.
Sure, but it's about all you need to know about how friendly they are to GT. Let's see now, the State of Georgia has a World Class program, yet uga gets approved for a much lesser program....right, got it.
Just as posted several times...they care more. I can assure you their President would be run out of town, or worse, if they won 3 games three consecutive years.
 

GoldZ

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912
I'd have to dig, but there were articles posted several years ago talking about the need to drive more students into the fields to keep up with the changing employment landscape. There were two main issues in the state of Georgia. The easiest to fix was the amount of degree programs in state universities. uga getting a few engineering programs aided this. Since we have a business school, (ironically ranked higher than uga's), there wasn't a real valid argument for why uga couldn't have an engineering program. The second, and much more difficult, issue was getting rural and inner city high schools STEM programs up to par. They are still working on that.
Their own admin said it was to provide a less challenging engineering program. You are defending clearly political nonsense on this.
 

GT33

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I'd have to dig, but there were articles posted several years ago talking about the need to drive more students into the fields to keep up with the changing employment landscape. There were two main issues in the state of Georgia. The easiest to fix was the amount of degree programs in state universities. uga getting a few engineering programs aided this. Since we have a business school, (ironically ranked higher than uga's), there wasn't a real valid argument for why uga couldn't have an engineering program. The second, and much more difficult, issue was getting rural and inner city high schools STEM programs up to par. They are still working on that.
The argumment is not why they couldn't have one, it's why they shouldn't have one.

GT should have developed "lesser" engineering programs. Call them Engineering Technology or something, make the current Engineering programs Honors Programs, etc. The kids that can't hack the advanced engineering classes go into the lower program. We could have had a seat at the table for everyone, but once again GT went "elite" and drive away students, legacies, etc.

GT Engineers should be everywhere and in numbers. We should have them not just in in Atlanta, Houston, LA, etc but dotted across GA in every small community there is plus phere should be plenty to feed Florida, Alabama, North and South Carolina and the rest of the United States wherever they're needed.

There was just no reason to launch a crap engineering school.
 

4shotB

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The argumment is not why they couldn't have one, it's why they shouldn't have one.

GT should have developed "lesser" engineering programs.

There was just no reason to launch a crap engineering school.
Call me an elitist or snob or just plain stupid, but I would rather "outsource" the diluted engineering programs to Uga or West Ga. or Valdosta State or wherever. I don't think their engineering school is making a nickel's worth of difference in the recruiting battles. And a buddy of mine who was in the construction field before retirement had recruited all of his recent engineering grads from either Clemson or Uga bc he couldn't attract the GT grads into what they perceived as not high tech or prestigous enough for them. He would tell you the need was in fact there.
 

slugboy

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I know GT Presidents have actively avoided adding law degrees, pre-law degrees, and a number of other degrees. We had everything to start a law school in the 1970s (if I recall correctly) and we internally killed it and sent the school to Georgia State. (I knew the law professor who tried to start a program at Tech, and got the story directly from him. He was a hoot).

It’s not just a “big gang of UGA fans on the BoR”. UGA has tried to get a medical school, and been turned down cold a number of times—MCG in Augusta has a lot of political protection.

There is a lot of politics involved in what majors can be offered and how big a school can grow. It’s not as simple as stopping our football program from growing, but there is definitely some “don’t let Tech overshadow our ‘keystone’ university too much” and “don’t let the school in Atlanta get too big and dominant”.

If there was a time to ask for new majors, it’s probably now—if we could find somewhere to house the programs.
 

ChicagobasedJacket

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Call me an elitist or snob or just plain stupid, but I would rather "outsource" the diluted engineering programs to Uga or West Ga. or Valdosta State or wherever. I don't think their engineering school is making a nickel's worth of difference in the recruiting battles. And a buddy of mine who was in the construction field before retirement had recruited all of his recent engineering grads from either Clemson or Uga bc he couldn't attract the GT grads into what they perceived as not high tech or prestigous enough for them. He would tell you the need was in fact there.
Having the engineering school helps UGA in recruiting battles with other schools (e.g., Texas A&M and Bama). For example, having it actually helped them land Nakobe Dean (5 star) who wanted to major in engineering. You are right it doesn’t often come into play.
 

g0lftime

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But is that relatively recent? 'Cause I'm thinking the problem goes back decades...to the Dodd era at least.
Goes back many years ago to the BOR taking school of Commerce from Tech and placed it in Athens. Most of the FB team took that major. More recently they added engineering which duplicates GT majors. Now they can recruit kids who want to major in engineering away from Tech. Shameless.
 

g0lftime

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Their own admin said it was to provide a less challenging engineering program. You are defending clearly political nonsense on this.
For kids that can't get in or unable to do the work at Tech? I am sure some could have. They may have just wanted an easier time in college.
 

stinger78

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The argumment is not why they couldn't have one, it's why they shouldn't have one.

GT should have developed "lesser" engineering programs. Call them Engineering Technology or something, make the current Engineering programs Honors Programs, etc. The kids that can't hack the advanced engineering classes go into the lower program. We could have had a seat at the table for everyone, but once again GT went "elite" and drive away students, legacies, etc.

GT Engineers should be everywhere and in numbers. We should have them not just in in Atlanta, Houston, LA, etc but dotted across GA in every small community there is plus phere should be plenty to feed Florida, Alabama, North and South Carolina and the rest of the United States wherever they're needed.

There was just no reason to launch a crap engineering school.
Wait, no, GA Tech did this. It was Southern Tech, a division of GA Tech. It finally got split away from GT back in the 80’s and then merged back into, wait for it… KSU… about 10 years ago.

Southern was a very good next-level engineering program at one time. Not sure what it is now.
 

Randy Carson

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Years ago (decades really), I heard that one of the obstacles Tech faces is that the Georgia Board of Regents is primarily composed of UGA grads who do not want to see Tech overly successful athletically.

So, they won't allow Tech to offer majors that might be more appealing to student-athletes who are not quite up to the academic challenges of our standard curricula.

Any truth to this old saw?

In 1933 the GT school of commerce was moved to Athens. It may have ultimately moved to GA State as well.

So. This old rumor is...really old.
 
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