Author: Jenny Park

Final Paper Reflection

It was definitely easier said than done. When I first came up with ideas and plan for my ideal college, I got excited to create such a college. However, I realized that it was too idealistic and there was no way I can construct such institution despite the generous donation of $100 million. I originally wanted my college to be a combined medical/health program with all the students being part of either BA/MD, BA/DDS, BA/PA, BA/RN, and BA/Pharm D. Some colleges in New York have one of these programs but there was no college that had all. And as I worked on this project, I realized why a college like that would not exist. It would cost too much to begin a partnership with a medical school, pharmacy school, PA school, etc. and aside from money, not a lot of these graduate schools would want to save up seats for those who were selected in high school.

Through research, I realized Touro Institution had several divisions in the health industry such as medical school, during school, dental school which they opened in 2016, pharmacy school and many more. Touro College was also running an online undergraduate program so the idea of creating another undergraduate division of Touro College might make my idea to possible. Being a division of Touro College would naturally gift a partnership with the rest of the divisions which would allow certain combined programs to be created.

Based on this, I created the Touro Hainline College of Queens to focus on higher education for students who are interested in pursuing careers in the health industry. THCQ can help you succeed with its small classes, dedicated faculty and beautiful campus in addition to all the opportunities available in New York City. Touro Hainline College of Queens is a non-profit private institution that provides a firm foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, which is designed for well-roundedness of the individual. The core curriculum is, however, more concentrated on the sciences since the college is dedicate to the pre-health professional programs that support career aspirations in the health field. THCQ promotes academic freedom and warmly welcome students from all backgrounds and circumstances. It strives to cultivate the future leaders of New York.

To integrate my original idea into the college I created several special programs that partner with currently existing institutions for the students.

4+4 Programs:

BA/MD– This is an eight year honors program where students accepted will Complete their undergraduate portion in THCQ and matriculate into New York Medical College if all requirements are met.

BA/DDS- This is an eight year honors program where students accepted will     complete their undergraduate portion in THCQ and matriculate into Touro College of Dental Medicine if all requirements are met.

Special Option FlexMed:

Students who are not in the combined programs may apply to any health profession graduate school of Touro College during their second year and can be offered a seat in those schools based on High School GPA, SAT Scores, First year GPA, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, and essays. Those who are offered a seat must maintain the required GPA and receive the minimum required standardized test in order to secure their spot.

EO-Permit

Students can apply for EO-Permit to take “Touro College Online Courses”. Students can receive up to 28 credits from this undergraduate division system of Touro College.

 

This project allowed me to look into the different types of colleges around New York and I’m glad that I’ve found a very interesting institution that is somewhat similar to that of CUNY.

Have a great summer!

Non-profit or For-Profit. Necessary Evil?

Employers are more likely to hire non-profit college alumni than a person with a for-profit college degree. What exactly is the difference between the two? What is the stigma that comes along with for-profit college degrees?

Most colleges are non-profit. State and many private colleges are nonprofit  which charges their students tuition but they spend that money on educating the students. The money is used to pay the salaries of professors and instructors. Brooklyn College would be an example of non-profit institution. On the other hand, a for-profit college charges on tuition but doesn’t always use all that money on the student’s education, but rather marketing and recruiting. This would lead to lower salaries of the professors and less quality of education for the students.

It is inevitable, therefore, that non-profit schools have better accreditation by the employers in the real world. For-profit schools are usually easier to get accepted to especially if one has the money. This is where the stigma play its role. Does their degree have a significant value? Is it worth it to go to a for-profit college? It isn’t uncommon that some of them can run out of business at anytime.

Chapter 4 The Five Disruptive Forces

Chapter 4

Striving to be one of the top is a goal for most colleges in the United States. However, the day of the larges bankruptcy filed by the Lehman Brothers in 2008 “marked the beginning of the end of a decade of remarkable excess” in American higher education (p56).

Why was this bankruptcy so significant?

-The collapse of the Wall Street investment firm led to huge economic crisis and the US economy went into deep recession. This not only changed the stock market and home pries but also led to great loss of endowments and massive deficits that caused huge budget cuts. The Admissions officer had to decide whether to boost their discount rates to maintain enrollments. Each year, the colleges increased the tuition to keep pace with the discount rate. Although this strategy kept the enrollment steady, there was no change in their revenue.

Unfortunately, bad decisions made by the college were exacerbated by the economic downturn because they had a difficult time to catch up to the expenses that are quickly growing to cover them.

So why not just increase the tuition without the increasing discount rate?

-Net tuition per student is important because that would be the cash flow into the institution. However, if tuition is raised or less aid is given, the college wouldn’t be able to attract as many students and its enrollment rate would decrease. Discount rate is their marketing strategy

So why not choose students who are willing to go to its college and can pay for the tuition?

-Usually in that case, the student is below the desired standards of the college. The schools don’t want to lower their standards that they’ve worked so hard to maintain and increase. It is important to remember that one of their main goals is to be at the top.

-Since the 2008 crisis, the number of graduating high school students in the Northeast decreased which affects the colleges in the region. Experts predict “a drop in the number of affluent, well-prepared high school graduates- the type of students that every college is after” (p68). Therefore this once again leads to competition amongst the colleges. How to they stand out in the competition? By once again offering scholarship or discount rate to that out standing student.

Why can’t we count on the government/state anymore?

-The states too are facing difficulties and their budgets are running low. Since they cant make prisoners to pay for their room and food, they are asking the students to pay for the increased tuition. States have been disinvesting in higher education and if this trend continues, colleges would have to run by “shrinking share of full-paying students” (p64).