Rose State College

[bandnerd]

UCO isn't that far of a drive from Midwest City. It's pretty much all on the highway.

[Midtowner]

Yep... If you want a four-year degree, UCO and OU are both within easy driving distance from MWC.

The state can't afford the regional schools it has right now. Why on Earth would you advocate expanding that number?

[bombermwc]

I live in MWC and went to OCU - 15 mintues. My fiance lives in MWC and went to OU and now teaches there. It's no more of a commute than my commute from MWC to near the airport everyday. Seriously, less than 30 minutes from my driveway to a classroom at OU. Same goes for UCO.

mmonroe - i wasn't trying to belittle you, but your statements just seemed to be pushing for rose to be 4 year, it wasn't clear. Rose does offer top notch instruction and I feel does a great job of preparing it's students for a more rigorous 4 year institution. Their slogan works great because you do stay close and then go far. SOOOO many people start at Rose and then move on to any of the universities around OK or in other states. I took a couple classes at Rose while I was a OCU simply because of scheduling at OCU. With OCU being a smaller institution, they didn't offer all classes all the time, whereas I could enroll for that class at Rose and still get credit, with excellent instruction.

But this is a forum, so opinions fly more often than statistics. If you don't like that, perhaps this isn't the place to be. Harsh yes, but you have to take it all...can't be selective.

[mmonroe]

I do believe there is a difference between constructive and deconstructive, and i've witnessed a lot of deconstructive comments come, not just towards me, but others on this board.

But next step, what about upgrading facilities and the grounds at Rose?

[bandnerd]

Everyone is going to rub on someone else's nerves at some point...it's impossible to put together all the people that visit this board and expect everyone to get along ALL the time. Plus, when you can't see sarcasm, a lot can be lost in the delivery of some comments.

That said...doesn't RSC already have a really nice PAC? I want to say I saw Stomp! back in college at Rose State and despite the rows being REALLY close together, the sound was great and the facility seemed pretty new still. It amazed me that a 2 year college had a better PAC than a 4 year university with nationally-recognized music and theater programs! (UCO)

[mmonroe]

yes, the PAC is amazing, but the main campus could use a LOT of fixing up. I got a chance to take a look in their newest building off Hudiburg before it was finished being built. It looks great from the inside and out. I even like the new style directional marquee for the building as well.

[Redskin 70]

Real live Rose graduate here. Got my original 2 year on the GI Bill.
That degree served me well for nearly 20 years.
I decided to expand my horizon and went to UCO in Edmond. Virtually all the course work fro Rose was transferable.
I recall only two didn't count towards my 4 year.
I think the college is doing an excellent job in up grading the campus. Several new buildings have been approved by the voters of the Mid Del Area and we continue to support that school.
No problem with your comments but ...........chill a little dude, you will get ulcers.....I know..............

[Deafguy]

That said...doesn't RSC already have a really nice PAC? I want to say I saw Stomp! back in college at Rose State and despite the rows being REALLY close together, the sound was great and the facility seemed pretty new still. It amazed me that a 2 year college had a better PAC than a 4 year university with nationally-recognized music and theater programs! (UCO)

That is a really nice building. When I took architecture classes at OSU-OKC I had a professor that did a little work on that building. He said there were some design flaws regarding how the seats were set up, especially in the balcony. There are a few seats up there, if I remember correctly, where you cannot see the whole stage. Other than that ,he said it was a nice building. I have always enjoyed going to events there.

I agree with Monroe that the main buildings could use an uplift. I think it will come in time.

Rose state is in the process of renovating Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building into a College Wellness Center. There is always something going on there and I think that is impressive for a smaller school.

Here is the link to renovations.Rose State College

[Midtowner]

Keep in mind that higher ed in Oklahoma is traditionally one of the most underfunded services the state provides, in my opinion, right behind DHS.

Rose State's facilities are beautiful and pristine in comparison to many regional four-year colleges around the state.

The statistics aren't available on the internet, but I suppose you could break them down by looking at funding bills and dividing the allocations by student.

When I was at UCO, I was active in student government. I recall a meeting I had with one of the deans where he showed me the statistics of funding per pupil. UCO was dead last in the state as far as higher ed institutions go.

Sorry, but before RSC gets any additional money from the state, an institution which is gaining in size and importance quicker than any other public institution in the state (UCO) ought to have some strong consideration. With an enrollment in the 15,000 range, UCO, at least the last time I saw the numbers, back in 2002 or so, received less than half the funding per student than OU did.

RSC does just fine at what it does, but there is no pressing need for new facilities. There are other institutions in the state which are expanding rapidly and have far more pressing needs.

[mmonroe]

I wouldn't expect there to be some alumni bias in there would I?

[Midtowner]

I wouldn't expect there to be some alumni bias in there would I?

Sure. As an alumnus, I'm quite proud that my school was able to deliver what I considered to be a superior quality education at a bargain price. I had the opportunity to be involved in a fraternity, the leadership of student government, various clubs, be an anchor/reporter on the school's TV news program and be in the school's orchestra. No way in hell could I have done all of those things at a larger school. I'm still amazed that despite drastically lower tuition cost, far lower alumni giving and about half the state funding, UCO could afford to provide me that opportunity.

That said, I've seen the numbers. Compared to schools in places like Ada and Weatherford, UCO receives much less funding per student. Considering the role it plays in education in the OKC metro, I don't think it has enough money. While I was in school, the school had to tear down one dorm because it couldn't afford to rehabilitate the building. The iconic Old North Tower was also closed to the public due to structural integrity issues which were discovered during a facelift.

When I see OU and OSU building multi-million dollar facilities, I am saddened that UCO can't afford to rehabilitate what is probably the most iconic and is in fact the oldest higher ed building in the state.

Am I biased? Sure. Are you biased? Yep. We all love our alma maters. Maybe one day I'll be in a position to do something about the situation.

[bombermwc]

If you walked around the buildings at Rose and then went to somewhere like OU and UCO, I think you would see that Rose's facilities are far better than most. There are many buildings on OU and UCO's campuses that are from the WWII era that haven't had more than maybe 1 or 2 renovations.

Rose's buildings may not be super spiffy, but they're in excellent condition. They could use a little face lift inside like some new carpet, but they are doing much better than many of the larger universities....which is true for OCCC too. I'm not really sure why, but it seems like funding at the jco's (at least the big ones) is lower, but more stable, so they don't build big and crazy, but they build well.

I'd like to see Rose with new facilities to replace some of those 70's era structures, but when I walk around at Rose and then walk around UCO.....Rose is MUCH nicer.

Do you know how completely awesome it is that all the buildings are so close at Rose? Yeah adult ed. is near the highway, but most of the stuff is so close! It's awesome!

[jbrown84]

If Rose State thinks they need fancier facilities, then the money needs to come from Midwest City or private donors. That's how other schools make up for the the rest after the state funding, which isn't a great amount.

[mmonroe]

Actually, I went to SNU, not RSC. No bias here for RSC, just hometown pride i guess. I live in midwest city, i'd vote yes for a bond or small tax increase. I believe over all upgrading items around the city can attract more business and promote the city in a better light.

@bobmermwc, all the buildings close together, maybe that's what they meant by stay close go far. jk

[bombermwc]

I just like having the buildings close....i really was spoiled at OCU by having a small campus, but everytime I walk around at OU I think, " good god I would have to do this evreyday"

[mmonroe]

lol, just invest in a segway.