Another Division I Trainwreck
The New York Times has a good article on the New Jersey Institute of Technology and their odd decision to join Division I basketball when they were not that good at Division II. The rationale is that is raises the universities profile but from the article, it mentions that NJIT has an excellent reputation as an engineering school. My question is do students actually choose their school based on a basketball team? Especially engineers. I have been ranting on this Division I lust for a while now and it never seems to work out and yet universities are lining up for the opportunity to field non-competitive independent basketball teams that no conference wants. I must be missing something.
Labels: basketball, sports
10:01 AM ::
1 Comments:
Engineering students generally pick a college either on the macro level, or on the micro level.
The first macro parameter is economics. Engineering schools are often expensive, but engineering pays well, when you graduate. Even though it is typical for an engineer to graduate with 40 to 80 thousand in debt, average engineering salaries allow a graduate to pay this off in a few years. State schools (which NJIT is one) are cheaper, but it is unlikely an engineering student will graduate in four years. The curriculum is heavily structured and regulated; classes aren't available when the student needs them. So, private schools market themselves as "we get you out in four years". So, a Cornell grad is working at his $50k job, while his NJIT buddy is paying another 9700 bucks. Usually, less, students often need only one or two classes to graduate. But they still miss out on a lucrative starting salary.
But, in general, the economics favor higher-rated schools (MIT, Cornell ...) Get into the best school you can, the money will come later, to pay off the debt.
The second macro parameter is quality of life. High gender ratios, living in a rustbelt slum (versus a rural campus), inaccessable professors add up to a low alumni participation rate. Sure, many "nerds" don't miss the lack of keggers and girls, but they don't want their car broken into all the time, and want to walk back from the lab at 1 AM, without being mugged.
On the micro level, a prospective student picks a niche field. Not just "Mechanical Engineering", but nanotechnology. Not just CS, but Artificial Intelligence. A college needs to excel in these fields by having intelligent professors, good industry relations (internships) and an accessable faculty. Millennial students are looking for good technical niches.
NJIT seems to lack the leadership at the presidential/board level to create an attractive college for the NYC metro area. There's plenty of choices, and the student usually picks another local school. Thus the 90 percent in-state enrollment. This venture into Division I sports seems to be a poor choice.
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