The Big Red Experience
Although I am an employee of UNL, I must say that my exposure to the educational experience itself has been rather limited. I did not obtain my bachelor’s degree from UNL. I have, however, had the pleasure of knowing a variety of very talented and motivated undergraduate (and graduate) students over the years, who have all gone on to do great things.
Well I’ve been thinking of this since recently talking with one undergraduate student I know, who had mentioned trying to get a group of undergrads together in a “learning community” (this is a formal designation that UNL uses) that would promote some kind of active forum to challenge undergraduate students in a more rigorous way than the current programs do. According to this student, who is very accomplished I might add, the undergraduate experience at UNL is rather poor.
I did a little inquiring. First, I didn’t know what a “learning community” was and asked another student. That student told me (and he was being serious and not facetious) that it was an opportunity for undergrads to live together, take classes together, and copy each other’s homework (his words, not mine). I then inquired about this general topic with a third student – who is also extremely well-accomplished and bright – who told me, in an email, that:
“Nebraska has a culture of normalcy…. I just don’t know how I feel about Nebraska anymore….UNL is the WORST FUCKING SCHOOL on the planet. Everyone is content with the way it is - period. There aren’t great leaders with great visions, and that is what it’ll take to transform the culture there.”
Ouch. Well in all fairness, its probably not the worst school on the planet, and of course it is a generalization, but recently it seems like I have been running across undergraduate
s here who seem more and more unsatisfied with the academic rigor offered at UNL. Additionally, the negative take on UNL is certainly not universal. A few other students I talked to were actually quite impressed with their undergraduate experience so far, and both of them are very bright as well. My question is, is it really that bad here for undergrads? I doubt that question is easily answered.
The Comments
Mr. Wilson November 16, 2005 at 10:56pm
Just out of curiosity, which programs were the dissatisfied students in, versus the programs the satisfied students were in? The History and Spanish instructors I worked with while getting minors in those two disciplines were, with one exception, awful. (The exception was an incredible history instructor. I wish I could remember the guy’s name.) Worse still was the worthless “education” I received from Teachers College. Ugh, talk about a complete lack of rigor. The crummy experiences I had in Teachers College were a major factor in my decision to drop my plans of going into public education.
In contrast, I often speak very highly of the Political Science faculty I had the pleasure of working with. The Political Science courses I took generally required real effort on my part, and in return I was challenged and I received an excellent education.
Graduate school offered similar contrasts. My Political Science courses required a ton of work, in and out of class. Courses I took in other departments, however, were basically taught at an undergraduate level. Acquaintances of mine described course requirements in their home departments as “difficult” if they had to write two substantial papers over the course of the semester; in a couple of my Political Science courses I had to write two substantial papers each week.
That being said, I can’t necessarily disagree that UNL has a “state school” feel to it. There are a ton of really cool people at UNL, but it’s difficult to say if they outnumber the “content” people. I hope the attitude of the student you quoted isn’t widespread.
D.M.B. November 17, 2005 at 12:45am
I never found my experience unenjoyable. I got my first broadcasting job because the person that hired me had went through the same program and knew after what level he could hire employees from the university. That being said. After about months on the job, I didn’t need my education anymore because I was learning more on the job than I was in the classroom. But that’s true anywhere. Yes there were bad profs. here and there. And yes, you are a number. If you get past that fact and you GET INVOLVED in an activity, your experience should be the best time of your life. The key when you’re an undergraduate is to DO something while you’re on campus other than school Because if you start asosiating school with only work then it isn’t fun. College is supposed to be work and fun.
Steve November 17, 2005 at 1:00am
I think the Teachers’ College has become a lot more rigorous. When my wife was there a lot of students ended up transferring to Doane or UNO because they were rumored to be much easier and were also easier programs to get into.
The thing I regret about UNL undergrad is how much better the honors program has become since I was there. On top of the free books, there’s an actual structure to it now. When I was there there were a few classes you could take and then you could get a little note on your diploma if you wrote the thesis.
In my degree area, Economics, I had one bad professor out of the lot. Too bad he taught the intro level courses. The philosophy department appears to have added some young big names (in philosophy academia, anyway) in the last couple of years. When I was taking philosophy the faculty had a distinctly crusty, mothball vibe about them.
One of the problems is the nature of the institution - land-grant research university. The hard and applied sciences are emphasized a bit more than the social sciences and humanities. The corporate and patent licensing money comes from the R & D done in the science buildings.
I’ve also seen the law school improve quite a bit just in the 2 1/2 years I’ve been there. Some young, very bright professors have been hired and the whole damn building has been modernized from the mid 70’s state it was in the summer before I started.
Mr. T November 17, 2005 at 9:03pm
The students were double majors in various social science programs, including political science. It’s a given that at any institution, all students will have differing subjective opinions of how good or bad professors are.
What is more worthy of examination, in my opinion, are choices made by the powers that be which ultimately impact on the academic quality of the institution. The quoted student (who I edited) speaks somewhat to this question on a structural, cultural level. Look at today’s DN article about the Board of Regents and stem cell research as just one high profile example (by the way - much kudos to the DN for their series on the regents). I won’t elaborate on this, but suffice to say I find it a little troubling that an academic institution that is supposedly “pioneering new frontiers” ends up in the position it is in when it comes to stem cell research. And some Nebraskans wonder why some of the best and brightest go elsewhere for education?
Mr. Wilson November 17, 2005 at 10:03pm
That’s a bit of a straw man, don’t you think Mr. T? It’s also incredibly unfair to UNL. The stem cell research debate is taking place primarily at UNMC. Be careful not to conflate UNL and NU, or UNL and her sister campuses. You began this thread by talking about UNL, so I think it makes sense to stay on that topic.
It is also very unfair to criticize UNMC (or NU more broadly) for the debacle that is the stem cell debate. UNMC is trying to “pioneer new frontiers”—that’s why there’s a controversy. It is the state’s citizens and politicians who are halting UNMC’s plans. The Board of Regents is throwing up roadblocks, sure, but familiarity with the University community should quickly tell you that the Board is far more often considered to be a meddling outside influence than a member of that community.
Long story short, you can’t fairly hold the stem cell research controversy against the University or any of its campuses. If the University of Nebraska were independent of the voters, UNMC might well be a world leader in stem cell research by now.
Mr. T November 17, 2005 at 11:47pm
I don’t see a strawman argument at all. I do acknowledge and agree with your cynical take – YES - UNMC researchers are indeed likely a hundred-fold more frustrated that I am about the whole stem cell debacle. They can’t do research if the regents won’t support it. But my point is this: It is indeed a debate that directly implicates the research those folks are (or could be) doing about an obviously very important area for reasons we both know. But as the individual I quoted eluded to, it’s a complacent attitude that leads to the policy choices that are ultimately made. And the consequences of those choices extend beyond campus, state, and national boundaries. Sure I work at UNL. Yes I live in Lincoln. But I don’t think that makes my voice less valid in a debate that – although may immediately affect goings on at UNMC – ultimately has consequences far beyond 42nd and Dodge in Omaha. Which is why I give kudos to the DN for focusing in on the NU regents this week, and particularly, reminding us here at UNL about the stem cell debate at UNMC. It is my personal belief that we shouldn’t take a parochial attitude when it comes to such issues.
You are right about the system being hamstrung by voter choices and the Unicam decisions on funding. But I would hate to think in the big picture that politics trumps scientific progress. We all know how fucked up it can be when politicians dictate science. In contrast to defending UNL for being powerless/voiceless in this debate, I would actually pose a completely different option: When countries like South Korea starts kicking our ass (already has) on stem cell research, lets not whine about “well, we couldn’t do anything because it was the regents fault,” or “well, it didn’t directly implicate our campus.” This is the attitude of complacency that I believe the person I quoted was referring to. I agree with him.