HBUC v. UMUC

[Don Dresden]

Lots of interesting comments accompany the article.  I particularly liked these:

...A college is a business, if you can't please your customers, someone else will. That is all it is. The same program that Morgan tried to shut down has more minorities receiving advanced degrees than the "white man." But if you cant beat something, then try to have it stopped I suppose, right?

Morgan is always talking about civil rights but what about people's right to choose? The last time I checked, I was free to apply to and enroll in whatever school I chose. Their traditional college structure is not for everyone. I'm an African-American female who works full-time and even if I did want to go to Morgan (which I don't), it would be a lot more difficult for me at a school that educates primarily traditional college students than at a school that caters to working adults. Schools like UMUC and UB offer way more night, weekend and online courses than Morgan. The people who want to take this online program most likely are not going to go to a traditional college campus as an alternative. They are taking online courses for a reason.

I am planning on enrolling in the UB/Towson MBA program and I am so glad that Morgan was unsuccessful in blocking it. I would not go to Morgan to get my MBA even if they had been successful. I love the fact that the UB/Towson program offers so much flexibility and I am really looking forward to enrolling in the future.

I really wish Morgan would put more energy into revitalizing their curriculum and being more innovative so that students will voluntarily flock to their programs rather than trying to limit and/or eliminate their choices.

As a mother of two young sons, I am angered by Morgan's stance to not offer this program to Maryland students. I would love to earn my doctorate, but value the time I have with my sons. As a full time employee, my time with my sons is already decreased, and I would feel guilty leaving them on evenings to further my education. UMUC's program would be an excellent opportunity for me, and I am angered by Morgan's meddling. As a black woman, it is frustrating for these institutions to continue using race as a determining factor,when it is obvious that this is a financial issue for Morgan, in that they do not want to lose the revenue from prospective students such as myself, who would rather enroll in an online course versu[s] the traditional face-to-face forum.

...If Morgan State truly wants to become competitive and integrated, Mr. Richardson should stop wasting time blocking programs at other schools and work to develop online degree programs at his own.

What kind of a university stands in the way of people getting an education? If these thugs are going to block educational opportunities for others then their university should be disbanded.

Seems like a total repudiation of the condescending treatment handed blacks by Morgan and the government.  Morgan just wants to defend its turf from interlopers, rather than serve its client base.   When the issue is "flexibility" (night, weekend, online courses) students with a need respond.  It's not a black vs. white issue, but rather a traditional (or obsolete) vs. modern issue.   Morgan is not responding to the needs of its clients, and so the clients are going elsewhere.  As the poster pointed out, more black people are being better served elsewhere, so why should the government force them back on the reservation?