The proposed merger between Southern University at New Orleans and the University of New Orleans, announced Tuesday by Gov. Bobby Jindal could be mistaken as an attempt to distract people from recent budget cut predictions.
And it probably is, to a point.
Just look at the timing. In the midst of everyone freaking out over the future of education in Louisiana, an even more heated issue comes out to hijack the conversation, courtesy of the governor himself.
But even if Jindal’s short-term budget plan proves to be as transparent as it appears, at least this merger could be the beginning of something good for Louisiana’s education system.
The merger between UNO and SUNO is a pretty sane idea that’s been popping up off and on for years, but the topic has always fallen prey to accusations of racism and political inertia. It’s something that needs to be considered, however, because it’s crazy to have two low-achieving four-year colleges two miles away from each other in a metropolitan area, wasting resources by using separate facilities.
Add to that the fact that SUNO and UNO are both below capacity, and it’s hard to think of a reason why Louisiana should maintain a system that is obviously not working.
The low graduation rate at both universities is in itself enough to call for major reform.
When students don’t graduate, taxpayer money gets wasted. The Louisiana education system needs money wasted like people need holes in their heads.
The merger has been coming for years, and if SUNO were not an historically black college, it probably would have already happened by now. Some leaders in the state are aghast at the idea of the mostly white UNO absorbing the mostly black SUNO (and absorption is what will inevitably happen, as UNO has both a more diverse curriculum and a higher graduation rate, and therefore a structure that is more likely to hold up under scrutiny), but if education is suffering, then reason must prevail.
It’s a racially charged issue, but it’s also 2011.
In a metropolitan city where culture and politics are both large parts of the general atmosphere, combining politically minded UNO with culture-oriented SUNO could only create a New Orleans-like dynamic.
Of course, bigger isn’t always better. Combining two small universities with unacceptable graduation rates may simply result in Louisiana having one large university with an unacceptable graduation rate and no noticeable change for the students and faculty that work in them.
To be successful, this merger also needs to create a better infrastructure, make better use of convenient Internet resources and raise admission standards so the people who do get into the college are better prepared.
But combining only these two universities isn’t going to do much in the long run.
The government is going to need statewide reforms concerning the fact that we have too many four-year universities and not enough two-year technical schools.
Creating a more efficient educational environment will require other universities to merge, share facilities and/or combine administrative duties as well, which shouldn’t be too much of a nightmare considering many of Louisiana’s universities are located close to one another.
But that was the problem in the first place, really.
Really, what it all comes down to is the study. If the study — be it a well-researched study done by a well-rounded group of higher education experts and financial advisers — reveals the merger as a true opportunity to improve the standard of education delivered by the universities without throwing any more money down the drain, then there is absolutely no reason not to do it.
I would be surprised if the study revealed otherwise.
Macy Linton is a 19-year-old international studies freshman from Memphis, Tenn. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_mlinton.
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Contact Macy Linton @ [email protected]