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[Physltest] [Phys-L] Re: Concerned over costs (was Mac vs. PC )



At 13:58 -0500 1/27/05, Rick Tarara wrote:

A. Students are coming from High Schools with budgets that are appreciable
fractions of the Federal Budget. These High Schools have all the fancy
hardware, have beautiful buildings, have their own TV stations, etc. etc.

B. Whatsamatta U up the road has just built their new, state of the are
classroom building with a HP touchpad built into every desk and every room
with $100,000 of AV equipment (which no one on campus, including their IT
can operate).

C. You have a nice functional campus, with 2 year old IT hardware,
buildings in need of some paint and new carpet, but really good faculty.

Which school does prospective student D (and the parents) pick?

Well, I can't speak to the facilities at Whatsamatta U, but I think
there are precious few high schools that fit your description. There
may be some, but if there are I have never seen any. Most high
schools of my acquaintance are falling apart from lack of adequate
funds just to maintain what they've got, let alone get anything new.
Even new high schools in our area are far from palatial. They look
nicer because they haven't been around long enough to deteriorate,
and they did get the equipment that was on the market at the time, so
it is usually a cut above older schools, but they aren't going to get
any upgrades soon and within a few years they will be looking like
the rest of the schools.

There is one private secondary school in our area that probably fits
your description, but it was founded and funded by our local
billionaire (owner of a large software company), and charges about
$15k per year in tuition. They may have something like you describe,
but they are certainly the exception, even among private schools that
I know of.

If a college has a first-rate faculty but the admissions people
aren't touting them as part of the attraction, then I would agree
that their efforts are misplaced. It would seem that they are more
interested in attracting students who can pay the bills than ones who
want an education.

Hugh
--

Hugh Haskell
<mailto:haskell@ncssm.edu>
<mailto:hhaskell@mindspring.com>

(919) 467-7610

Never ask someone what computer they use. If they use a Mac, they
will tell you. If not, why embarrass them?
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