Claudia Mickle

An article published last week in U-T's Daily Texan is creating quite a stir. Claudia Mickle has more in this Bobcat Update.
The title: Professors dispute employment value of college degrees -- the article had a good start, but a sour ending. A University of Texas professor said U-T should NOT be compared with Austin Community College or Texas State University.  He said U-T's approach is not skills-based training, but rather to guide the leaders of tomorrow in how to think.  The professor also described Texas as a regional institution lacking in basic research.
Senior Nate Foss says Texas State is often perceived inaccurately.
SB : (Nate Foss) "First and foremost I think that Texas State gets a bad rep as not a good educational college and since everybody in Texas has this stigma that if your football team is not D-1 and if you're not in the big twelve, that your college must reflect that on the education scale."
Foss says Texas State doesn't have a big marquee name, like U-T, but the university here does offer a lot to be desired..
SB: (Nate Foss) "Beating ACC or UT in a community, you walk through Texas State and you know everybody, you know your professors and if you are going to get a lot more out of the job market from people that you know rather than just some grade or statistic at UT, I think that Texas State people are going to get some great jobs from just the relationships they have with professors and students here."
A requirements for a program that is nationally recognized takes place in a building located right off the Quad.
Stand Up: "The Evans Liberal Arts building is home to the largest Geography program in the country."
This Fall semester alone there are over 613 undergraduate majors for Geography, double that of UT's program of only 310. There are also125 masters students and 70 plus P-h-D students.
Dr. Richard Earl, the undergraduate program coordinator for geography, says the geography department does a good job of preparing students.
SB : (Dr. Earl) "Our program was built on good teaching, good advising and good career placement and counseling. Our students have an excellent record of getting good training and a good education in geography and then going out and securing professional employment."
 SB : (Dr. Earl) "Last year we looked at our alumni survey and at least 90 percent of the graduates get professional related careers within one year of graduation."
Stand Up : "Despite what others may say, Texas State has its many achievements. We are the rising star of Texas. For Bobcat Update, I'm Claudia Mickle."