Long post, sorry:
The formula to making the University of Houston an attractive destination campus is to make it more exclusive. It’s that simple.
There are plenty of examples to follow, but one such case is very interesting.
Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts was once a commuter school with extremely lax admission standards. NU’s admission rate 20-25 years ago was around 80%. That’s right around the Art Briles era of UH football. And get this, just a few years earlier than that, about 30 years ago, NU’s admission rate was just above 90%.
Now? Northeastern University has a 7% admission rate and is ranked 53 nationally on US News.
There are plenty of stories on social media and reddit about kids celebrating getting into Northeastern and their parents confused because they thought it was crap school. For the older generation in and around the Boston area, Northeastern was where you went if you couldn’t get into a more prestigious school, but still wanted a college education. Sound familiar?
So what changed? Aside from some investments in college infrastructure and upgrading of campus buildings (things most universities naturally do anyway), nothing really. Nothing changed except for one big thing… admission standards. Northeastern University’s leadership found that no amount of marketing or advertising would shed NU’s last resort safety school/ commuter college image. They tried that. Their leadership realized that people needed to FEEL the change, and decided to gradually, but intentionally make Northeastern more selective so that kids (and their parents) FELT that they were getting an exclusive education.
It’s all human nature, really. People want to feel like they’re getting something that only a few others can get. It’s why people spend big on luxury brands for clothes, cars and even food, and college is no different.
For Northeastern, they always felt they were a top notch institution with great programs and fantastic professors, but they felt parents and their kids weren’t giving them a chance and that they were being taken for granted. So, they made themselves more exclusive.
Having said all that, I’m a realist. The University of Houston’s mission is to educate the children of the working class and it will always be that way. I’m actually proud of that mission because it makes us unique compared to UT and A&M and the slew of popular private universities in Texas. UH shouldn’t try to make itself ridiculously exclusive like having a 7% admit rate.
However, I feel UH has been taken for granted and needs high school students and their parents to FEEL the true value of our school. I believe UH Main Campus should lower general admission standards for incoming freshmen to the 30’s or high 20’s, with even lower admit rates for the college of engineering and business.
There should be initiatives that help students who couldn’t get into UH Main Campus to instead attend any branch campus like UH- Downtown, UH-Victoria, UH-Clear Lake, UH-Pearland, or local community colleges to showcase college readiness before getting automatic acceptance into UH Main. UT and UCLA do this on a bigger scale, but I imagine UH can do something similar on a smaller scale. UT requires a minimum transfer 3.0 GPA with the typical transfer admit having a 3.5. I believe UH can do something like a minimum 2.75 with a typical admit at 3.2.
The UH mission remains as our branch campuses can serve those who didn’t have college options out of high school but still want a college education. Meanwhile, UH Main Campus should have a top 50 competitive admission standard and a robust academic culture, but it should always be within reach for transfer students from UH branch schools or community colleges. The difference now is getting people to FEEL our excellence, rather than convince them through expensive marketing and ads that no one takes seriously because we’re still seen as “Coog High”.
A little moment of honesty. I wouldn’t want my son to attend UH right now (other alums on this board have said the same). I typed that wearing my favorite UH hoodie and drinking from a UH cup. I also cut a monthly check to UH in support of both academics and athletics so spare me your groans.
I don’t want my son to attend UH right now because there are other great schools whose leadership has made the bold decision to set themselves apart from their peers in the areas that matter most to kids and their families. Those schools have raised their admission standards while providing manageable pathways into their schools. They’ve invested in campus cultures that fosters community. And they’ve prioritized student life. I’m sorry, but UH hasn’t done this to the standard that I would want for my son.
While UH has made tremendous strides since Dr. Khator stepped in, we are still trying to shed our Coog High label despite millions poured into marketing and branding. The solution is simple. Raise the admission standards and don’t let the emerging high school talent and their families take UH for granted.