I HAVE a proposal that lawmakers, educators, supporters of higher education can possibly buy into to make the university a higher-calibre institution (higher than it is now). Turn it into an elite school requiring elite grades and high SAT scores to get in, while keeping a certain quota for bright students (by looking at essay content, for example) who otherwise might not be able to best/crack 1600 on the SATs and ACTs. Why?
You cannot just say you are the Harvard of the Pacific when you are the only game in town and the conception is NMC, GCC the Palau Community College, and other regional institutions that are up-and-coming but beset with the same financial problems for the most part. Instead of begging for more money from the wealthy, make it more attractive to the wealthy. You have to actually be an elite o rather elitist institution with high standards (and still be a land-grant school). Before folks will say that is not going to work here, consider that we already have an elite class (very few very wealthy) and elite institution (St. John’s as an example) and elite political machines (few deciding for many). And those who “cannot make the grade” can enroll in GCC to sharpen their skills, besides that is where development English and Math are supposed to be taught anyway. (Remember that those who do decide to go to UOG drop-out after two years anyway, many of them.) This will free up UOG’s tie and resources to focus on building a world-class liberal arts college. And over time, schools for medicine and engineering, maybe even law might emerge. Now there will always be some who want to get off the “rock” to see what’s beyond the horizon, if you will. That’s fine. There are many students in the States who go to an out-of-state school just for that purpose. But no one should not want to come to UOG because they feel that it is not up-to-par when in actuality some programs’ financial problems are perennial. Moreover, aside form being the motivating factor for K-12 students locally that UOG is to be REVERED, it can also be an encouragement for students from East Asian powerhouse economies such as China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
Remember that it is where you get your bachelor’s degree from that you will define your career path and earning because of alumni ties. (And then we can get a real sports program going as well.)
As Kaleo Moylan said of the gov’t, “We cannot be everything to everybody.” Similarly it is time for UOG to follow suit. With regard to funding, you can wean yourself away from Gen. Fund even more so than now because elite students are backed by elite wealth, private equity, like the new hospital.

MATT PHILIPS
Mangilao, Guam