Talk:Boise State University/Archive 1

Outdated Information
1. There are two numbers reflecting the quantity of enrolled students; however, they do not match. 2. Information about the West, and Canyon County Campus are no longer valid. These campuses are now referred to as the College of Western Idaho. I am not a registered wikipedia user, so please delete the outdated content tags when these issues are resolved.

Problem with student headcount
I don't know how y'all count up at BSU, but when I add the undergrads and grads together, I don't come up with anything near 18K:

Students 18,456 Undergraduates 14,840 Postgraduates 11,066

Madmaxmarchhare 16:17, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Non-BCS Conference Statement
The article currently states, "The Broncos became the second team after the 2004 Utah Utes from a conference whose champion was not guaranteed an automatic BCS bid to go to a BCS bowl game."

I deleted this comment yesterday but it was added again by another user. Before I go back and re-delete, I wanted to raise the issue here. Specifically, my concern is that this isn't per se true insofar as Notre Dame has twice gone to a BCS ball game in just the past two years and yet Notre Dame is not part of a conference whose champion is guaranteed an automatic BCS bid to go to a BCS bowl game. (In fact, Notre Dame is not part of a conference at all -- it is an independent team.)

Is there any concern about my going back and re-deleting this statement? Editor Emeritus 20:34, 7 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Notre Dame is part of the BCS system. Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conferences and Notre Dame.  The Fighting Irish are a "special" case. Boisemedia 20:43, 7 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Good point. What do you think of this instead, "The Broncos became the second team (after the 2004 Utah Utes) not guaranteed an automatic BCS bid to go to a BCS bowl game." Editor Emeritus 23:11, 7 January 2007 (UTC)
 * Perfect. Boisemedia 04:09, 8 January 2007 (UTC)
 * The original comment "The Broncos became the second team after the 2004 Utah Utes from a conference whose champion was not guaranteed an automatic BCS bid to go to a BCS bowl game" is correct. Notre Dame's football team does not have a conference affiliation. The wording could be more precise however and I am changing it to be such. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.193.14.62 (talk) 10:02, 8 January 2007 (UTC).
 * Amen, this Editor Emeritus guy trying to say that Notre Dame was in a conference was bugging the hell out of me. I say go with the original wording since it was so blatantly correct.208.54.95.129 18:45, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Longest Winning Streak?
With the attention paid to Appalachian State's upset of Michigan, I checked into repeated statements about ASU having the nation's longest winning streak. It appears their streak is 1 up on Boise State as of 9/2/07. I would like to have confirmation on this before editing the article. Sequoia50 13:11, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

National Champions
It makes me mad that some ignorant fans are posting that we share the national title with Florida or that Florida has agreed to share it with us. This is just simply not true and those that edit the page to say that only show the ignorance of Boise State fans. I changed it on January 30th and removed everything that said we are co champs and I will change it again if someone changes it back to the inaccuracy.


 * I assume when you say "we" you are speaking for Ohio State, right? 208.54.95.129 18:47, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Demographics
Someone should check the percentages, which resulted from this edit:. The contributor is an anonymous editor at an IP address; many incorrect edits of demographics numbers to other articles have been made by that editor and the changes made here do not look correct. Kablammo 02:07, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
 * There has been a lot of subsequent vandalism so I reverted back to the version just prior to the edit above. There may have been a few good changes buried in the junk but I didn't see anything important that was lost. My apologies to the contributors if the reversion was overinclusive but it seemed to be the best way to return the article to a good version.   Kablammo 02:14, 13 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Anyone notice the percentage, of students who are male and female only add up to 99.6% does that mean that .4% are neither male or female, not counted, undisclosed? Either way it looks bad being so obviously not making 100%. MikelZap (talk) 19:44, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Boisestateunivlogo.gif
Image:Boisestateunivlogo.gif is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in Wikipedia articles constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.BetacommandBot 03:13, 1 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Issue addressed. &mdash;Elipongo (Talk|contribs) 03:33, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

More than a football team??
It's a little embarrassing how much of this page is dominated by football. There are already pages for Boise State Broncos and Boise State Broncos football. The University of Texas has 3 lines on their main page devoted to football history -- schools like Kentucky and UNC do not have basketball dominating their "school history" to the ridiculous extent that this BSU page has done for football. Have some pride, act like you've won something before, and move (the majority of) the football stuff onto the athletics page (for that matter the basketball program is a little more than John Coker and Chris Childs, but that's another battle). 208.54.95.129 19:01, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

this is a bad page
Whoever wrote this should take a look at the pages of other universities, this is a poorly written page and everyone knows that BSU has a good football team. What about the school? This page is 75% football and should be rewritten. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.117.255.204 (talk) 20:33, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Hall of Fame
I have references to being in the BSU Hall of Fame (for Football, Gymnastics and Tennis)...is anyone planning on putting that online? Mjquin_id (talk) 19:22, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

Graduation rate
One or more unregistered editors persist in removing information in the article reporting the low graduation rate of this institution. First, the standard for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, nor truth, and this information appears to be verifiable and published by a reliable source. Second, the information reported by the newspaper appears to be correct according to the Department of Education so even if the bar is "truth" the bar has been met. I view continued removal of this information without discussion to be unacceptable on many levels, particularly as it seems to be white-washing to remove negative information that has been restored by multiple independent editors. ElKevbo (talk) 17:05, 28 December 2010 (UTC)


 * I agree that information about the graduation rate should be included on this page. However, it's placement as a modifier of the U.S. News ranking ("Despite having graduation rates 'among the lowest among all public universities in the West' ... ") is not a good placement for this information. It seems to convey animus toward the university, and Wikipedia articles should be fair and neutral. I agree with its placement in the Student Demographics section, because graduate rates are statistics describing the student body.


 * Additionally, while the graduation rate statistics are verifiable, the statement from a student newspaper opinion piece that Boise State's graduation rate is "among the worst in the West" is simply unverifiable and unsubstantiated. Wikipedia requires verifiability, which focuses on reliability and considers such factors as the quality of the source and the author. Here, you cite to an undergrad student writing an opinion piece, which is substantively no different from someone opining directly on a Wiki page. Unless you have a better source comparing the graduation rate of Boise State University to other schools in the Western United States, this statement should be omitted.Burnanator (talk) 22:30, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

The 2009 rates were replace with 2010 rates when the current source has 2010 rates. The better source would be the previous source as it operates independent from the state. MiddleMan67 (talk) 06:27, 5 March 2012 (UTC)

Rankings in lead
User:Burnanator has accused me of trying to "slight" the university by adding the Forbes ranking to that of USNWR in the lead; however, I am only trying to help the article adhere to WP:NPOV. From WP:UNIGUIDE (bold added by me): "Rankings should be neutrally worded without modifiers or disclaimers, represent a comprehensive cross-section of rankings by national and international publications, be limited to a single section in the article, and be reported as numeric values with years and verifiable sources. In the lead, do not use rankings to synthesize an image of the institution, whether good or bad. Give one factual statement summarising overall "most recent" rankings obtained in key surveys (for example, "In 2010, institution 'A' has been ranked #3 by The Economist, #5 by The New York Times and #8 by Financial Times.")." —Eustress talk 23:39, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * This is precisely why the U.S. News and World Report ranking should lead. This is the most prominent and widely-acknowledged authority on university rankings. Also, the statement that Boise State is "Ranked 51st among Regional Universities in the Western United States by U.S. News and World Report" is in no way "misleading." It states precisely the category and placement of the university's ranking -- 51st among (1) regional universities in (2) the Western United States. Further, the Forbes ranking is still included below in the section addressing academics. University pages do not ordinarily include an exhaustive list of all known rankings in the lead section. In fact, most university pages cite the USNWR ranking exclusively in the lead. Finally, Eustess's comment in the rankings edit that "It is an extreme outlier, but Forbes did in fact rank BSU 545th" suggests that he included the ranking as some sort of a slight to the university, not to improve the article. It is still included in the rankings section of the article, where it aptly fits.Burnanator (talk) 23:45, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Please AGF. I inserted the hidden note to dissuade BSU supporters from removing it, which would violate policy. If you want the #51 ranking to lead, that's fine, but both rankings have a right to be there. To only include the higher one is POV pushing. —Eustress talk 23:52, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree, both rankings have a right to placement in the article. As most university article lead with the USNWR ranking (which is the most authoritative ranking in this field), the same should be done in this article. The Forbes ranking is most appropriate in the Academics section where any other applicable ranking should be added. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Burnanator (talk • contribs) 23:56, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Whether one ranking or another is more "authoritative" is subject to dispute. To show good faith, however, I have reinstated the ranking information in the lead with USNWR listed first, followed by Forbes. Do not revert this again or it will be violation of WP:3RR. —Eustress talk 23:59, 1 January 2011 (UTC)

Vox Dicipuli Lapse
As a current member of the Associated Students, I can say that the student group known as Vox Dicipuli may not be continuing to exist on campus in it's current form - all the the students "speaking" in it have graduated, without leaving a structure behind for other students to step up and continue the organization. I'll try and keep the talk page (at least) updated as we work through the restructuring. If there is information about BSU that is wanted, I have easy access to administration (as do all the students associated with ASBSU). Nightofshiningdeath (talk) 06:45, 28 July 2011 (UTC)

Boise State Changers
Alot of People who edit the Boise State University page try to hide alot of interesting facts. For example, the infamous 34-31 lost in over time to Nevada or the Ohio State comments talking about small university teams like Boise State that do not play "difficult teams" from bigger conferences ie: SEC, Big X+2, Big XII-2, Pac 12, Big East, ACC, etc. I admit that I think Boise State's stats are a little inflated, but all the Boise Fans will not let anything saying that on the page. It makes me mad because the page mostly is bias infavor of Boise State!

Entrance Requirements
The note on highest entrance requirements should be removed. The SBOE admission policy is the same for all state 4 year institutions. http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/public_col_univ/documents/admission_brochure_10.pdf The provide sources are not comparable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by MiddleMan67 (talk • contribs) 06:09, 5 March 2012 (UTC)
 * That's not at all true. The board of ed brochure you linked to says "The institutions may establish additional and more rigorous requirements for admission to specific programs, departments, schools, or colleges within the institutions. Students should check with the college or university admission offices for additional information." I posted a press release from Boise State saying they had the most rigorous admission standards in the state. But to avoid any POV problems from citing the University themselves, I cited the admission requirements from each public university in Idaho so you can compare. For example. With a GPA between 2.40-2.49 you'd need a 1030 SAT score to be BARELY considered at Boise State. With a GPA between 2.40-2.49 you'd need a 930 (and this seems to indicate you'd be in automatically, but even with the benefit of the doubt it's still a lower SAT score than Boise State). According to your link, admission standards may vary between institutions. Boise State says they have the highest admission standards and examining the admissions pages from each of the universities bares that out. Boise State, objectively, has the highest admission standards of all the public institutions in the state. I'm undoing the changes.67.60.228.218 (talk) 21:18, 5 March 2012 (UTC)
 * ISU minimum is 2.25GPA for conditional admission. UofI is 2.2. According to the sources provided, a GPA of 2.0 could be admitted to BSU (unlikely).
 * The source provided does not actually state what the minimum is, rather a graph showing likeliness of being admitted rather than a minimum standard.
 * "We have the most rigorous admissions standards in the state, and beginning for Fall of 2011, they will again be increased for freshmen and transfer students to demonstrate our continued emphasis on academic excellence." This statement would be true if 1 or more institutions had the highest standards.
 * The presidents statement is for the fall 2011. The BSU source is July 2010. This addition should wait until the new standards are actually published. This would provide verification the plan proposed in 2010 was actually implemented in 2011.
 * MiddleMan67 (talk) 02:07, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

First you claimed that all the admission standards were the same and now you're giving different requirements for UI, BSU, and ISU. It looks like you're just determined to remove information from this page and are trying to justify it any way that you can. Looking at the UI admissions page that I originally cited, that's not the minimum GPA, that's just how low their chart goes. Again, with a 2.2 GPA, you'd need a 1070 SAT or a 23 ACT score to be admitted to UI. For Boise State at 2.2 GPA, the bare minimum would be 1190 SAT and 25 GPA. The most recent information available takes precedence. If you think there's newer information out there, please find it and cite it and we can continue this discussion. With the sources cited, Boise State had the most rigorous admission standards in 2010 with the intention of raising them in 2011. An objective comparison of requirements across all the universities shows that for similar GPAs the test scores required by Boise State are higher. They have, demonstrably, the highest admission standards in the state. Find something recent that claims otherwise and we can see about removing this information. Otherwise, please refrain from removing information until a consensus has been reached in the talk page. 67.60.228.218 (talk) 04:10, 6 March 2012 (UTC) If you were to find a quote from another university in Idaho claiming THEY had the highest admission standards or an article from a newspaper comparing admission standards and finding another university had higher (or at least there was a mixed bag of standards) we could debate POV and validity of sources. But baring something along those lines, the quote and citations provided should be more than enough to include the information. 67.60.228.218 (talk) 04:25, 6 March 2012 (UTC)
 * The SBOE admission policy is the same for all state 4 year institutions is factually correct and the best source provided.
 * BSU does not give minimum requirements, rather likely hood of a candidate. That is not bare minimum.
 * My claim is that the institutions report admission requirements in manner that cannot be compared in the manner that you are doing. For example, ISU publishes an admission standard 2.5 GPA and 990 SAT which sits on a half blue half white square.
 * Please provide your source for U of I admission policy that shows GPAs of 2.0 are admitted.
 * Can you quantify the difference between excellent, possible, and unlikely candidate in terms of who does and does not get admitted? The assertion that BSU has the highest admission standards cannot be made unless these can be sourced. (ISU has a best case for highest standards)
 * I do not believe the BSU source is intended to communicate minimum requirements. It describes candidate potential rather than minimum requirements. It just does not say what you are inferring.
 * The Kustra speech is not a source at all as it is speaking to a future event. Your sources do not show that it actually happened. Also, he does not say the standards are higher than all other institutions. "most robust" is an odd way to describe admission standards that are higher than all other institutions. That sounds like the most positive way of saying our admission standards are tied for the highest in the state.
 * I am not deleting stuff on a personal bias (if I was, the second paragraph would be remove as the source does not exist). If I can find 2011 fall enrollment numbers, I will update that line. I have not found a recent link that give degree offerings and fields of study). — Preceding unsigned comment added by MiddleMan67 (talk • contribs) 06:33, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

The boise state source is incomplete- "This table does not include the complete Admission Index. If your GPA or test score is not shown, contact the Boise State Admissions Office for specific information." http://admissions.boisestate.edu/freshman/#standards I have not seen any where on admissions where they actually publish a minimum standard. It looks like the admission index a tool is intended to predict success rather than a statement of minimum standards. MiddleMan67 (talk) 13:45, 7 March 2012 (UTC)

In the example given above, a GPA of 2.2 would have a minimum ACT of 15 or SAT 740 at BSU, significantly lower tha UofI or ISU. Until a source can be found that show otherwise, this should removed. MiddleMan67 (talk) 03:34, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

Looking at the sources cited at a GPA of 2.2 Boise State requires AT LEAST an ACT score of 26 and an SAT of 1190. At a GPA of 2.2 UI, for example, you'd be in with an ACT score of 23 and an SAT of 1070. Demonstrably lower. The citations stand, you're misreading the graphs and the data. Find an outside source that claims another school has higher admission standards and we'll reconsider. Until then the citations and information is correct.67.60.228.218 (talk) 01:13, 10 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Can you site the line in the BSU admission requirements define possible candidate as the minimum requirement? I cannot find anywhere in the provide source where BSU states this is an absolute minimum, that "unlikely candidates" are inadmissible. To the contrary, I have found where BSU may admit students below the standard stated. Also, there is no GPA or test score requirement at BSU for conditional admittance. You are assuming a minimum requirement that BSU does not claim.MiddleMan67 (talk) 17:07, 17 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Also, 2.2 GPA does not get admitted to ISU based on these sources. MiddleMan67 (talk) 03:25, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

Removing until a source can be found that supports the claim. MiddleMan67 (talk) 03:25, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

Sources have been presented both from within and from outside of the university. The statement in question has 5 sources linked for the one sentence. We've been discussing it, and each time you bring up a point we've pointed to those 5 links and sources to prove the point and disprove you. Your change has been reverted by several people. Please stop removing information. This is a sourced fact and simply continuing to remove it is akin to vandalism of the article. If you have an alternate source, please provide it so we can debate the veracity of the conflicting sources and come to some kind of agreement. Do not continue to just remove information from this article.67.60.228.218 (talk) 04:28, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Rather than continue to revert each other's edits on this subject I suggest we put in for a 3rd (neutral) opinion as it is the first step listed for wikipedia dispute resolution. The guidelines say "Take care (as much as possible) to make it seem as though the request is being added by both participants." So I thought I'd solicit your opinion on what the request should say. I'd propose "Does the cited material support the claim that 'Boise State has the highest admission standards in the state'." Thoughts?67.60.228.218 (talk) 04:41, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * I am open to a third party. MiddleMan67 (talk) 02:07, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

US News Rankings
Updated to include specific rankings from cited source. MiddleMan67 (talk) 02:21, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

At one time there were specific rankings for the College of Engineering, which tended to look a little better than the general rankings. Is there any reason these were removed? Also, there is a study at that put Boise State as the 15th lowest in for alumni earnings among "big colleges" in the United States. That seems relevant for the article, but given how the rankings read, it might be overly negative. Thoughts? 96.18.171.179 (talk) 11:42, 30 October 2016 (UTC)

Graduate Enrollment
The numbers are not correct. This was taken from the BSU pres speech where he used the legislator committee enrollment numbers. For some reason, the committee did not want to include University of Idaho Grad students on satellite campuses. Depending on how part time students are counted, BSU may or may not have the second highest enrollment. It would be better to state "BSU has over 2000 graduate students." http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/research_stats/documents/student_enrollment/2011/bsu_psr-1_sp11.pdf http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/research_stats/documents/student_enrollment/2011/isu_psr-1_sp11.pdf http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/research_stats/documents/student_enrollment/2011/ui_psr-1_sp11.pdf MiddleMan67 (talk) 22:46, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

Going by the legislator committee enrollment numbers, along with the President's statement, BSU would be second behind ISU. Going with the board of education numbers in the PDFs you provided, Boise State would be second behind UI. It should be sufficient to say Boise State has the second largest graduate enrollment in Idaho and leave off listing who holds the largest as there is some debate here. I do think it's important to put the 2,000 number in some kind of context. 67.60.228.218 (talk) 04:54, 19 March 2012 (UTC)


 * "Sources" Here is the link to the 2010 enrollment numbers. BSU is last. http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/research_stats/student_enrollment/student_enrollment_10.asp Clearly, Kustra is wrong in his speech. Why would any editor want to use a committee report with known bad/misleading information? Is it really disputed? Why do you reject actual data from 2011 for 2010 opinions?
 * "Context" Describing BSU as the second is disingenuous. They have 220 less Full time graduation students and 270 more part time students (approximately). If the comparative statement going to be included, it should be noted as last in full time, first in part time, and second overall. As written, it is very misleading and takes the data out of context. I would prefer not to have the comparative statement as ISU and BSU are very close in enrollment and this is liable to change and be inaccurate. MiddleMan67 (talk) 02:08, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

Total Enrollment Rate
http://www.boardofed.idaho.gov/research_stats/documents/student_headcount/headcount_fall_2011.pdf LCSC is the fastest growing by %. BSU growth is actually less than 2008 numbers. MiddleMan67 (talk) 22:46, 18 March 2012 (UTC)

Fixing references
I have filled in some bare URLs and introduced a WP:LDR style with this edit. Feel free to revert, but if you do so, please ensure you fix all the bare urls yourself (WP:LINKROT). --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus&#124; reply here 03:03, 22 November 2012 (UTC)

Flagship designation
On Wednesday, January 21, 2015, President Obama visited and spoke at Boise State University. After the fact the Magic Valley Times Editorial Board published an editorial saying "The U.S. president’s visit to Idaho’s flagship university Wednesday was a big deal." (link: http://magicvalley.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_76308811-3800-550c-8a7c-5ff9d6291def.html)

The paper appears to be the epitome of unbiased on this issue. The paper is from the Magic Valley in Idaho, so while they are familiar with the education system in Idaho neither Boise State nor the University of Idaho are in the Magic Valley. The editorial was written by the editorial board, reflecting the opinion of several people. Further, the opinion editor of the paper (Jon Alexander) was born and raised in New York (although I haven't been able to find his college information) (source: http://magicvalley.com/blogs/above-the-fold/ the bio on the right side of the page). The Editor (Jon Christensen) went to Iowa State University (http://magicvalley.com/news/local/christensen-named-times-news-editor/article_0eb61870-ae0b-5096-b775-1a559036367c.html). So no one involved with the paper or the editorial board appears to be biased on this issue.

This is precisely what Wikipedia asks for when making a change to an article, an independent media source reporting something that can be linked and verified.

While in past wikipedia articles the University of Idaho was referred to as the "flagship" university in Idaho, a google news search for "university of idaho" and "flagship" produces no recent hits. The most recent is 2012 articles reporting that "flagship" had been removed from UI's mission statement.

Given the removal of "flagship" from the mission statement in 2012 and recent independent media sources referring to Boise State as the state's "flagship university" it is appropriate to add the term "flagship" to the Boise State article.

I propose changing the first sentence from "Boise State University is a public research institution in Boise, Idaho." to "Boise State University is a public research institution in Boise, Idaho and the flagship university in Idaho." Additionally, there is an article "Flagship Universities in the United States" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Flagship_universities_in_the_United_States). A link to that article should be placed in the footer of Boise State's page.

I realize this may be upsetting to UI advocates, so if anyone has any links to the contrary please post them to further the discussion. Otherwise, I'll make the change in a couple days. 24.119.23.240 (talk) 03:40, 25 January 2015 (UTC)


 * You know, IMO, BSU rocks. But I do not see the value in referring to any of the three big schools in the Idaho public university group as "flagship".  This discussion does not occur in Indiana (Purdue v IU) or Michigan (Michigan v Michigan State).  I don't care if the New York Times said it; it adds no value to the article. John from Idegon (talk) 03:59, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

While I too think it's overblown, it the downgrade of UI was major topic in 2012 in Idaho and there are lists such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Flagship_universities_in_the_United_States that reference the status. While it might not be of critical importance, and may not be of any importance in Indiana, the existence of a wikipedia list and link in the footer of the UI page should, I think, prompt us to make it accurate. Unless you're proposing we purge the entire list from wikipedia? 24.119.23.240 (talk) 18:07, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

———————————————————

I'm making a change to the page. Below are my reasons why:

Tracing the history of the "flagship university" designation for the state of Idaho.

I think for a large bulk of the state/university's history the University of Idaho would be regarded as the flagship university. It's the oldest university, the one with the most research funding, and it's the land grant university in the state. Up until about recently any mention of a "flagship university" in Idaho was directed toward the University of Idaho. Several links, papers, and speeches from the 1990s will back this up.

However, in February of 2012, the state board of education unanimously stripped the use of the "flagship" description from UofI's mission statement - very much against their will. Pretty much everyone was in agreement that this was a major change. The Spokesman Review ran the headline "University of Idaho no longer state’s ‘flagship'" (http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/feb/16/university-idaho-no-longer-states-flagship/). The UofI President viewed this as a "step back", implying that the change to the mission statement had real world impact (http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/02/26/2010222/flagship-fight-reflects-slim-budgets.html). The UofI faculty Senate agreed, asking the board to reconsider (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webs.uidaho.edu%2Ffacultycouncil%2F2011-12FS%2FDocuments%2FFlagship-UI-Senate-Resolution.pdf).

Outside of the UofI independent press seems to agree about the change at the time. The Ridenbaugh press said that Boise State was the new "flagship" (http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2012/02/22/carlson-all-hail-the-new-flagship/). The Idaho Statesman ran many articles at the time mentioning the change and wondering if the change had a lasting effect.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “flagship” as “the finest, largest, or most important one of a series, network, or chain.” Despite UofI frantically trying to insist they were still the "flagship" and columnists implying that, perhaps, Boise State now was, there was little evidence in 2012 to make official changes to either Boise State or UofI pages. While Boise State was clearly the largest by pretty much every evaluation, "finest" and "most important" could be a matter of opinion. Frankly, at the time we couldn't see how the reputation of both institutions would appear after the dust had settled and some kind of independent source weighed in.

However, we now have some indication of that answer is. In January 2015, President Barack Obama visited Boise State. In a write up of that visit the Magic Valley Times described Boise State as the "flagship university" saying "The U.S. president’s visit to Idaho’s flagship university Wednesday was a big deal." (link: http://magicvalley.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_76308811-3800-550c-8a7c-5ff9d6291def.html)

The paper appears to be the epitome of unbiased on this issue. The paper is from the Magic Valley in Idaho, so while they are familiar with the education system in Idaho neither Boise State nor the University of Idaho are in the Magic Valley. The editorial was written by the editorial board, reflecting the opinion of several people. Further, the opinion editor of the paper (Jon Alexander) was born and raised in New York (although I haven't been able to find his college information) (source: http://magicvalley.com/blogs/above-the-fold/ the bio on the right side of the page). The Editor (Jon Christensen) went to Iowa State University (http://magicvalley.com/news/local/christensen-named-times-news-editor/article_0eb61870-ae0b-5096-b775-1a559036367c.html). So no one involved with the paper or the editorial board appears to be biased on this issue.

This is precisely what Wikipedia asks for when looking for a Neutral Point of View. Neither Boise State nor University of Idaho have any say in this, the paper is just reporting what it sees as fact. The fact that a neutral paper is so clear with the designation (in an article not about the mission statement change) is evidence that the perception of "the finest, largest, or most important" has shifted.

Outside, neutral sources, label Boise State as the flagship university in Idaho.

Further, a google news search for "university of Idaho" and "flagship" produces no counter evidence. The most recent results of that search are 2012 articles reporting that "flagship" had been removed from UI's mission statement and UofI's response. I can find no non-UofI sources after 2012 that refer to UofI as the "flagship university" whereas we now have at least 2 that refer to Boise State as such (the ridenbaugh article and the Magic Valley Times article).

Given the removal of "flagship" from the mission statement in 2012 and independent media sources referring to Boise State as the state's "flagship university" it is appropriate to add Boise State to the list of flagship universities.

I posted on here in January, asking for further input, but after waiting almost 2 months, no additional information has been provided. I am therefore making the change. If anyone has counter evidence to provide, please post it in the talk so that we can evaluate its NPOV as well as credibility. Specifically, for it to be valid for me, I'd need something not coming from the UofI (or an alumni) and dated at least after the middle of 2012 (after the dust of the mission statement had settled a bit) before I'd even consider it. Additionally, I gave almost 2 months of time before making the change to this page or UofI's page. A similar respectful discussion period should be allowed if any changes are made.

24.119.23.240 (talk) 03:49, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I opposed this in January and still do. I will be reverting your change as you have no consensus. Please do not reinstate the flagship bit until you do. John from Idegon (talk) 06:47, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

John, You said that you didn't see the value in the designation because it doesn't have an impact in your area. But you didn't refute the actual facts or present any alternative sources. So I'm assuming you agree with the underlying reasoning but still just dispute the importance?

If that's correct, then I should point out that in the two examples you gave (UI vs Purdue and Michigan State vs. Michigan) the University of Illinois (at Urbana-champaign) actually does appear on the Wikipedia list, as does the Univeristy of Michigan. The discussion does happen, and the label is applied. While it might not carry the political passion it currently does in Idaho, there are 54 schools currently listed in the Wikipedia "category: flagship universities in the United states".

Including a link in the footer, with no mention in the text, is literally the least we can do with verifiable information when it is similarly used by other universities. So unless you have some disagreement on the facts, it's clear that Wikipedia as a whole thinks it's important enough to have a category and include the link in the footer. It *IS* important enough to include, as long as it's true. So if you're not debating the accuracy, we should include it. 66.87.127.39 (talk) 14:15, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Seconded, and it is worth reiterating that U of I only added that kind of distinction to itself without anything to back it. It seems petty (no disrespect meant, however) to go against including the bit about "Flagship". OrangeJacketGuy (talk) 00:31, 12 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Seeing that the only objection raised is to relevance (not accuracy) and given that 2 people have agreed it's relevant (in addition to the existence of wikipedia list and footer tag on 54 other schools), I think we've reached a unanimous agreement that the independent sources verify Boise State as being the flagship university in Idaho and a 2-1 consensus that the link belongs in the footer of the article. Having given plenty of time for input, and reached that consensus, I'm making the addition to the footer. I disagree that UI's experience with the designation is worth mentioning, nor is the history of Boise State taking on that role.  We should simply state what is and move on. 24.119.23.240 (talk) 01:28, 25 March 2015 (UTC)
 * I oppose and have reversed this edit. Please see the Talk:University of Idaho page for references as to why. A single reference by the quote 'Magic Valley' is WP:UNDUE given the variety of other references that are more recent that occurred since 2012. The Boise State University does not reference itself as the or/a flagship university.Randomeditor1000 (talk) 06:39, 26 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Curiously enough editors of other articles are singing a different tune as to the veracity of a University designating itself as "flagship". Your single opposition does not a meaningful edit make OrangeJacketGuy (talk) 17:23, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
 * Obviously it's not just my opposition as there were previously others who objected to the change. In addition, there were two Change.org petitions with over 6000 signatures. Again, please post discussion on the Talk:University of Idaho page. Per the change by Blanksamurai I am reverting your change. There is so far only one newspaper article that offers any remote evidence that this institution is the flagship university of Idaho, or that it is A flagship university. Until more reliable sources are offered per WP:UNDUE this isn't verifiable. The body of evidence from 2012-today suggests that the University of Idaho is still the flagship institution in Idaho. I want to clarify again this is not POV. Remember that WP:UNIGUIDE requests NPOV in regards to information in university articles. That WP:Avoid academic boosterism should be avoided when possible. Randomeditor1000 (talk) 23:47, 27 April 2015 (UTC)


 * I think "flagship" should be left out. It's too controversial.  Until recently "flagship" was part of U of I's mission statement and it got stripped by the state board.  and it's too soon to add it to BSU.  There is an interesting opinion piece here http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2012/02/22/carlson-all-hail-the-new-flagship/  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.19.49.43 (talk) 15:01, 27 February 2016 (UTC)

Outdated information (as of June, 2017)
Hi editors –

I am new to Wikipedia so please forgive me if I accidentally bump into protocols — I have been reading up and hopefully can navigate correctly. I am an employee at Boise State, so will not edit this page directly, but I was hoping to address some out of date content that remains on the page. I am taking my cues from this Wikipedia page on conflicts of interest.

Just running down the page, here are some factual errors (mostly just out of date information) that I could find:

Much of the data in the grey box that references footnote 3 is using data from a couple of years ago. The current Facts and Figures data can be found here.

In the main copy, the second paragraph references a college that no longer exists (Social Science and Public Affairs). Boise State now has Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business and Economics, Health Sciences, Innovation and Design, and Education, as well as a college-level School of Public Service, a Graduate College, Division of Extended Studies and the Honors College. Here is a current look at Boise State academics.

Under history, the “living alumni” number is from 2010. In last year’s Facts and Figures is a newer number estimated from 2015.

Some options for information under “Campus,” in addition to the three buildings mentioned, could include: - The Interactive Learning Center. - The Environmental Research Building - The Honors College and Sawtooth Hall (opening this fall) - The Center for Fine Arts (which broke ground in May).

Under Campus Events, the visiting lecturers are a bit out of date. Here is a look at recent visitors.

Under Academics and organization, again, the colleges are out of date.

There is an out of date reference to the 2010 State of the University Address about how many freshman come directly to the university. More than 90 percent of Boise State’s first-year students come directly from high school (on page 4 of this report).

Boise State’s graduate enrollment is now the highest in the state according to this Idaho State Board information.

Updated information about Boise State’s growing retention and graduation rates can be found here.

There is no citation of a “high proportion of non-traditional students,” which is based on out of date information.

This is arguably subjective, but there is no mention of three Fiesta Bowl wins since 2007 in the athletics section, which seems an oversight.

In the Student Life section, seven-year-old data persists. Current facts and figures.

Under housing, more outdated information. More than 2,700 students now live on the Boise State campus. Current information on student housing.

The section on Driscoll Hall will be out of date when the new Honors College opens in the fall.

Thanks for taking a look. BoiseIdaho111 (talk) 23:09, 2 June 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Boise State University. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20140714200844/http://www.boisestate.edu/masterplan/campusmasterplanpart1.pdf to http://www.boisestate.edu/masterplan/campusmasterplanpart1.pdf

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Boise State Wrestling
This article needs to be updated. It still lists wrestling as a sport Boise State competes in. In 2017, the University discontinued the wrestling team. It was a controversial decision designed to make room under title IX for a new men's baseball team.

69.47.74.184 (talk) 17:29, 23 December 2017 (UTC)Kevin McMahon
 * Thanks, it's been updated. Corky thehornetfan 18:01, 23 December 2017 (UTC)