Template talk:Infobox university

Add "Parent Institute" line

The infobox is used for a number of law schools, research institutes, medical schools, etc.. In situtions such as this, a "Parent Institution" line would be very handy. Thoughts? nf utvol (talk) 19:16, 17 November 2011 (UTC)

I wouldn't mind seeing this, but parent institute can easily go under affiliations at the moment as there is not strict definition (and I searched the archives to be sure of this). I understand what you mean though (ie. Harvard College or Harvard Medical School would list Harvard University under Parent institute). The Haz _talk 01:11, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Add "Graduate students" line

The infobox needs a "Graduate students" line because this is the typical term used in American English and it is also widely found in British English (e.g., at the Oxford and Cambridge websites). Doremo (talk) 13:32, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Could you explain a little more what you are proposing. What would be entered in this new parameter, given that the template already has the parameter |postgrad= for the number of graduate students (and parameter |doctoral= for the number of doctoral students)? Alternatively, are you suggesting that only the label of the existing parameter |postgrad= be changed from "Postgraduates"? HairyWombat 16:35, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

I'm suggesting that a parameter "graduate" should be added for the number of graduate students. The template already contains some synonymous (or near-synonymous) parameters (e.g., "rector", "chancellor"). If synonymy is not desirable, then I would suggest that the parameter "postgraduates" be changed to "graduate students" because it's the sole term used in American English and is also widespread in British English (e.g., prevalent at both Cambridge and Oxford), making it the most international and widely understood term. However, if other Englishes (Australian? New Zealand?) have only "postgraduate" then synonymous parameters would be preferable so that the terminology could be tailored to individual universities. Doremo (talk) 18:58, 21 December 2011 (UTC)

Acceptance Rate

Hi, I am finding resources on the acceptance rate %'s of schools from US News. Here is an example: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/fairfield-university-1385 and I am having trouble adding it. Any chance we can see this section posted into the infobox sometime?

Twillisjr (talk) 21:58, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Why would we want to include acceptance rate in the infobox? ElKevbo (talk) 22:50, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

I can certainly think of reasons one could posit for its inclusion, but I'm totally opposed nonetheless. Infoboxes are intended to be supplementary materials for the prose we are supposed to be writing. HuskyHuskie (talk) 04:13, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

I lean towards opposition but I think it's certainly worth examining if others would to add it or consider adding it. ElKevbo (talk) 05:32, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

I would wonder about which rate to include at major universities, the undergraduate rate, or the law school rate, or med school, would we need them all? I guess I agree that this is better left for the prose where it can be fully explained and put in context.-- Patrick, _oѺ^∞ 14:23, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

In my opinion, infobox is a wonderful item to separate "short useful information that you can get in a snap" from a large article that is full of wonderful information. The acceptance rate is very important to students that are pursuing higher education. It is also critical to understand certain un-seen benefits to some universities. In my research, (as a Connecticut user), I looked at some statistical details of local private universities. Yale University in New Haven costs $40,000+ per year, Fairfield University in Fairfield costs $40,000+ per year, and Bridgeport University in Bridgeport costs between $20-$30,000 per year. The acceptance rate of Yale is between 7-8%, while the acceptance rate of Fairfield Univerisity is around 71-72%. While writing a paper, I found this information and was able to write "what unseen benefits Fairfield University must have" because it didn't make much sense. So, I think it is informative for people doing research, I think it should be given a rightful place on infobox rather than hiding in an article, and I think it helps your younger users when deciding where their future might lie. Please take some of these notes into consideration.

Twillisjr (talk) 17:56, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps this can be scripted into the page?: http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ After all, it is a reputable source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Twillisjr (talk • contribs) 18:01, 28 January 2012 (UTC)

request to add Newspaper field

I propose the addition of a Newspaper field for the purpose of listing publication(s) that serve the University community. As previously noted--see this 2008 proposal many newspapers are already listed in the Infobox using the freetext label.

If there is objection on grounds of: "what if there are multiple newspapers?" then multiple titles can be listed, viz.:

  | newspaper = The Daily University News (1928-1960) <br> The New Daily News (1995–present) 

But if the only objection is: Many Universities don't have a newspaper. That's really not an objection; it's a challenge.

Adding a Newspaper simplifies the analysis of this and provides a "feed" via dbpedia for this and other uses.

The utility potential transcends all potential problems:

• Q: Where do I put an Alumni Magazine?
  A: Probably not in the Newspaper field; perhaps we should also add an Alumni_Magazine field.
• Q: What about publications from the Athletic Department?
  A: How are these publications notable?

Perhaps the value of dbpedia and the "Wikipedia Ecosystem" were not appreciated or well understood in 2008. Now, however, the value of the Infobox, I mean of a Newspaper field, is warranted. --TMH (talk) 18:54, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Still, this is supposed to be a "quick summary" box. That may be a good reason to reject otherwise reasonable additions. The shorter, the better. Also, most papers are not themselves, that notable. (Not that they don't have articles, I'm sure). The only one I can recognize outside my own school, is Harvard's. Seems more like publicity for the pub, rather than acquainting readers with what is really important about the school. IMO. Student7 (talk) 18:32, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Agreed with Student7. The infobox is intended to be a brief overview of the main points of the topic. The school's newspaper is definitely not a main point. — Huntster (t @ c) 21:11, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Agreed with Student7 and Huntster. Campus newspapers have little importance or relevance outside the school. In addition, infoboxes are used as quick references for commonly requested information, such as location, student body size, date of establishment, and other common almanac type information. Newspapers are a little too minutiae-esque for an infobox. nf utvol (talk) 21:37, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

Agree with Student7 and Huntster and Nfutvol. The idea is by no means a stupid one, but on balance, it's not warranted, in my very humble opinion. HuskyHuskie (talk) 03:46, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Gender ratio

Is male-to-female ratio a parameter worth including? Arbitrarily0 ^(talk) 04:02, 9 February 2012 (UTC)