It has the look and feel of a high-caliber student show.
These programs attract not only high-caliber students from Long Island but also bright students from within and outside the country.
But in recent years, university officials have concluded that the jumble of fast-food restaurants and dilapidated storefronts along the stretch of High Street bordering the campus has made it harder to attract high-caliber students and faculty.
"The conservatories are limited because of their structure -- they recruit only a small number of high-caliber students," said Geraldine Sanderson, director of public affairs, referring to the dance, music, film and theater conservatories.
In nearby Park Slope, the fear is that mandating more math and reading classes will jeopardize the arts that attracted one school's high-caliber students in the first place.
Both the Departments of Biology and Mathematics had limited full scholarships available, which can make recruitment of high-caliber students a significant challenge.
"We've been able to attract a very high caliber of student," he said.
Such a leader, he went on, could enhance the school's reputation, attract new financing and programs and recruit a higher caliber of student.
Robert J. Aloia, superintendent of the Bergen vocational schools, said that although Bergen Academies attracts a higher caliber of student than in the past, it has not changed its fundamental mission.
The City University of New York, which produces a third of the city's teachers, hopes to attract a higher caliber of student by starting a Teacher Academy modeled after its successful Honors College, which uses free tuition and other perks to try to lure students who might go to Ivy League universities.
Such alliances help Chinese universities attract a higher caliber of student, maintain higher standards for research, and encourage faculty independence, Li says.
