Colleges: Go Back to Basics
Colleges perform two vital functions: They disseminate to the people (especially their own students) the knowledge and wisdom acquired through time in ways that enhance the common good, and they also…
Posts tagged with
“administrative bloat”
Administrative Bloat Harms Teaching and Learning
Over the years, American universities and colleges have slowly drifted away from their central concerns, teaching and learning. This shift is perhaps best seen in the increased number of administrators…
Bending the Knee for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
Since the early 1960s, universities have sought to achieve racial equality. Initiatives have ranged from offering extra tutoring for struggling minority students to making them more comfortable on campus by…
Why faculty members make poor administrators
To the editor: Here is why faculty and faculty administrators make poor administrators that is not related to peer governance that shrinks from decisions. Very few are trained or self-trained…
Sheep No More: the Alumni Rise
In my nearly 15 years as a higher education journalist and analyst, I have, unfortunately, witnessed too few victories for the reform movement. In that time, and certainly for several…
Did You Know? The Higher Ed Bureaucracy Won the Pandemic
An ill wind has buffeted higher education in the year of the plague. Workers have been laid off, the ranks of the professoriate have shrunk, and enrollment declines across the…
A Conversation with UNC System President Peter Hans
A new leader took the helm of the University of North Carolina system during a tumultuous time. In the midst of a global pandemic, Peter Hans was elected UNC system…
How Colleges Can Survive the Coming Enrollment Crash
Nationwide, higher education enrollment has been trending down for several years. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2019 was the eighth straight year of decline, with an overall drop…
The Mess of Federal Funds Is Changing the University
The modern American university has changed almost beyond recognition from the form it had even 100 years ago. It is larger, more “diverse,” more of a business, and more industrialized…
Did You Know? Administrative Expenditures in the UNC System Keep Climbing
Expenditures for institutional support in the UNC system have increased significantly: from $2,217 per student in 2006 to $4,069 per student in 2017. Adjusted for inflation, that’s nearly 50 percent…