"But we also need to look at why colleges spend so much on things not related to education."
Because student debt is given out like candy, and there's ZERO incentive all around to compete on cost (Mitch Daniels' Purdue being the lone exception I can think of[1]). Until student debt can be discharged as easily as other forms of debt, taxpayers will be left holding the bag, and schools will continue to add non-academic amenities (cheaper and less argument in the long run than hiring actual human professors) that allow subpar schools to compete with better schools for their place at the federal student loan teat.
"At public research institutions specifically, there has been a particularly marked rise in the number administrators. In 1990, there were approximately twice as many full-time faculty at public research institutions as administrators. In 2012, the two groups were nearly equal."
And it's not clear that all of these administrators are actually generating actual value, as shown by Vanderbilt's recent example of using ChatGPT (to bring this full circle) to pen an e-mail after a mass shooting[1]:
"Last Friday, the Tennessee-based school emailed its student body to address the tragedy at Michigan State that killed three students and injured five more people: 'The recent Michigan shootings are a tragic reminder of the importance of taking care of each other, particularly in the context of creating inclusive environments,' reads the letter in part, as first reported by the Vanderbilt Hustler, a student newspaper."
"At the end of the school’s email was a surprising line: 'Paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' read a parenthetical in smaller font."
Interesting article Steve and even more so Chris's take. While i enjoy the AI's perspective, the real question boils down to this for me; Does it really matter what any of us think. say or do? If colleges indeed are bloated with top heavy salaries and the cost of a degree so outlandish, isn't the greed of the amount of interest the lenders collect even more outlandish? Should graduating students have to pay back the loan 5 and 10 fold?
All of which is just the trap we are all falling in to. It won't matter what any of us think, say or do will it? AI will decide literally everything for us...assuming we let it. Personally i have avoided it, but anyone with a half a brain can see this coming at us a hundred miles an hour and our thoughts and musings will be rendered to what rolls around in our heads as we try and sleep at night. Terrifying to me.
And don't forget the DEI executives who are being hired long after barriers to admission and grade discrimination have been eliminated. Also, in Georgia, one other unnecessary cost is being eliminated thanks to the appointment of Sonny Perdue to head the Board of Regents, much to the dismay of college administrators.
Eight years ago my granddaughter emailed me a copy of her letter from the president of the University of Alabama awarding her a president's scholarship that he estimated to be worth $60,000 per year. Maybe it was because she got two degrees, but the last semester was not covered, and it was expensive. I'm sure it's no less costly now.
Thanks to Mitch Daniels who is as close to being a conservative as you will find in academia executives. I always thought he could be a great presidential candidate.
"But we also need to look at why colleges spend so much on things not related to education."
Because student debt is given out like candy, and there's ZERO incentive all around to compete on cost (Mitch Daniels' Purdue being the lone exception I can think of[1]). Until student debt can be discharged as easily as other forms of debt, taxpayers will be left holding the bag, and schools will continue to add non-academic amenities (cheaper and less argument in the long run than hiring actual human professors) that allow subpar schools to compete with better schools for their place at the federal student loan teat.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2022/09/06/1121201296/purdues-reputation-for-affordability-results-in-substantial-growth-for-the-schoo
Let's also not forget administrative bloat:
"At public research institutions specifically, there has been a particularly marked rise in the number administrators. In 1990, there were approximately twice as many full-time faculty at public research institutions as administrators. In 2012, the two groups were nearly equal."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinesimon/2017/09/05/bureaucrats-and-buildings-the-case-for-why-college-is-so-expensive/?sh=49b3ea6f456a
And it's not clear that all of these administrators are actually generating actual value, as shown by Vanderbilt's recent example of using ChatGPT (to bring this full circle) to pen an e-mail after a mass shooting[1]:
"Last Friday, the Tennessee-based school emailed its student body to address the tragedy at Michigan State that killed three students and injured five more people: 'The recent Michigan shootings are a tragic reminder of the importance of taking care of each other, particularly in the context of creating inclusive environments,' reads the letter in part, as first reported by the Vanderbilt Hustler, a student newspaper."
"At the end of the school’s email was a surprising line: 'Paraphrase from OpenAI’s ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023,' read a parenthetical in smaller font."
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/22/tech/vanderbilt-chatgpt-shooting-email/index.html
Interesting article Steve and even more so Chris's take. While i enjoy the AI's perspective, the real question boils down to this for me; Does it really matter what any of us think. say or do? If colleges indeed are bloated with top heavy salaries and the cost of a degree so outlandish, isn't the greed of the amount of interest the lenders collect even more outlandish? Should graduating students have to pay back the loan 5 and 10 fold?
All of which is just the trap we are all falling in to. It won't matter what any of us think, say or do will it? AI will decide literally everything for us...assuming we let it. Personally i have avoided it, but anyone with a half a brain can see this coming at us a hundred miles an hour and our thoughts and musings will be rendered to what rolls around in our heads as we try and sleep at night. Terrifying to me.
And don't forget the DEI executives who are being hired long after barriers to admission and grade discrimination have been eliminated. Also, in Georgia, one other unnecessary cost is being eliminated thanks to the appointment of Sonny Perdue to head the Board of Regents, much to the dismay of college administrators.
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/215-degrees-terminated-from-georgia-colleges-universities
Eight years ago my granddaughter emailed me a copy of her letter from the president of the University of Alabama awarding her a president's scholarship that he estimated to be worth $60,000 per year. Maybe it was because she got two degrees, but the last semester was not covered, and it was expensive. I'm sure it's no less costly now.
Thanks to Mitch Daniels who is as close to being a conservative as you will find in academia executives. I always thought he could be a great presidential candidate.
Agreed!