Why salary is a bad way to judge higher education’s success

The Obama administration has released a new College Scorecard web page that provides some additional data not previously available. The Scorecard takes the place of the Department of Education’s failed rating plan that largely collapsed under its own weight, the objections of college leaders, and Congressional leaders from both parties. Unfortunately, the new web page continues the administration’s higher education policy and rhetoric focusing on the economic importance of higher education.  To that end, the new system provides information regarding the income of students six and ten years after they enrolled in higher education.  In today’s post, I will discuss why salary is a bad way to judge higher education’s success.

Photo credit: Thomas Galvez

I object to the salary measure on both philosophical and practical grounds.  

Evolution of University-Industry-Government Relationship

In today’s post, I want to share an excerpt from an article I wrote several years ago that appeared in the journal, Industry and Higher Education. In it, I describe the evolution of how higher education, industry, and the federal government work together to produce research.  Historically, academia and industry have been separate producers of knowledge. Beginning in the late 18th century, technologies were developed from a scientific knowledge base and then used to promote economic development. Instances of basic science supporting technological progress in industry increased during the 19th century, which encouraged cooperation between different sectors. In the United States, while the evolution of government industry-university relationship parallels the changing role of science and university in serving regional and national needs, the relationship between government, industry, and university were particularly shaped by some historical landmark events and conditions.

Photo credit: Georgie Pauwels

Plight of tenure: Labor Day edition

Labor Day is the chance for Americans to celebrate the success of the American workforce. This recognition acknowledges the importance of workers to the social and economic progress of the United States. Last year, I discussed the plight of adjuncts in higher education in the tradition of Labor Day. To celebrate this year, I will discuss the plight of tenure. Across institutional types, tenure is in decline. Just a generation ago, tenure earning faculty made up nearly two-thirds of faculty in U.S. higher education. As we grill our hamburgers today, the number of tenure earning faculty has dropped below one-third. But why do we need tenure? Doesn’t tenure just protect lazy, deadwood faculty? Other professions don’t receive lifetime contracts, why should professors? In today’s post, I will share the four challenges that tenure enables and their importance for both higher education and society.

What is tenure? Simply put, tenure is a lifetime contract.

This does not mean a lifetime job. Tenure establishes clear guidelines as to how and why a faculty member can be fired. 

Don’t take a faculty job at LSU

Long before the levees broke in Hurricane Katrina, the state of Louisiana has struggled. Some of the disasters are problems from within the state such as corruption and political incompetence while others are outside the state’s control such as the BP oil spill or the FEMA response after Katrina. It is no surprise that the higher education system of a state struggles when a state has taken as many body blows as Louisiana in the last ten years. Decreases in state support of higher education has led to the closing of academic programs and LSU even threatened to declare financial exigency. However, the latest round of problems for LSU are a manmade disaster that leads me to say to future prospective LSU faculty: Don’t take a faculty job at LSU.

LSU has a long history of problems regarding the way the institution treats faculty.

What is tuition discounting and why do colleges do it?

Tuition discounting is growing in higher education. Yet, by the very nature of the practice, the concept is confusing to prospective students as well as people who have spent their careers working in colleges and universities.  A recent report by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) suggests that tuition discount rates are at an all-time high. The report further argues that the strategy is unsustainable and many institutions will have to reconsider their approach to discounting. But all of this raises the question: what is tuition discounting and why do colleges do it?

Photo credit: Daniel Oines

No one— or very few students— actually pays the listed tuition price for a university. The way to think about a university’s tuition is like the sticker price on a car. No one pays sticker. The question is how much of a discount you can negotiate.