1. The Chronicle has a fun article, "13 reasons why colleges are in this mess"
Some of my personal favorites are #5 "overbuilt", #6 bowed to boosters, and #11 built duplicative centers.
2. The WSJ has a sobering article about the financial counter-productiveness (for most schools) of the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament. Here's a nugget:
"Amid this cornucopia, the schools themselves are usually the losers. According to the NCAA's latest Revenues and Expenses report, in 2005-06 the median Division I men's basketball team generated revenue of $480,000 and had operating costs of $1.33 million, yielding a net operating loss of $850,000. If capital expenses and full university overhead were included, these results would be even more dismal."
3. James Joyner has bad news for academic job seekers. Here's a lovely excerpt:
“This is a year of no jobs,” said Catherine Stimpson, the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at New York University. Ph.D.s are stacked up, she said, “like planes hovering over La Guardia.”
2 comments:
It is astounding that it took article all the way to #13 to even try to mention students. Market competition for students and an overthrough of educational monoply cerification needs to happen to bring down the costs. Research is important but it seems that some competition needs to occur such that the research is not placed on the backs of students tuitions.
I can't resist telling of the State Univerity in my home state proudly aclaiming that 25% of the tuition increases would go to student aid. That is what I call robbing Peter to pay Peter!
As for operating losses of NCAA sports teams. Some one is paying, namely boosters who are expecting a return on their investment (wins or championships to show their friends). I indeed find it economically inefficient to keep the sporting business in colleges and universities. I don't see losses, just market contortions to fit around misguided rules.
$850K seams relatively inexpensive to have your schools name and logo plastered on a major broadcast television network for 40 minutes with millions watching. Especially when you tack on the occassional shots of happy students cheering and the cheesy human interest stories.
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