Aesop tells us that every man carries two bags, one in front and one behind, both full of faults. The bag in front contains the faults of others, while we carry ours in the one behind. As a result, we always see someone else's mistakes and rarely look at our own.
Writing in the Washington Post earlier this month, ASU President Michael Crow chastises universities for not being more innovative during the current financial crisis. "Their lack of creativity in adjusting to the reduction of resources has shocked governors and business leaders alike who want to see universities innovate in order to educate more students better, faster and cheaper," said Crow.
But ASU hasn't exactly been a model of efficiency. Across the country, colleges are hiring massive numbers of administrators and ASU is no exception - in fact, the Sun Devils are an example of this "administrative bloat." Between 1993 and 2007, ASU increased the number of full-time administrators per 100 students more than 167 other comparable universities while the number of instructional staff and researchers actually decreased. Goldwater research finds "nearly half of all full-time employees at Arizona State University are administrators."
Considering these hiring practices, Crow's warning that proposals to turn universities into businesses are "ill-conceived" is remarkable. Also "ill-conceived" are programs that would "send our kids to college in the basement with the local online university." Yet the University of Phoenix reports that some 75 percent of higher education students today "are older ... work full or part time and have family responsibilities, including financial obligations," which means online access to college classes may be the only access they have.
ASU and other state universities should focus on core academic programs and direct spending not to administration but on practices directly tied to student instruction. In addition, Arizona colleges and universities should align tuition more closely with the actual costs of providing an education, pursue more private funding, and make themselves more financially self-sufficient.
• Jonathan Butcher is education director for the Goldwater Institute.
geekette posted at 11:02 am on Fri, Nov 25, 2011.
Goldwater research finds "nearly half of all full-time employees at Arizona State University are administrators.". That doesn't sound right. The Goldwater Institute must have a very broad definition of administrator.
Mike McClellan posted at 5:10 pm on Fri, Nov 25, 2011.
No one who reads their "research" really believes much of what the Goldwater Institute claims, since they tend to cook their books.
For example, on their claim of "nearly half of all-full time employees at ASU are administrators," they gave the term "administrators" a very generous definition.
Among the so-called "administrators," the Goldwater Institute included school counselors, as Virgil Renzuli's column in the paper points out. I wonder if department chairs were also called "administrators" in their biased research.
I'd like to see just what constitutes an "administrator" in their report. I wonder if they even include that information.
Mike McClellan posted at 5:31 pm on Fri, Nov 25, 2011.
This is good. So I read the Goldwater Institute's "study." And how they define "administrator" is hilarious.
Here's the definition:
"Persons employed for the primary purpose of performing academic support, student service, and institutional support. Included in this title are all employees holding titles such as business operation specialists; buyers and purchasing agents; human resources, training and labor relations specialists; management analysts; meeting and convention planners; miscellaneous business specialists; financials specialsts; accountants and auditors; budget analysts; financial analysts and advisors; financial examiners; loan counselor and officers; etc."
First, the "etc" is just precious. Talk about a catch-all.
Second, given their definition, just about any large private company has "half of its employees" as administrators.
Accountants are administrators? Who knew? Auditors? Who knew?
While there can be some cutting at the non-teaching level, using such a large definition of the term "administrator" to create a shocking "half of all ASU employees are administrators," is typical of Goldwater's fast and loose use of truthiness.
geekette posted at 6:04 pm on Fri, Nov 25, 2011.
So I'm sure the custodial staff is surprised to find that they're administrators! No wonder the GI isn't taken seriously outside of AZ. With that kind of analysis they'll never rise to the level of a Cato Institute or Heritage Foundation.
davidflucier posted at 2:13 pm on Sat, Nov 26, 2011.
Jonathan Butcher and the Goldwater Institute ought to be held responsible for such baseless "research". To make such claims is also reckless and careless...unless one is so totally tied to an ideology that the truth and reality are completely removed as a basis for their findings.
It is no small wonder that the Goldwater Institute has no credibility beyond its own office space.
davidflucier posted at 2:31 pm on Sat, Nov 26, 2011.
Jonathan Butcher and the Goldwater Institute should be held accountable for their irresponsible accusations and claims. Their ideology obviously takes a higher priority than the truth and reality...not to mention, common sense. They also obviously take liberties with the term "institute" as their research methodology and definitions most certainly stretch limits of credibility.