The College Scam: Recruiting Paying Fodder
Heather Mac Donald writes at City Journal about higher ed as a Ponzi scheme, sucking in students who have little hope of graduating:
Colleges desperately recruit ever more marginal students who stand little chance of graduating. Before their inevitable withdrawal, those students' tuition dollars fuel the growth of the bureaucracy, which creates the need to get an even larger pool of likely dropouts through the door to fund the latest round of administrative expansion. Administrative positions at colleges and universities grew at ten times the rate of tenured faculty positions from 1993 to 2009, according to academic consulting firm ABC Insights. By the 2013 school year, there were slightly more campus administrators nationwide than faculty; spending on the bureaucracy was equal to spending on all educational functions, including faculty. Tuition rose to cover those bureaucratic expenses, regardless of whether families could afford to pay it. Tuition at private four-year colleges grew 250 percent from 1982 to 2012, while the median family income rose about 18 percent, adjusted for inflation, according to ABC Insights. Since the 2008 recession, tuition at four-year public colleges rose 35 percent.The coming higher-ed crisis would, in an ideal world, take out the student-services bureaucracy--that dizzying edifice of associate vice chancellors for student engagement and assistant vice presidents for student development--starting with its most destructive component: the diversocrats. Their job is founded on a patently false proposition: that colleges are filled with racists and sexists who impede the advancement of females, blacks, and Hispanics. To the contrary, virtually every college today is trying to admit, hire, and promote as many females, blacks, and Hispanics as possible. Belonging to those identity categories confers a large advantage on the academic job market and in admissions. Nevertheless, the diversity bureaucracy spends its days devising new ways to promote the culture of victimhood, at the cost of millions of dollars in student loans and private tuition.
The frenzied desire to boost "diversity" creates the pretext for much of the bureaucratic bloat. Colleges admit so-called underrepresented minorities (URMs) with academic qualifications far below their white and Asian peers. Those alleged beneficiaries of racial preferences struggle academically--as anyone would, catapulted into a school for which he was inadequately prepared.
Cue the retention specialists, the deans of belonging, and the ubiquitous "teaching and learning centers" dedicated to "inclusive" pedagogy, to try to keep the preference beneficiaries afloat. At the same time, the vice chancellors for equity, diversity, and inclusion encourage the struggling students to interpret their difficulties as the product of institutional racism.
...Half of American colleges and universities lose a quarter or more of their freshman class in the first year, according to University of Pennsylvania education professor Robert Zemsky. Many students head for the exit during the first six weeks of classes. Forty percent of college freshmen don't even graduate. But no one holds the colleges responsible for admitting students who are patently unprepared for--and most likely only marginally interested in--college work. "The priority for many college presidents is getting freshmen in the door and tuition dollars in the bank," wrote UC Berkeley professor David Kirp in the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2019. "Nobody gets fired because students are dropping out."
Conservatively, half of American college students should not be in college at all; they are neither intellectually prepared for nor temperamentally inclined toward postsecondary book learning. Yet the dominant narrative in our culture today is that the only way to be successful and self-respecting is to have a college degree. This narrative reflects the experience of the nation's elite degree holders, who are largely clueless about work that does not involve sitting at a desk and using a computer. That narrative pushes students away from practical training in a trade, while a relentless campaign from campus pitchmen pulls them into four-year colleges.
Vice chancellors of enrollment, vice presidents for enrollment management, and executive directors of university marketing try to find potential recruits and persuade them to send in that first tuition payment, or at the very least a non-refundable deposit. The enrollment bureaucracy's mantra is "optimizing yield"--getting as many warm bodies into your dorms and classrooms, if only briefly, for every thousand recruiting dollars you spend.
...Thousands of obscure colleges fight for each applicant with techniques that resemble time-share marketing: offering priority in housing and in choosing a simpatico sleep-until-noon schedule of classes, say, to students who apply for early admission.
Left-wing professors who scorn "neoliberalism" (academic-speak for capitalism) blind themselves to the fact that their salaries depend on a ruthless economic battle for consumers.
...The higher-education establishment will fight tooth and nail to preserve the status quo in the face of the coming economic dislocation. The president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities predicted blandly: "We are likely to see a new world order of higher education--more global, more online, more focus on return on investment, and overall more student-focused"--as if higher ed is not already defined by an anti-intellectual "student-centered" model. The only focus that should matter is on knowledge. Until we see deans of inclusion and belonging on the unemployment lines, we will know that colleges continue to abuse their economic and reputational privileges.
Oh, and note this -- from the value-for-dollars department:
Already-enrolled students have been sent packing and told to hook up their laptops for distance learning. Almost no college is considering a tuition rebate, which implies that online learning should be valued at the same rate as an on-campus class. Students and their parents may start to ask why they should pay astronomical fees for a campus experience if they can get the same instruction over the web.
Already-enrolled students have been sent packing and told to hook up their laptops for distance learning. Almost no college is considering a tuition rebate, which implies that online learning should be valued at the same rate as an on-campus class. Students and their parents may start to ask why they should pay astronomical fees for a campus experience if they can get the same instruction over the web.
They should have asked that years ago.
Honestly, the current college environment isn't much different than the longstanding religious environment.
Do you need them, or do they need you?
Kevin at April 12, 2020 12:08 AM
Yet the dominant narrative in our culture today is that the only way to be successful and self-respecting is to have a college degree.
The "dominant nature in our culture today" is that the only way to be happy is to have children and own an house at any cost.
Perhaps the young 'uns education in "dominant culture" should be more skeptical, but when their parents have subscribed to the propaganda, what's the use?
Kevin at April 12, 2020 12:12 AM
This is common in schools where the state pays for all or most of the education... anyone with a certain GPA or test score gets in BUT many will flunk out. The schools are designed that way because it's not feasible for so many students to get a free education.
Kevin, I don't think "You should be as a serf who can't afford to have kids" is a message likely to take off."
Of course many people don't want houses or kids, that's a different issue. But if the majority can't afford them? That is a problem
NicoleK at April 12, 2020 1:30 AM
First of all, are we comparing apples to apples? “College tuition rose 250%, while incomes rose 18%, adjusted for inflation.” Adjust both for inflation or neither one. But, during that time period, inflation was 95%, so tuition is rising much faster than inflation and wages, so it is significant, but please don’t skew the numbers do that they look even worse than they are.
I’ve always been a proponent of online learning. My online classes had a lot of discourse between students and every single student was heard. It irks me to see the fancy stadiums, the million dollar coaches salaries, artwork, and water parks in Universities. While I appreciate those things, they are not part of education and luxuries that not every student can afford. They should not be forced to pay for them. If education truly is the goal, it can be achieved through a laptop with accommodations made for coming in for testing or testing being videotaped so that students can not cheat. (I had an Aunt that earned a college degree for her boss through online classes.)
PS now most people drive to work in their house shoes.
Jen at April 12, 2020 5:11 AM
No, for the majority of US colleges the funds from unprepared students are not the driving force in this trend. It is fear of being called racist that causes this.
If you don't have enough black students, too many asian students, or a mishmash of other rules you can be accused of being racially biased. It doesn't matter if your admission rules are completely non-racial, completely meritorious. You can still be accused and then lose federal funds. Well, with the federal government completely taking over education lending this is a situation almost no college can afford to have happen.
So colleges do the reasonable thing. They reduce scores for desirable demographics and raise them those they have too many of. They engage in blatant racism. And yes this blatant racism has an effect on graduation rates. They know those with lower entry standards will not do well. But it doesn't matter. Losing federal funding is an existential threat.
Ben at April 12, 2020 6:55 AM
One question I'd like an answer to is:
In the last 60 years or so, which blue-collar jobs now require a college degree - and WHY?
As in, why does one need to go to college to teach first grade or to become a police officer?
Lenona at April 12, 2020 7:55 AM
Ben at April 12, 2020 6:55 AM
One question I'd like an answer to is:
In the last 60 years or so, which blue-collar jobs now require a college degree - and WHY?
As in, why does one need to go to college to teach first grade or to become a police officer?
Lenona at April 12, 2020 7:55 AM
The Federal government has been discouraging skills testing for decades because racial minorities did poorly on those tests.
What replaced it was a paper chase of meaningless certificates indicating that you had sat through hours of instruction on a subject. When the high school degree became dumbed down to the point of worthlessness, the next requirement was the college degree. Now that, due to ever eroding standards, has become meaningless as well ( and very expensive)
Isab at April 12, 2020 8:32 AM
Journalism used to be a blue-collar job. Same with working on movie crews.
KateC at April 12, 2020 8:35 AM
The Federal government has been discouraging skills testing for decades because racial minorities did poorly on those tests.
Discouraging? I'm pretty sure they're in a broad sense illegal, and in a more immediate sense a sure-fire trip to court with a discrimination suit. As I recall from earlier posts - one or more of Cousin Dave, Conan, and Radwaste referred to:
This is what lead to previous blue collar positions requiring a college degree. It's an arbitrary standard, but one that doesn't discriminate against minorities per se.
If you're not smart enough to get a BA (or even an AA) in the modern environment, um, well, we still need custodians. And those people can flourish in that environment, if they learn from the people around them. Some day, they may even own their own custodial business, or buy out their boss when s/he decides to retire.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2020 9:37 AM
My Mom had a cleaning lady who did just that, she earned money cleaning houses, hired people to work for her, and after a few years she was showing up in a fancy luxury SUV to clean my mom's house.
NicoleK at April 12, 2020 9:43 AM
Journalism used to be a blue-collar job.
A very long time ago. The University of Missouri established it's J-School in 1908.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_School_of_Journalism
why does one need to go to college to teach first grade
Because you have to learn about all the prep work required for teaching. How to fill out the forms, develop a curriculum plan, and get your teaching certificate.
For instance, I can not teach a course to high school seniors because I do not hold a certificate. But do note that I can teach that same person after they've enrolled in a institute of higher education. And if your spawn is going to a research oriented institute, they're very likely going to be taught by graduate students only a few years older than themselves, at least for the first year or two.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2020 9:46 AM
“Discouraging? I'm pretty sure they're in a broad sense illegal, and in a more immediate sense a sure-fire trip to court with a discrimination suit. As I recall from earlier posts - one or more of Cousin Dave, Conan, and Radwaste referred to:”
If someone is a military veteran you can usually get a look at their ASFAB, but I agree that once you are in a federal job, they will darn sure never look again. I know some people who were fired during the probationary period, but that happened long ago. It is so tough to get rid of someone, you will probably ruin your own career to do so.
Isab at April 12, 2020 9:47 AM
On May 1, the current head of diversity, equity, and inclusion at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus will step into the Harvard position
I'm left wondering: will this person be able to bring themselves to admit women into Harvard? or at least those not willing to wear a burka?
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2020 9:55 AM
They know those with lower entry standards will not do well. But it doesn't matter. Losing federal funding is an existential threat.
This is part of it. Perhaps sometime ago this was all of it, but now the people running that side of the house feel that discriminating on behalf of "people of color" not only a good thing, but morally right. It is better for 99 out of 100 PoC's to fail out of Cal-Berkeley than to be thought of as a racist by your peers.
Instead of pointing them to an institution of learning better suited to their ability. Were they might actually succeed.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2020 10:02 AM
It is very bureaucratic to fire people in the government in general. I have an uncle who worked management at a state level office. He had to sit through multiple court cases accusing him of discrimination because he fired too many white old guys. Your firing demographics are supposed to match the population at large. Same with your hiring demographics. Able to actually do the job, not really part of the consideration.
In my uncle's situation he won all those cases. He documented the heck out it and all of them were for cause firings with very clear cause to fire. Still, the process is the punishment. If my uncle wasn't such a stubborn fellow he probably would have just given up. It isn't like firing incompetent people helped his career any.
Ben at April 12, 2020 10:07 AM
It is so tough to get rid of someone, you will probably ruin your own career to do so.
Shoot, some of those people have been convicted of felonies and still managed to hang on to their FedGov jobs. IRC, one of the cases was in Puerto Rico, the person was actually terminated, but then brought back.
I guess the only real way to get rid of someone is to transfer them to Nome. Or to paraphrase Cromwell, to hell or Minot.
I R A Darth Aggie at April 12, 2020 10:08 AM
A very long time ago. The University of Missouri established it's J-School in 1908.
______________________________
But even so, it was still pretty common for high-school graduates to become journalists in the 1950s - right?
Lenona at April 12, 2020 10:13 AM
I thought I covered that at the top IRA.
For the institution fear of losing federal dollars drives this behavior. Even state schools that lose federal student loan availability will have to close.
For the individual it is about not being called racist. Yes 99% may fail, but for the admissions officer that doesn't matter. They let them in and that is the end of what they are willing to worry about. It's moral posturing rather than actual success.
Ben at April 12, 2020 10:13 AM
> Journalism used to be a blue-collar
> job. Same with working on movie crews.
A few weeks ago, some smart person noted that until about the 1960's, pro baseball players were making as much as the journalists, in every market size, who covered and interviewed them. In the internet age, those journalists are presumably making 2¢ a word... or they're blogging hobbyists, perhaps no less insightful, doing it for the love of the game.
Sports Illustrated is having a bad week.
I think of this when Taylor Swift et all offers complaint about music sharing or rapacious music companies. There are 100,000 young women in the United States, probably more talented and certainly just as cute, who'd spend their lives making music just as enriching to others, and they'd do it without a penny of remuneration. And if she doubts it, she should take six months off: Even shinier lipstick will appear in the void, and no one could possibly miss her.
Ever read the Steve Martin autobiography? It's [A.] good and [B.] notably sincere but dry… Barely a Belushoid or Lettermanesque quip to be found.
He talks about the peak, still unmatched, of his standup touring career. After years and thoughtful practice and dues-paying with eye contact, he was filling and delighting the biggest arenas in the country! And then at the dawn of the Reagan years, he noticed empty seats in the very back. He realized that by touring incessantly, and living in hotels and planes, he'd lost touch with the popular comedic mentality. And he had contractual obligations for months or a year yet to come… With no chance to press flesh, he wasn't going to get it back.
So he made movies. Worked out okay (though he'll probably die envying Tom Hanks).
Social media has given enormous numbers of people — in every field, not just showbiz and politics — the sensation of being meaningfully, neurologically attuned to the popular mind, even in lockdown.
It's a pathetic illusion, and the slapback is going to be incredible.
Crid at April 12, 2020 11:37 AM
Al.
Sorry, laptop on the couch.
Living room for holiday variety.
Crid at April 12, 2020 11:39 AM
I've taught elementary, middle school, high school, and college and believe me college, is much, MUCH easier than the rest of them.
NicoleK at April 12, 2020 12:13 PM
That is what happens when your students want to be there rather than being forced to be there. Attitude makes a huge difference.
Ben at April 12, 2020 12:42 PM
Yes. Also,they are adults so if they don't do their homework it isn'tmy problem.
NicoleK at April 12, 2020 10:08 PM
Even in grade school it shouldn't be your problem. It wasn't your homework.
And this is why charter schools in the US are so much more successful than public ones. The system lets teachers do their jobs instead of insisting they do the impossible.
Ben at April 13, 2020 6:32 AM
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