South Carolina: Managed by Idiots
South Carolina is run by idiots, of course that is no secret. We have a history of academic under performance and mismanagement, and here are two more examples.
The tuition and fees at Winthrop University, a good school, but not necessarily an academic powerhouse, has now been raised to $10,210 for an academic year.
It's fees are the now the highest in the state, higher than University of South Carolina and Clemson, though their fees are rising dramatically too.
In 1997, Winthrop’s annual tuition and required fees amounted to $3,818. Tuesday’s action means the cost of a Winthrop education has soared 167 percent in a decade.We constantly hear about how a college education is super duper important, unless of course you want to be a nobody, yet our governments and the schools just keep raising tuition.
For comparison, Clemson’s tuition was $3,112 annually in 1996-1997. If the Clemson board approves president James Barker’s recommendation for a 5 percent increase, that would mean Clemson’s tuition and fees have increased 217 percent in the same period.
Of course it's always blamed on funding cut-backs, but I don't buy it for a second. It's supply and demand, with the demand perpetuated by the supplier.
Want more proof that the higher education system is more concerned about money and prestige, than they are about educating students?
In my local paper today, there was an article about the latest report on USC Sumter's bid for official status as a four year university.
The justification for why the Sumter can't sustain a four year college is because we are, well simply put, uneducated country bumpkins.
Of course perhaps access to a local college is what we need... teach us.
Oh wait, I forgot, teaching isn't what colleges are about... after all according the the report, Sumter's current teachers aren't worth a S*&#, because:
total faculty publications are at this time less than the output of a single professor at a typical research universityYep, it's about time for me to move to Alaska. They are probably all screwed up, up there as well, but at least I can go fishing and skiing more often.
3 comments:
"It's supply and demand, with the demand perpetuated by the supplier"
True, but a large part of it is gross mismanagement of funds (just like public schools) and dependence on state and federal money. Look at most universities and you'll see that the business school has money, while the rest of the university is squealing for more from the state. Why? Because business schools know better than to rely on the state, and solicit money from the private sector.
I could go on and on, but I won't. At least not here.
Agreed. Of course funds mismanagement by Universities is a given. There is also a big difference in the expense it takes to educate different majors. Educations departments and Business schools are a cash cow, with relatively low overhead, while Engineering, Nursing, and other practical departments require more overhead.
Let's take a look at some of the reason why this is happening though.
I'm not sure of exactly when, but in the recent past Clemson and USC had a war in building stadia. So the state passed a law saying that no more than some ridiculously low amount of state money can be spent on non-academic buildings. Which means that anything a school wants to build other than that comes out of the pockets of students and alumni.
Plus, in the case of Winthrop, President DiGiorgio is an idiot. He seems to want to please the alumni so much that he forgets about what the students that are still here actually need and want.
Post a Comment