Page 102 - Crisis in Higher Education

74 • Crisis in Higher Education

work hard to achieve good grades and earn money during the school
year and the summer. When this pressure is piled on top of the stress
associated with tests and term papers, students may decide to drop out.
• Problem 5. Completion time increases: Any activity that increases cost
increases completion time. When cost increases, many students take
longer than four years to complete a degree because they take fewer
courses in a term to save money on tuition and fees. They may leave
school for a term or two so they can work full-time, earn money, and
pay for school. As mentioned in the previous bullet, some of these
students never return. In addition, tenured faculty who set the course
requirements may not consider students’ needs. Many degree pro-
grams take longer than four years to complete because, in part, there
are too many courses and credit hours. The logic for adding credit
hours is that there is so much to learn that curriculum must expand.
This seems to be in conflict with the idea of life-long learning that many
universities espouse. There is always more to learn than the time avail-
able, plus new knowledge and ideas are being created continuously, so
it is impossible to teach everything in four years. Administrators are
complicit because higher degree requirements lead to more revenue.
Faulty are not concerned about university revenue; they are driven by
self-interest. Their status is linked to the subjects they research and
teach, so having their course in the requirements list, or at least as an
identified elective, is important to them. Some of the hardest fought
battles among tenured faculty are about which courses to add to the
curriculum. No one is seeking to have his or her course removed. In
addition, department budgets are determined, in large part, by the
number of student credit hours taught by the department. More stu-
dent credit hours lead to a larger budget.
• Problem 6. Job placement decreases: Many universities do not recog-
nize organizations that hire their graduates as important customers.
They often provide a placement service, which is a mechanism so
graduates and companies can meet and discuss job opportunities.
However, many universities do not have well-identified methods to
ensure that the skills and abilities that organizations want in entry-
level employees are part of the curriculum. This hampers graduates’
ability to find good jobs. Most important, there is little if any effort on
the part of universities to ensure that the size of their graduating class
in a particular subject area is consistent with the needs of industry.
Too many graduates can lead to low wages and low placement rates.