Page 36 - Crisis in Higher Education

The Higher Education Conundrum • 11

Specifics about faculty salaries are given later in the chapter. Moving for-
ward, the term faculty is used to reference all faculty members in the institu-
tion, and the term tenured faculty refers to faculty members who have earned
tenure as well as those in tenure-track positions who are seeking to earn it.

1.1.3 Role of Technology

Looking backward, institutions of higher learning have been late adopters
of communication and information technologies for both managing the
institution and instructing students. It seems odd that organizations that
pride themselves on research, innovation, and developing disruptive prod-
uct and process technologies would be reluctant to invest in technology.
This conflict seems to indicate that institutions of higher learning do not
understand or are not concerned about the value that technology can bring
to their business. When management problems arise or better student ser-
vices are needed, the preferred action seems to be to hire more people to fix
the problem. This has caused administrative costs to grow much faster than
enrollment. This will be described in greater detail in Chapter 2. In the
past, top administrators had little education or experience with informa-
tion technology and were hesitant to use it for various reasons, including
a fear of appearing inexpert. With unwillingness to invest and faculty’s
resistance to change, the application of technology to teaching moved
slowly over the past five decades from chalkboards to overhead projects
and transparencies to power point slides and video projectors.
Looking forward, technology must be a key part of the solution. It can
help institutions improve management practices and enhance student ser-
vices while reducing the costs of administration. Technology is also needed
to improve the quality of instruction as well as the productivity of faculty.

1.2 A FRAMEWORK FOR HIGHER EDUCATION:
UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENCES
Higher education is different from manufacturing and other service pro-
viders in subtle, yet important ways. Yes, it offers a service, has customers
and competitors, generates revenue, and acquires resources (mostly labor
and capital) to provide its service. Like other organizations, the customers
of higher education pay for access to the services, including payments for