Academic Supply & Demand

AIA-FL Blog ^ | February 23, 2010 | Malcolm A. Kline

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Academic Supply & Demand

Malcolm A. Kline, February 23, 2010

In the real world, businesses expand when profits do. In academia, colleges and universities, such as George Washington University, just expand. “In an effort to improve its widely criticized academic advising system, the University announced plans Friday to double the number of undergraduate advising staff in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences; create an advising committee with representation from all undergraduate schools; and speed up the implementation of a degree auditing system,” Matt Rist reported in The GW Hatchet Online. “The changes will cost a total of $700,000, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Donald Lehman said Friday.”

“Compensation for nine new professional advisers will cost GW around $500,000 and an estimated $200,000 will be spent speeding up the implementation of a degree auditing system, he said.”

Meanwhile, “More than seven months into the fiscal year, the University has raised less than a third of its annual fundraising goal, a member of the Board of Trustess said last week,” Emily Cahn reported in The GW Hatchet on February 18, 2010. ...

[anonsquared]

How about a new law that states that what a student pays in tuition for their degree should not be more than what they would earn in their first year at a job that the degree qualifies them for.

If colleges know that they will only receive 20 grand for passing out bullcrap degrees, they will eliminate those degrees. They will also be motivated to have students complete the degree in 4 years instead of the 5 and 6 years it is taking now.