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businesses go through these challenges all the time. the fat that gets trimmed is what makes them better.

jimmar 6y ago
I agree that universities should do more to control costs. I'll push back just a bit that trimming all "fat" would make universities better. Where I am, the "fat" proposed for trimming is support for study abroad, music education, research conferences, and other things that enrich the lives of students and (hopefully) benefit society as a whole.
- csa 6y ago
  That’s sad, since that seems more flesh that fat to me. The real “fat” is the admin bloat at most universities. Most schools will continue to be in a precarious financial situation until that fat is cut, imho.
  - mindslight 6y ago
    The fundamental problem is that music teachers tend to care about music, while administrators tend to care about protecting their own jobs. So any budget cuts tend to cut services, rather than reducing the overhead. This dynamic plays out everywhere with overgrown middle management.
    - yostrovs 6y ago
      Music teachers care about their jobs just as much as administrators. It's just that administrators make the big decisions and they care about their jobs more than the jobs of others.
      - wwweston 6y ago
        This seems to imply that once managerialism metastasizes in an organization, it's chronic and likely fatal to any other mission.
    - dehrmann 6y ago
      As far as students are concerned, a bigger problem than administrator pay is professors who are more interested in teaching than research, and even when professors are interested in teaching, they might not be good teachers.
- bgorman 6y ago
  My Alma matter, also a regional university charges 47k a year in tuition. Assuming I take 12 classes a year and my classes average 15 students each, that puts the cost of providing a single class at $58,750. What the heck is going on for universities to have such an insane cost structure.
  - WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
    $250,000 per year administrators, $30 million dollar buildings and "lazy rivers". If we had a statistic for what percentage of your buildings were for academic usage, you'd find the amount is low. "Paying for the Party" is a neat book here based on real life information from colleges.
trianglem 6y ago
Not always, the fat that gets trimmed is what makes things enjoyable in the first place.

I agree that universities should do more to control costs. I'll push back just a bit that trimming all "fat" would make universities better. Where I am, the "fat" proposed for trimming is support for study abroad, music education, research conferences, and other things that enrich the lives of students and (hopefully) benefit society as a whole.

csa 6y ago
That’s sad, since that seems more flesh that fat to me. The real “fat” is the admin bloat at most universities. Most schools will continue to be in a precarious financial situation until that fat is cut, imho.
- mindslight 6y ago
  The fundamental problem is that music teachers tend to care about music, while administrators tend to care about protecting their own jobs. So any budget cuts tend to cut services, rather than reducing the overhead. This dynamic plays out everywhere with overgrown middle management.
  - yostrovs 6y ago
    Music teachers care about their jobs just as much as administrators. It's just that administrators make the big decisions and they care about their jobs more than the jobs of others.
    - wwweston 6y ago
      This seems to imply that once managerialism metastasizes in an organization, it's chronic and likely fatal to any other mission.
  - dehrmann 6y ago
    As far as students are concerned, a bigger problem than administrator pay is professors who are more interested in teaching than research, and even when professors are interested in teaching, they might not be good teachers.
bgorman 6y ago
My Alma matter, also a regional university charges 47k a year in tuition. Assuming I take 12 classes a year and my classes average 15 students each, that puts the cost of providing a single class at $58,750. What the heck is going on for universities to have such an insane cost structure.
- WrtCdEvrydy 6y ago
  $250,000 per year administrators, $30 million dollar buildings and "lazy rivers". If we had a statistic for what percentage of your buildings were for academic usage, you'd find the amount is low. "Paying for the Party" is a neat book here based on real life information from colleges.

trianglem 6y ago

Not always, the fat that gets trimmed is what makes things enjoyable in the first place.