HIgher Education Price Index Rises....

 The higher -education index known as the HEPI measures the average cost of what colleges pay for each year, from administrative salaries and dental plans to cafeteria food and electricity as well as supplies and material cost. In 2010 supply and material cost rose by 9.4% from a minus -1.3 percent in the fiscal 2010. The utility cost which are oil and gas related rose by 13% during the fiscal year. The only thing that maintained the same or declined was the administrative salaries and service employee salaries.  It seems rather odd to me that the one thing that maintained or declined is something that is controlled by the administration itself. It seems to me that institutions are constantly finding a way to cut peoples salaries so that they can save some money. Rather than cutting salaries why now find a way to get cheaper supplies during the course of the year why don't they put a play in place to keep the gas and electric bills from climbing on a average of 13%. Seems like institutions have the wrong focus when it comes to saving money. I hope that one day somebody will step in and start to pay professors and administrators what they are worth  and when it comes time to show  little austerity they will first look at other things to cut back on rather than the salaries of those responsible for educating the students of the future.

Chris

Joe Paterno Still Gets his Pension

By now everybody has heard about the tragedy that has been exposed at Penn State University. Former defensive coordinator coach Jerry Sandusky has been formerly charged with 40 counts of lude acts with a minor dating back from 2002.  As the story began to unfold it became public knowledge that a few people including Head Football Coach  Joe Paterno had been aware of instances involving Sandusky with young boys.  As a result Joe Paterno informed school officials of the wrong doings. After and internal investigation no formal charges were filed at the time. Questions arised.. Did Coach Paterno do enough? Why did he not tell the police??  As a result of the investigation Joe Paterno was fired from Penn State University after 61 years of service for not reporting the incident to the proper authorities.

It is the opinion of many people that Joe Paterno needed to be fired, but I dont understand why a man that is fired for covering up such crimes is still allowed to collect his $500,000 per year pension.  At a time when school are trying to cut cost and raise money for new programs, how can a school pay a man a half of million dollars and he didnt do his civic duty and report child rape to the proper authorities. At what point in time do school officials take a long hard look at their mission statement and begin to act accordingly. At what point are a persons actions taken into consideration when schools decided to pay then out. In addition to the 500k they are paying Joe Paterno they are paying the accused Sandusky 60,000 a year for his pension.  Between the 2 they are collecting  560,000 from a university that both were fired from. Sounds a bit unethical if you ask me..

Chris

Are College Coaches paid to Much???

At a time when universities are doing all that they can to cut back on budgets so that they arent losing money year aftetr year, one has to wondrer if the large salaries that college head coaches make should be reeduced in order to help with the cut backs. Most recently Oklahoma Head Coach Jeff Capel was fired at OU for a number of differnt reason. Reasons that stemmed far beyond his dismal 2009-2010 team record. Capels team faced classroom issues that put several of Capels players in jeopardy of being kicked out of school. His players also faced off the court issues that included run ins with the law on several occasions. In addition Capel was not seeing eye to eye with the current athletics director on the direction that the program should go. As a result Capel was fired after the 2009-2010 season...

Now i have been fired from a job before ( let me know if you want to know why i was fired), as a result I received one more pay check as well as my vacation time and I was sent onmy way. Jeff Capel got fired and he received a 1.75 million dollare buy out.... I am smart enough to understand how contracts work, but shouldnt a contract be null and void when a person fails to meet the standards that are layed out in that particular contract. Maybe universities should consider writing contracts where if a Head Coach is fired for performance issues they are payed less in their buyout agrement. 1.75 million seems like alot of money to pay one person who didnt do the jobn you hired him for especially when your paying the new coach 1.2 million in the same year. 

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7214108/jeff-capel-got-175m-buyout-oklahoma-sooners


Chris

Obama Taking a Stand against Student Debt

The Obama administration has recently unveiled a plan to make it easier and cheaper for students  to repay their student loans.  The current plan would cap loan repayments at 10 percent of discretionary income starting in 2014.  President Obama has decided to start the cap in 2012.  Officials estimate that by starting the plan in 2012 it will lower monthly payments for 1.6 million borrowers.

I personally love Obamas new play in trying to help students manage student loans once they graduate college, but the real problem in my opinion is the rising cost of education. Education is on a steady climb and it doesn't appear that its going to stop anytime soon. Lowering  a students monthly payment  is great, but school has gotten to the point that its soo expensive that a student could wind up paying back in which they got a sociology degree over the curse of their lifetime depending on what type of job they are able to find.  The problem isnt just the monthly payment, its the rising cost of education. It will continue  as long as students keep enrolling.

Chris

Cut Backs Continoue

New Chacellor Nancy Zimphers has taken an interesting approach in her attempt to try and trim the administration across the State University of New York.  The Chancellor has made the decision that some of the colleges will share Presidents. So rather than Canton and Postdam each having their own President, one president will be in charge of both of the Universities.  She has also made  the same decision at two other institutions in the state of new your. With her proposal taking affect, three presidents and 3 administrative staff will be left with out jobs.  Needless to say there has been quite an uproar with the new decision and people have a right to be concerned.

The new system hopes to save 25-30 million dollars annually not just by eliminating the salaries of the three presidents and their executive staffs but through collaborating various ways at campuses across the system, including the purchases of supplies collectively, combining information technology or library services and possibly sharing athletics facilities and staff.

One could argue that the Chancellors new plan, while may save money has some ethical problems with it. How can a person after only a couple years as Chancellor cut hundreds of jobs in order to make money, Why not start with a pay decrease rather than immediately going for the throat of the people who have been most loyal to the institution.  People like Chancellor is Zimphers is whats wrong with education today. Its all about the money!!! When will it ever end??

Chris

Student Enrollments Plunge at For Profit Colleges

After years of double digit increases, enrollments of new students and many for profit colleges are falling sharply. The companies attribute the declines to a weak economy and increased federal scrutiny of the sector. In a time where education has become vital for a person to be able to be competitive in the job market, the steady incline in tuition is causing people to re think the value of a degree.  On top of increasing prices, for profits have been criticized for not adequately preparing students for jobs that will allow them to repay their loans at a time where affordability of college is increasing.  Potential students are at a crossroads and have a big decision to make on wether or not to invest the money in a for profit school in hopes of getting a better job, or save their money and hope that they are able to progress in their current career and lead the lifestyle that they wish to have.

Despite an overall decline in enrollments for profit education, there were still a couple school that had an increase enrollments in the quarter ending in june. Both of the institutions  were priced at a reasonable $250.00 per credit unit.  This is just another example of how increase in cost in deterring those students whom are on the fence about school from actually taking the first step and enrolling. What can policy makers do to make school affordable for everybody?? Its a question that nobody seems to have the answer to..

Chris

USC Seeks 6 Billion Dollars

 In an article written by Josh Keller on " The Chronicle of Higher Education", USC is the beginning stages of trying to raise a record setting 6 billion dollars over the next 7 years. The figure itself is the largest campaign ever in higher education. According to the University President " A large endowment will help the university attract "rainmaker" faculty who brings in grants, attract top graduate students, and improve undergraduate instruction..."  No matter how hard I try I cant stop thinking about the figure "6 Billion" dollars. Such a figure makes me pose just a few questions. Does it really take a school to raise 6 billion dollars to attract top tier faculty? Outside of attracting top tier faculty, building some new buildings for departments and upgrading older buildings, what else is this money going to go toward.? How much of the 6 billion will be set away for other types of aid and scholarships for needy students?

It USC is successful in raising 6 billion dollars, I would like to see how much money is left over once they have upgraded there institution.  My guess is that there will be a few pay raises handed out m and well as obscene amounts of money offered to lure top tier faculty away from other schools.  As a student myself, it would be nice to see some money set aside for those students who other wise wound not be able to attend a school like USC even though they are more than qualified to attend. I am all for Institutions making the necessary upgrades to stay competitive in  higher education, but I believe is straddling the line of greed in their effort to stay competitive.

Chris McMillian