|
Review
At first glance, my comments could easily be interpreted as
anti-administration hysteria, but this is not the case. I
have deep appreciation for the need of sound management as
without it, educational institutions could not survive. I
have collaborated with a number of administrators that I respected
and enjoyed our working relationship. In these instances,
I represented educational matters and they represented management
and we worked toward a common goal. I think this represents
the balance between educational and institutional concerns
that is missing at so many levels and in so many situations.
My
reactions are based on thirty-five years working in higher
education and constantly having to deal with excessive layers
of management, abusive or inept administrators, too many decisions
based on better management rather than better education and
decision-making that favored management values over educational
ones. Situation ethics and pragmatic decisions that provided
short-term gains but long time problems have been all too
commonplace.
I
see teachers treated and labeled as employees; I have seen
millions of dollars put into art museums with nothing put
into instruction in the visual arts; I see education as a
societal obligation to ensure the future and not as a business.
Furthermore, I deeply resent education being turned into a
business. I think that universities try to sponsor too many
services and activities within the community and region rather
than focusing resources on education. I have watched the gradual
dissembling of academic governance, organization, faculty
prerogatives and vested interests. I think that when an athletic
coach is paid three to five times the salary of the President
that someone's priorities are out of whack. I am disturbed
that standards at educational institutions permit so many
graduates to leave with dubious abilities to communicate orally
or in writing.
I
believe the imbalance of administration to education to be
a serious problem. Educational quality at universities is
not going to improve significantly until it is addressed in
a meaningful way. Student performance standards need to be
set higher and consistently enforced through faculty evaluation.
It is essential that all educational matters be acted on in
accordance with being the number one priority. The quality
of education and graduates can be vastly improved, but to
do so, governing bodies and legislators are going to have
to look at education differently than they have in the recent
past. They will have to bite the bullet and make some
difficult de-establishing new priorities for expenditure,
eliminating a number of services to the community and region,
demanding specific performance standards for students, eliminating
some educational conveniences such as repeating courses each
semester, reexamining fee structure and identifying an organizational
system which leads to better education rather than only better
management.
|
