The dividends of higher learning
Written by Davin Wait Friday, 23 October 2009 08:00
What is the goal of a university? This is difficult to answer, but I suppose it comes down to the university, doesn’t it? Is it Ivy League, land grant, church-affiliated?
Being a college student, I have ironically never studied colleges. But as a student, I have a strong opinion on what the goal of a university should be. Fundamentally, the purpose of a university is to educate.
Stick with me; I’m not going to go over the ABC’s or the loop-swoop-pull.
Education is no simple task – ask any teacher or professor – when one examines all that education encompasses, especially on the scale that NDSU exists. Moreover, the difficulties of deciding how education takes place in an institution is a responsibility I do not want to bear.
The issues of attracting educators, drawing students, supplementing classroom time with laboratory and office time, producing scholarly literature, engineering new skills and technologies, and maintaining the university in the interests of future students and global education all play into this quagmire.
But decisions must be made, accountability must be had, and expectations will always be met or fail to be met. There will always be those who detract or applaud.
And in light of recent events I think people at this institution – or everywhere, really, as the education of the future is universal – need to re-examine their expectations of higher learning.
I have no answers on how the specific affairs of a tax-funded university are handled or should be handled, but in the wake of a financial, systemic, legal and moral meltdown, it is hard to ignore the parallels of what is happening at this university and what seems to be happening everywhere else.
It really can only be described as the commodification of, well, everything. Everything today is being run like a business and everyone seems to be promoting and sharing this notion of entitlement.
“I did this. Now I want this. Give it to me. I earned it. I’m better.” You’ve heard these things said, and if not, you’ve certainly seen these views in action.
It’s mentalities like this that are the reason CEOs this year are getting four percent more perks than last year according to a Washington Post report, while the unemployment rate is sitting at 9.8 percent compared to 4.2 percent 10 years ago.
It’s this misguided notion that executives need to be paid competitively to fictional standards, getting their more than $200,000 country club dues paid for while their “talent” killed investments and retirement plans and put people out of job and home.
It is not justifiable, but perhaps it is a bit more understandable when things like this happen in the realm of banking – the positions of powerful bank executives tend to draw a certain crowd.
However, when this mentality seeps into the minds of the average American, manifesting itself in institutions (NDSU alert!) that should treat economic growth as a side note to graduation rates, alumni success, and student and teacher satisfaction, this is much more serious.
According to an Associated Press report, tuition rose 6.5 percent this fall across the nation and here at NDSU, I’m not a stranger to raises in tuition and fees. Assuming I’m not getting the CEO treatment, neither are all of you.
But where is this money going? Here at NDSU, a major university operating with a library that should shame NDSU’s administration, I would like to know.
We have great librarians and if you remember last year, some people really love to be in the library – I mean, really love to be in the library – but based on my count, we have roughly thirteen books.
Check out MSUM or Concordia’s libraries, they may not have D1 football but they clearly understand the importance of a book in education.
And if NDSU’s growth is as phenomenal as it appears to be with all of the other construction projects I’ve witnessed in my many years here, why isn’t some of that being redirected to keep tuition down or teacher salaries up? Why not redirect some of that money into wind power? We certainly have enough of that. NDSU could be the prototype for a green campus.
We could offer more scholarships and bring able students to this university who might otherwise be unable to afford it.
But I suppose these things are not cost-effective or that just isn’t how things work. Forgive my naiveness, but there’s been certain things going on around here that aren’t cost-effective, either. They don’t work.
And I’m not so certain anyone’s learning from it.
Davin Wait is a senior studying history.
