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JANUARY 19, 2010 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE
Mann-Made Global Warming?
Climategate was born in late November 2009 with the release of more than a thousand emails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. One of the prominent figures in these emails is Penn State's Michael Mann, a professor in the university's Department of Meteorology. To Penn Stat
JANUARY 12, 2010 | Policy Brief by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION
Climategate & Penn State
The Case for an Independent Investigation
Just days after news broke about what has been dubbed "Climategate," Penn State University (PSU) announced that it would investigate the conduct of Michael Mann, a professor in PSU's Department of Meteorology and a prominent figure in the Climategate emails.
NOVEMBER 30, 2009 | Commentary by ELIZABETH STELLE, NATHAN BENEFIELD
Taxing Tuition: The Future of Higher Education?
With Pittsburgh on the brink of bankruptcy thanks to its continual out-of-control spending, Mayor Ravenstahl and his allies on City Council have hatched a new scheme to collect more money to pay for their profligate ways: a 1% tuition tax on the city's financially-strapped college students.
Recent Blog Posts
AUGUST 17, 2010
Administrative Costs Keep Tuition High
The Goldwater Institute puts higher education on the spot in a new study entitled: Administrative Bloat at American Universities, authored by Jay Greene. The study finds university administration costs growing dramatically, despite only a 15% enrollment increase between 1993 and 2007.
The number of full-time administrators per 100 students at America's leading universities grew by 39 percent, while the number of employees engaged in teaching, research or service only grew by 18 percent. Inflation-adjusted spending on administration per student increased by 61 percent during the same period, while instructional spending per student rose 39 percent.
Penn State University is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Full-time administrators, per 100 students, grew by 71%, compared to 5.3% for other staff and faculty. Today, administrators outnumber teachers, researchers, and service providers.
| Change, 1993 to 2007 | |||
| School | Admin. Staff per 100 Students | Instruction & Research Staff per 100 Students | Tuition |
| Pennsylvania State University |
70.8% | 5.3% | 83.6% |
| Temple University |
-26.4% | -8.1% | 41.7% |
| University of Pittsburgh | 54.7% | 61.7% | 71.9% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 97.3% | 77.0% | 41.4% |
| Source: Administrative Bloat at American Universities | |||
Another case in point is the rising administrative costs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), where former President Tony Atwater set a new PA State System of Higher Education spending record on food, travel, and residential costs (over $400,000 in 5 years).
Typically, growing industries become more efficient, but not so with higher education. Tuition has skyrocketed in recent years. Inflation adjusted, tuition increased by 66.7% at the nation's 198 leading public and private universities from 1993 to 2007.
So why the bloat? The study notes the surge in administrative costs can be traced to growing federal and state subsidies, as well as gifts and fees for non-educational services. As a result, students are insulated from the actual costs of their education, and there is no customer pressure to keep down tuition bills.
In the end, Greene reaches the same conclusion as CF's study on higher education -- reducing government subsidies to institutions would do much to make universities more efficient and affordable.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 02:08 PM | 0 comment
AUGUST 16, 2010
Seven PA Universities Have High Racial Graduation Gaps
Several universities in Pennsylvania have a large gap between white and black graduation rates, according to a recent report from Education Trust.
Shippensburg University, with a 30.3% difference between white and black graduation rates, has the third highest gap among public schools in the nation. Western Pennsylvania schools aren't immune, the study found a 27.4% gap at Robert Morris University, where 31% of black students graduate, compared to 58% of white students, graduate.
Below are all Pennsylvania Universities ranked in the top 25 in either the public or private school list:
| Black Pop. | Black Grad. Rate | White Grad. Rate | Grad. Gap | |
| Shippensburg University | 5.9% | 35.9% | 66.2% | 30.3% |
| Robert Morris University | 7.8% | 31% | 58% | 27.4% |
| Millersville University of PA | 7.0% | 40.1% | 67.1% | 27% |
| Indiana University of PA | 10.8% | 26% | 52% | 26.2% |
| Lehigh University | 3.2% | 64.5% | 86.3% | 21.8% |
| Widener University | 11.7% | 37% | 58.7% | 21.7% |
| La Salle University | 12.8% | 55.3% | 75.4% | 20.1% |
In contrast, black students at Villanova have a higher graduation rate than white students, but only 4.2% of the student body is black.
This is a troubling trend, partly the result of schools being more concerned with diversity - or in some cases getting inflated tuition rates - than the ability of their recruits to actually succeed.
posted by ELIZABETH STELLE | 08:55 AM | 0 comment
AUGUST 9, 2010
Are Taxpayers Subsidizing Learning or Partying?
The good news: Penn State is no longer the #1 party school in the US, according to the Princeton Review's (user account) annual student-produced rankings. It has fallen to #3.
The bad news: Pennsylvania's 2010-11 budget still allocates about $333.9 million to the institution, a number only slightly lower than the 2008-09 expenditure. Temple will receive $172.7 million and Pitt will receive just under $168 million.
Legislators should reconsider state funding for colleges in light of "Leisure College, USA," a new paper published by two California professors. The authors find college students are studying on average 10 hours less than their 1961 counterparts and are still receiving good grades. They identify technological advancement and relaxed standards as the culprits- allowing students to get by while maximizing leisure time.
Patrick Allitt elaborates on the study, concurring that educational standards have become lax. If students spend only 14 hours per week studying, they have time to pursue many other activities. At Penn State, one of these seems to be drinking, as the school ranks #2 in the "Lots of Beer" category.
Facing massive budget shortfalls, lawmakers should question the efficacy of higher education subsidies. Are we funding learning or partying?
posted by LEAH ACHOR | 03:00 PM | 0 comment
