Federal Panel Paper Blames Faculty for High Costs
By Gwendolyn Bradley
An “issue paper” released this spring by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education largely blames faculty for the rising cost of higher education. The paper singles out faculty salaries, saying that “tenure has an accompanying long-term price tag that can easily exceed $1 million.” It argues that the “extraordinary power of the faculty” hampers efficient decision-making, identifies “abuse of released time” as a hidden cost, and suggests that campuses should consider hiring more part-time faculty as a way of balancing the budget.
The AAUP took strong exception to the paper’s reasoning, which general secretary Roger Bowen characterizes as flawed and simplistic. Faculty salaries are growing more slowly than presidential salaries, institutional endowments, the salaries of other highly educated professionals, and the price of college tuition. And data suggest that heavy use of non-tenure-track faculty hurts educational quality.
“The paper fails to consider the need for maintaining quality and effectiveness in higher education, focusing instead on cutting costs without regard to the consequences,” Bowen wrote in a letter to the commission.
The commission, which was created by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings to advise her on higher education policies, released a series of issue papers this spring, including one suggesting that regional accrediting agencies be replaced with one national agency. It will report to the education secretary in August.
The AAUP has testified at hearings, spoken at meetings, and submitted written materials to the commission. Members of the public may submit comments by e-mail to HigherEdCommission@ed.gov.
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