They pay lavish fees to manage their wealth, while tuition keeps rising.
Source: Stop Universities From Hoarding Money – The New York Times
My take: (Also, click on the Tag Endowments for more on this topic.)
Good suggestion, but by itself, it won’t change the fundamental problem.
The problem is not just money. After all, there are many businesses that serve society, even though their goal is revenue and profit and growth.
The difference is that most people would know if Apple was just a brand with no substance, and Apple’s revenue would drop dramatically – and, if they did what many colleges do, their lawsuit expenses would also rise dramatically.
But colleges have the luxury of a century old brand with, from a business perspective, wonderful attributes.
* Their value is hard to discover.
* Their customers (once quaintly called students) are emotionally and intellectually at a stage of their life where they can be fooled.
* They have a centuries old brand that is trusted by people who have little personal knowledge of professors, their real goals, and their attitudes.
I know all of this this and how corrupt university leaders and faculty have become.(yes, faculty, the buck stops with them) I know because I spent decades as a professor, observing all of this.
The only thing that is going to help students – and society – is transparency and accountability. Universities will fight hard to prevent it. As Bill Gross once noted, universities are there for politicians and investors, not students. (The complete quote with references – and much else – can be found on my blog inside-higher-ed )
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