Friday, January 30, 2009
Where does it go?
I'm a little late getting around to writing this post, but I have some good reasons for this delay:
When I first got this gig of writing this blog the other students and I had to sign a "contract", and included in that stated that we agreed not to write while we were mad. So I had to wait a few days, and I've just had a couple of busy weeks here at the start of the semester.
But you're probably asking yourself, why was I mad. You may not be though... but I'm going to tell you regardless. I was mad because of the University of Tennessee. It had just come out that UT had been named the best value in college education. Princeton Review. But I was having a very hard time seeing this, a very hard time. I had finally finished buying all my books that I spent A LOT of money on, which isn't unusual and is just part of coming to college, you have to buy books and for some reason they are really expensive. I just hate it when teachers assign books that they wrote which they receive royalties for... I try my best to always buy my books online, even if they aren't cheaper I like knowing that I did not give anymore money to the university. But while buying these books I saw that the "list price" on Amazon of $103.00 was the same price the book was being sold for in the bookstore on campus. After seeing this my disdain for the campus bookstore become a little bit less. When it comes to selling books at the end of the semester, you can't beat selling them to a friend or on the Internet compared to the bookstores.
But not only did the mass amounts of money I was pouring out make it seem like the price of my education was ever higher, the university had just announced a new budget plan which was a drastic change than the normal raising of tuition. Those in charge thought that it might be a good idea, and good fiscal policy, to cap the tuition at 12 hours. This means that the tuition you paid for would only cover the minimum 12 hours and anything after that you would have to pay extra for per credit hour. To put that into perspective, I'm taking 18 hours this semester, most students take 15 or 16 hours. The minimum graduating requirement is 12o hours for most majors, which means there is no way to graduate in eight semesters (four years) so either way you would be paying grossly extra for your education. The Art and Architecture department put out a flier to inform their students that they could be paying roughly an extra $3,000 since they normally have to take about 20 hours a semester. While all this was happening I cold not help but think of a long list of things to write about:
1) First of all, I don't see how the university would be keeping with their "Best Value" standing by, in my view, gouging the students
2) I understand that the athletic department of the university is a separate entity and that they can do with their massive amounts of money as they see fit, but without the university there would be no athletic department. (As I'm walking across campus I was hearing the construction noise of the rumored $80 million addition/renovation to the football stadium. The UT president is predicting a $66 million dollar budget cut from the state...) Though I don't know the exact amonts of the renovations, I, and many others, feel that the athletic department could give back to the school a little more than their usual general scholarship donation.
3) And I guess lastly, will my kids be able to afford to attend college? I sure am glad I'm getting out while I am.
In the school newspaper today there was an article saying that the plan to cap tuition had been removed from the list of options, which is a huge relief, especially for those that are still in school now. To me though, and this is my personal opinion, just having the idea to take drastic measures such as that is not constructive. Here at the university we have some of the best economic and business minds in the world and it astonishes me that they can't come up with someway to save a massive amount of money.
This article used to be on the front page of the schools web page, it's a creative way to save money in my opinion. It gave me the idea that I would like to propose to President Peterson. The university should field ideas from the student body to find new ways to save money, and in return the students that come up with the best ideas to save the most money can receive a break in tuition for one semester, or two.
In the paper today was an article informing the public that the university was going to award $416,000 dollars in bonuses to teachers who had been able to "woo" donors enough to help with the fundraising drive. I can't help but think that some of these professors are also the ones who already make a great deal of money. There is a really interesting web site you should check out. And then check out the extra links, such as this one(scroll down to page 4 of the pdf, 35 of the book, and you'll see the average salaries for teachers. Notice how the average salary of the Business Department isn't even rivaled by another department except for the Law school which is somewhat of it's own entity. Go a couple more pages and you'll see the raise in tuition over the years. 19% since I started school.) Check this one, it's just plain interesting, not fiscally though. But this one too. Scroll to page ten of the file and check out the disparities in the salaries of male professors to those of their female counterparts.
I realize that by offering high salaries to be a professor you can attract the best individuals out there to be a educate the student body, but is it necessary to have an average salary for a business professor of $100,000+.
Today the students of UT received a letter from the president of the university, John Peterson. You can see it here on Jessica E's blog. Notice the last paragraph that Mr. Peterson wrote:
"Today's economy presents challenges to all of us. We will have to make sacrifices, but we are determined to position ourselves to be a stronger University once this economic crisis is over."
Mr. Peterson, I have to ask, who is making the sacrifice by handing out $416,000 in bonuses to teachers who "woo" donors? I believe it is shared by the teachers who will unfortunately be laid off because of the economic situation of the state, and also the students who will have to sit in larger classes due to the fewer teachers available. That $416,000 dollars is to be split between 202 faculty members which equates to $2,059.41 per person, if each one gets an equal share. But how many teachers salaries could that $416,000 save. Per year probably, 6 of your average assistant professors, unless they are in the business department and then it's only four... And I understand that you have to look at the long term, not the short term, so that money could pay one business professor's salary for four years or one assistant professor's salary for six years. Is putting that money in a savings account an option?
My point is, Mr. Peterson is correct, we have to make sacrifices, but should it be the education of the students that is sacrificed.
When I was asked to write this blog at the beginning of the fall semester, I was told to tell of my experience here at UT and let people know why they should attend the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. I don't want you to think that you should not come to school here at the University of Tennessee, you should. Despite what is going on, it is still a great school and you will receive an excellent education. For the high salaries you really do receive instruction from very smart individuals. My public finance professor is a world renowned economist who instructs states and foreign countries on their tax structure. You can regularly see him on the news.
I'm a political science student and the only poli sci class I have this semester is taught by a man that could inspire someone that doesn't have an inkling of inspiration to be involved in politics to get up and change the world. How you change it though is left up to you. By saying that I mean I've never had a professor try to influence me one way or the other on their views. That's just my experience though. I noticed this most though in my business ethics class where the teacher made sure we read a plethora of articles on each side of the argument. He himself was in high demand which we came to realize when for class one day we participated in an online debate that he was invited to by the pharmaceutical industry. He debated, we listened.
My point is, UT is a great university, but take the time to know what is going on and where your money is being spent. I think one of the main reasons the tuition cap was taken off the list of proposals was because of the outcry from students. The university is just like the federal government, your voice will be heard if you take the initiative to be heard.
-Patrick
When I first got this gig of writing this blog the other students and I had to sign a "contract", and included in that stated that we agreed not to write while we were mad. So I had to wait a few days, and I've just had a couple of busy weeks here at the start of the semester.
But you're probably asking yourself, why was I mad. You may not be though... but I'm going to tell you regardless. I was mad because of the University of Tennessee. It had just come out that UT had been named the best value in college education. Princeton Review. But I was having a very hard time seeing this, a very hard time. I had finally finished buying all my books that I spent A LOT of money on, which isn't unusual and is just part of coming to college, you have to buy books and for some reason they are really expensive. I just hate it when teachers assign books that they wrote which they receive royalties for... I try my best to always buy my books online, even if they aren't cheaper I like knowing that I did not give anymore money to the university. But while buying these books I saw that the "list price" on Amazon of $103.00 was the same price the book was being sold for in the bookstore on campus. After seeing this my disdain for the campus bookstore become a little bit less. When it comes to selling books at the end of the semester, you can't beat selling them to a friend or on the Internet compared to the bookstores.
But not only did the mass amounts of money I was pouring out make it seem like the price of my education was ever higher, the university had just announced a new budget plan which was a drastic change than the normal raising of tuition. Those in charge thought that it might be a good idea, and good fiscal policy, to cap the tuition at 12 hours. This means that the tuition you paid for would only cover the minimum 12 hours and anything after that you would have to pay extra for per credit hour. To put that into perspective, I'm taking 18 hours this semester, most students take 15 or 16 hours. The minimum graduating requirement is 12o hours for most majors, which means there is no way to graduate in eight semesters (four years) so either way you would be paying grossly extra for your education. The Art and Architecture department put out a flier to inform their students that they could be paying roughly an extra $3,000 since they normally have to take about 20 hours a semester. While all this was happening I cold not help but think of a long list of things to write about:
1) First of all, I don't see how the university would be keeping with their "Best Value" standing by, in my view, gouging the students
2) I understand that the athletic department of the university is a separate entity and that they can do with their massive amounts of money as they see fit, but without the university there would be no athletic department. (As I'm walking across campus I was hearing the construction noise of the rumored $80 million addition/renovation to the football stadium. The UT president is predicting a $66 million dollar budget cut from the state...) Though I don't know the exact amonts of the renovations, I, and many others, feel that the athletic department could give back to the school a little more than their usual general scholarship donation.
3) And I guess lastly, will my kids be able to afford to attend college? I sure am glad I'm getting out while I am.
In the school newspaper today there was an article saying that the plan to cap tuition had been removed from the list of options, which is a huge relief, especially for those that are still in school now. To me though, and this is my personal opinion, just having the idea to take drastic measures such as that is not constructive. Here at the university we have some of the best economic and business minds in the world and it astonishes me that they can't come up with someway to save a massive amount of money.
This article used to be on the front page of the schools web page, it's a creative way to save money in my opinion. It gave me the idea that I would like to propose to President Peterson. The university should field ideas from the student body to find new ways to save money, and in return the students that come up with the best ideas to save the most money can receive a break in tuition for one semester, or two.
In the paper today was an article informing the public that the university was going to award $416,000 dollars in bonuses to teachers who had been able to "woo" donors enough to help with the fundraising drive. I can't help but think that some of these professors are also the ones who already make a great deal of money. There is a really interesting web site you should check out. And then check out the extra links, such as this one(scroll down to page 4 of the pdf, 35 of the book, and you'll see the average salaries for teachers. Notice how the average salary of the Business Department isn't even rivaled by another department except for the Law school which is somewhat of it's own entity. Go a couple more pages and you'll see the raise in tuition over the years. 19% since I started school.) Check this one, it's just plain interesting, not fiscally though. But this one too. Scroll to page ten of the file and check out the disparities in the salaries of male professors to those of their female counterparts.
I realize that by offering high salaries to be a professor you can attract the best individuals out there to be a educate the student body, but is it necessary to have an average salary for a business professor of $100,000+.
Today the students of UT received a letter from the president of the university, John Peterson. You can see it here on Jessica E's blog. Notice the last paragraph that Mr. Peterson wrote:
"Today's economy presents challenges to all of us. We will have to make sacrifices, but we are determined to position ourselves to be a stronger University once this economic crisis is over."
Mr. Peterson, I have to ask, who is making the sacrifice by handing out $416,000 in bonuses to teachers who "woo" donors? I believe it is shared by the teachers who will unfortunately be laid off because of the economic situation of the state, and also the students who will have to sit in larger classes due to the fewer teachers available. That $416,000 dollars is to be split between 202 faculty members which equates to $2,059.41 per person, if each one gets an equal share. But how many teachers salaries could that $416,000 save. Per year probably, 6 of your average assistant professors, unless they are in the business department and then it's only four... And I understand that you have to look at the long term, not the short term, so that money could pay one business professor's salary for four years or one assistant professor's salary for six years. Is putting that money in a savings account an option?
My point is, Mr. Peterson is correct, we have to make sacrifices, but should it be the education of the students that is sacrificed.
When I was asked to write this blog at the beginning of the fall semester, I was told to tell of my experience here at UT and let people know why they should attend the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. I don't want you to think that you should not come to school here at the University of Tennessee, you should. Despite what is going on, it is still a great school and you will receive an excellent education. For the high salaries you really do receive instruction from very smart individuals. My public finance professor is a world renowned economist who instructs states and foreign countries on their tax structure. You can regularly see him on the news.
I'm a political science student and the only poli sci class I have this semester is taught by a man that could inspire someone that doesn't have an inkling of inspiration to be involved in politics to get up and change the world. How you change it though is left up to you. By saying that I mean I've never had a professor try to influence me one way or the other on their views. That's just my experience though. I noticed this most though in my business ethics class where the teacher made sure we read a plethora of articles on each side of the argument. He himself was in high demand which we came to realize when for class one day we participated in an online debate that he was invited to by the pharmaceutical industry. He debated, we listened.
My point is, UT is a great university, but take the time to know what is going on and where your money is being spent. I think one of the main reasons the tuition cap was taken off the list of proposals was because of the outcry from students. The university is just like the federal government, your voice will be heard if you take the initiative to be heard.
-Patrick
• • •
1 Comments:
giving your blog some love!
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