USA Today
September 22nd, 2014
U.S. colleges and universities are overspending on unnecessary programs and campus perks – often financing pet projects via a growing “subclass” of adjunct and part-time faculty, says Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and now a professor of public policy at the University of California—Berkeley.
In a recent interview with U.S. News & World Report, Reich addressed the rising cost of a college education and drew a correlation between how schools spend their money and the cost for students. He believes schools are overspending on amenities and that college and university bureaucracies have become too large and redundant.
“You don’t need that many administrators,” he says.A report published in April by the American Association of University Professors may support Reich’s contention.
“Losing Focus,” an annual report on the economic status of U.S. college faculty, presents data that indicate lopsided growth of administrative staff and a disparity in wages for top administrators and professors. The report claims disproportionate increases in the hiring of contingent faculty (part-time and non-tenure-track adjunct professors).