The January 24th issue of the “Chronical of Higher Education” reported a disturbing case. An Instructor at the University of North Carolina had her research suspended after she reported 60% of the student athletes she studied at the University could read at the 4th to 8th grade level and 10% were illiterate.
This case is a symptom of a bigger trend. A book by Benjamin Ginsberg at Johns Hopkins entitled “The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All Administrative Univeristy” details the relative loss of the power of the academic faculty and the rise of the power of academic administrators. The author asserts this phenomenon means academic standards must fall.
Why?
Professor Ginsberg points out that both faculty and administrators say that they support teaching and research.
HOWEVER, professors view teaching and research as ENDS and the university as the MEANS to that end.
Administrators view teaching and research as a MEANS to further the business of the university, as a means to attract corporate and government dollars and more students.
The faculty view focuses on what students NEED—not so much on what they WANT, assuming that faculty are better qualified than students to decide what students should learn.
The administrative view focuses on what students and others WANT in order to boost revenues.
What happened at North Carolina is a symptom of the rise of the All-Administrative University where administration thinks research should support the university instead of the university supporting research.
The rise of administrative power at the expense of the power of the faculty is a threat to academic freedom.
