Higher education policy
North Carolina is proud of its university system,
which is often heralded as a model in comparison with
other states' systems.
Not all of the hype is deserved, however. After all, the
comparison is made with other wasteful, inefficient higher
education systems. And North Carolina spends more per
student than does any of its neighboring states, yet despite
the expense it ranks sixth out of ten in the percentage of
residents with college degrees.
This expense is largely justified in the name of economic
prosperity: educated citizens earn more, are more innovative,
and require fewer social services. But the benefits
of higher education, like the benefits of almost everything,
are subject to the law of diminishing returns. North Carolina
is likely paying for too much of a good thing already,
and should look to cut unproductive spending before making
additional expenditure increases.
After slight budget cuts in the last couple of years,
university officials would have you believe that further reductions
will cause grievous harm to the system's academic
mission. But as long as universities can offer such frivolous
courses as N.C. State's "honors" philosophy class in "Time
Travel," there is plenty of fat to cut from the system.
While keeping an eye on the money is important,
education is first and foremost about passing ideas to the
next generation. No matter how fiscally prudent legislators
are in the present, if the ideas underpinning liberty and
prosperity are not passed on, it will all come to naught.
As Ronald Reagan said, "Freedom is never more than one
generation away from extinction."
The ideas that now dominate the American campus
come from the left and do not promote liberty. Because
higher education's governance is extremely complex, with
radical professors protected by tenure and academic freedom,
this problem is often ignored for more readily achievable
goals. Yet it must be addressed.
Key Facts
- The six-year graduation rate for all UNC schools is
58 percent. Despite academics' claims to the contrary,
graduation rates and SAT scores are strongly correlated.
- For instance, at UNC-Pembroke, the five-year graduation
rate is 31.8 percent, while average SAT scores
(Math and Reading) are 930. At UNC-Chapel Hill,
85.4 percent graduate within five years, while SATs
average 1295.
- In UNC system political science departments, there
are currently 129 full-time faculty members registered
as Democrats and only 17 registered as Republicans.
- UNC pays $23 million a year for biotech research at
the NC Research Campus at Kannapolis, an investment
that even UNC president Erskine Bowles called
"very risky."
- A study by Cornell University economists found
that, for 138 major research institutions in 2000, the
median of net university revenues from patents and
licenses was only $343,952.
- A recent UNC study on K-12 showed that teachers
with undergraduate degrees in fields other than education
frequently outperform education school graduates.
- State money has been used for such things as N.C.
State's "Lavender Graduation" ceremony for gay students,
for "Vagina Day" celebrations, and for paying
visiting speakers such as Sister Souljah.
Recommendations
- Increase admissions standards at universities so that
students who are not likely to thrive on a UNC campus
start at the lower-cost community colleges.
- Base need-based scholarships on merit to reduce the
wasteful enrollment of students who are not likely to
graduate.
- Eliminate state funding for campus centers and
institutes with political agendas.
- Base scientific and technical research grants on the
advancement of knowledge rather than on expectations
of job creation.
- End requirements that professors in the humanities
and social sciences conduct original research, so
that they can concentrate on teaching.
- Make finances and academics more transparent by
online publishing of specific budget line items and
course syllabi.
Analyst: Jay Schalin
Senior Writer, Pope Center for Higher Education Policy
919-828-1400 • jschalin@popecenter.org
