Greg Conti has an interesting essay at Compact about where “elite” universities will go now that the world has seen their near total turn to progressive politics. My hope, of course, is reform: go back to being neutral, meritocratic, truth-seeking institutions. Not likely, says Greg:
The leaders aren't objective. Do not give them credit for being so. But, it opens up avenues to compete! There are other ways to credential, other paths to study! Innovation will bring more. Let Harvard burn. Harvard needs us more than we need Harvard (or any left wing institution).
This is why I’m watching the impact and future of University of Austin with interest. Can an education institution that focuses on what Conti rightfully believes should be their core mission grow and scale? That may be a much faster path than waiting on these entrenched sclerotics (who have a viable market, as sad as it is) to heal themselves.
Strangely, I am less worried about higher education idiocy than most critical observers. The so-called elite universities are the major transgressors. Keeping up their behavior, they will eventually recede into nothingness, once the endowments have been eaten up.
There is plenty of competition on both sides of the market + donors.
I am less pessimistic that universities are immune to strong pressures, although I grant their resistance is strong.
First the endowments only make a few universities "post-materialist" and even those are subject to having their endowments decline in real terms. Why should "rags to riches to rags" in three generations be limited to individuals? How many members of the S&P 500 50 years ago are there today?
Second, the value of their influence is based mainly on their ability to give graduates extraordinary access to elite careers. Here the main threat is not competitors like Purdue or University of Austin, but rather corporate employers who decide that hiring people on the basis of the elite degree signal is counterproductive. Amazon, for instance, explicitly ignores such considerations, or even whether one has a degree at all. Bryan Caplan demonstrates pretty persuasively that the main value of a college degree is a signal of intelligence and perseverance. This may not be simple to replicate, but I suspect it isn't super hard either.
The only way to stop this particular "party" is to take away the punch bowl. I see several opportunities:
1. Cap federal student loan guarantees per college/university. The cap could be per enrolled student or even just as a percent of total tuition dollars at each school. Any limit is a start.
2. Tax undistributed endowment returns over a three year average - say 5% - at 50%. Use it or lose it.
3. Tax sports and other non-academic revenues as UBTI (Unrelated Business Taxable Income).
4. Back to Federal student loans - require that either endowment dollars be used for at least 10% of all student loans (and require those dollars be paid back by each student) OR cap the loans at 90% of collected tuition dollars (i.e. after any tuition grants from the school).
5. Finally, require all applicants for federal student loans take either the ACT or the SAT and to report those scores to the government as part of the loan process.
Yes, there is a slim chance that any of these things get done at the federal level anytime soon, but I can hope that at least the taxing of endowments and TV revenues might get some traction while we have the money grubbers looking for tax revenues.
Isn't this how universities worked traditionally? They were established as religious institutions and served to assure that graduates were "one of us" before being sent on to the Commanding Heights.
For a brief, anomalous time, universities were institutions of free inquiry and excellence. For whatever reason, they perceived a need to move away from their religious focus. Evidently, that perception has passed, and universities are once again religious institutions.
The appeal to "first principles" rings hollow. The universities have adopted new first principles based on identity and anti-capitalism. The only way this will change is if parents stop sending their children into these indoctrination centers.
The leaders aren't objective. Do not give them credit for being so. But, it opens up avenues to compete! There are other ways to credential, other paths to study! Innovation will bring more. Let Harvard burn. Harvard needs us more than we need Harvard (or any left wing institution).
This is why I’m watching the impact and future of University of Austin with interest. Can an education institution that focuses on what Conti rightfully believes should be their core mission grow and scale? That may be a much faster path than waiting on these entrenched sclerotics (who have a viable market, as sad as it is) to heal themselves.
Strangely, I am less worried about higher education idiocy than most critical observers. The so-called elite universities are the major transgressors. Keeping up their behavior, they will eventually recede into nothingness, once the endowments have been eaten up.
There is plenty of competition on both sides of the market + donors.
I am less pessimistic that universities are immune to strong pressures, although I grant their resistance is strong.
First the endowments only make a few universities "post-materialist" and even those are subject to having their endowments decline in real terms. Why should "rags to riches to rags" in three generations be limited to individuals? How many members of the S&P 500 50 years ago are there today?
Second, the value of their influence is based mainly on their ability to give graduates extraordinary access to elite careers. Here the main threat is not competitors like Purdue or University of Austin, but rather corporate employers who decide that hiring people on the basis of the elite degree signal is counterproductive. Amazon, for instance, explicitly ignores such considerations, or even whether one has a degree at all. Bryan Caplan demonstrates pretty persuasively that the main value of a college degree is a signal of intelligence and perseverance. This may not be simple to replicate, but I suspect it isn't super hard either.
The only way to stop this particular "party" is to take away the punch bowl. I see several opportunities:
1. Cap federal student loan guarantees per college/university. The cap could be per enrolled student or even just as a percent of total tuition dollars at each school. Any limit is a start.
2. Tax undistributed endowment returns over a three year average - say 5% - at 50%. Use it or lose it.
3. Tax sports and other non-academic revenues as UBTI (Unrelated Business Taxable Income).
4. Back to Federal student loans - require that either endowment dollars be used for at least 10% of all student loans (and require those dollars be paid back by each student) OR cap the loans at 90% of collected tuition dollars (i.e. after any tuition grants from the school).
5. Finally, require all applicants for federal student loans take either the ACT or the SAT and to report those scores to the government as part of the loan process.
Yes, there is a slim chance that any of these things get done at the federal level anytime soon, but I can hope that at least the taxing of endowments and TV revenues might get some traction while we have the money grubbers looking for tax revenues.
Isn't this how universities worked traditionally? They were established as religious institutions and served to assure that graduates were "one of us" before being sent on to the Commanding Heights.
For a brief, anomalous time, universities were institutions of free inquiry and excellence. For whatever reason, they perceived a need to move away from their religious focus. Evidently, that perception has passed, and universities are once again religious institutions.
Society survived it before.
The appeal to "first principles" rings hollow. The universities have adopted new first principles based on identity and anti-capitalism. The only way this will change is if parents stop sending their children into these indoctrination centers.
The academy is beyond repair. Reform is not possible. We need a revolution