I don’t know of anyone on campus who could have guessed that becoming a university would have caused us not only great pride but also so many growing pains. We just began to enjoy the new title when some members of the administration and faculty began to look for the exit signs. Most of those that were looking found employment somewhere else, others are probably still looking. The fact is that the replacements are costing more. Some of the responsibility for the additional costs can be blamed on the market.
There is a great need in the market for good Ph.D. level instructors in some disciplines and Ph.D. level administrators which means that other places are willing to pay more for those who have been successful. The greater portion of the responsibility for the costs may be in the higher standards we have placed on future administration and especially future and present faculty. Many departments such as business are seeking very prestigious accreditation, which doesn’t cost very much in and of itself. Meeting the requirements of the accrediting board however carries a large price tag. Most of the time it means hiring more Ph.D. faculty with recent publications.
These are the “cream of the crop” type faculty and are costing nearly $100,000 per year in some departments. Another problem that is causing some faculty enough discomfort to seek other employment is the demands that are being placed on them to perform and publish even more to meet the expectations of an accreditation board they have yet to meet. These additional requirements come with no additional pay while new staff members are coming in earning as much as $20,000 per year more, with, in some cases, lighter work loads. There is no doubt that higher accreditation will benefit students and improve the quality of education that can be obtained at Western. In most cases, it will result in students in some depart
ments earning higher salaries right out of college. However, you have to ask yourself at what cost is the additional growing pains no longer worth it?
Eventually, these additional costs will result in additional tuition. If the administration holds fast to their belief that tuition should be even across the board for all students, then everyone will pay more. The result is someone majoring in a program such as music or history may be paying a higher tuition to offset the cost of another student’s education in a department with higher costs.
I agree with the Dean of Profession Studies, Steven Estes. We may be near to the point where our low cost tuition will not pay for the quality university education that we are receiving. However, I want to caution the administration that there is another point out there where the tuition costs are excessive compared to the quality of the university education that we are receiving.
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