The Business of Education

This past month the academic community lost an outstanding leader, Constantine Papadakis, who was president of Drexel University. What I found interesting when reading articles written about his death and accomplishments were the references to how he ran the university like a company. While there was recognition of the excellent strides made under his leadership, there was mention that some in the academic community were concerned about the business approach in an academic environment. As someone with a career in both business and at various b-schools, I am certainly well aware of the anti-business bias evident within not only universities but society as well.

Consider the portrayal of the unscrupulous Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street or the banker Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life. I recognize the caution that many in academics raise when it comes to "thinking like a business person" when making decisions about certain academic aspects within a university. We do need to be sensitive about making decisions purely based on market conditions, or what's good for the "bottom line" for example, when it comes to protecting academic freedom or the viability of important educational disciplines.

At the same time, we also must recognize that a university most certainly has important business aspects, and we have a responsibility to a wide array of constituents, especially those who are paying increasingly higher tuition. We need to be sensitive to the return-on-investment for tuition paid. We need to be concerned about our effectiveness and responsiveness to our students. There are many times our students are indeed "customers" when it comes to the service aspects on campus, for example, the ease of registration, on-campus recruiting, or buying a book for a course.

Those universities that think not only about their important educational mission, but also their service responsibility, will indeed be the successful universities as we work through tough economic times and increased expectations for delivering a valuable educational product.

Comments

[Nova Senior]

There must certainly be an element to the university which operates as a business. With such astounding tuition rates, there is almost a "Customer Service" element that is expected, but which is sometimes lacking. A particular example which comes to mind is a professor I had for intro to calculus. Not only did the professor not have an inkling on how to teach, but this class was an important, foundational course for many other courses. When you look at every course as one which theoretically costs upwards of $3000, it starts to change how students react to dissatisfying occurrences. As our reputation as a prestigious academic institution continues to grow, we need to focus on providing such business-like customer services.

[Lesley]

Dean Danko Bowdlerizes...read it while you can...don't count on it staying up

When no one is looking, action shows character

[James M]

Dean Danko,

Last week the IMF predicted 10.0% to 10.5% unemployment for the US in 2010.
I wonder when you think unemployment will bottom out and what it means for students.

You must have read that the prospects for Philly area law graduates is dismal,
with the student taking a job as a waitress in the Inky story...the average law
grad owes $200,000.

I heard the Accounting was holding up, but what about Finance and the other majors?

Bloomberg reports "about 23,300 Wall Street employees lost their jobs in the year through February."

It would be very helpful if you shared your knowledge of current VSB placement
for this years graduates, and your advice about what students should do.

[Mary Kelly]

FYI: Job Prospects in the North East

The National Association of Colleges and Employers, which surveys companies that employ college grads, reported that hiring projections for 2009 are down by 22 percent compared with actual hiring last year.

In the Northeast, that figure swells to 39 percent. Some sectors showed dramatic downturns. Hiring in finance, for instance, is expected to drop 71 percent from last year. Construction hiring is down 45 percent, manufacturing off 32 percent.

“This is the toughest economy I can remember,” said John Nonnamaker, executive director for the office of career services at Providence College. “People remember times in the ’90s when there were downturns, but this is a new animal, like nothing we’ve ever seen. We don’t really have a model to look toward.”

And employers who show up for college job fairs offer fewer jobs. Johnson & Wales University held a career fair on March 19 that drew a full house of 120 employers. But Sheri Ispir, director of career development at Johnson & Wales, said that instead of the 600 job interviews the fair usually generates, this year employers interviewed about half that many students.

Robbin Beauchamp, director of The Career Center at Roger Williams University, said students are also facing competition from people who have recently lost jobs. The career fair at Salve Regina on Wednesday was open to the public, and employers there reported seeing more older job candidates than they had in the past.

“It’s been a mix. But we’ve talked to a lot of people who have been recently laid off and are looking for careers,” said Ashley Kosman of Atrion Networking Corp. “And we’ve been getting résumés from people with 20 years experience and have been laid off.”

http://www.projo.com/business/content/BZ_JOBS_FOR_GRADS_04-04-09_29DUDL5_v20.36aadd9.html

[Joe]

Dean,

I was just honored with an offer to attend your "fast-track" MBA program, and your posting epitomizes why Villanova was the only program to which I applied.

Education should not be focused on teaching for the sake of educating (that way lies the route of PhD's teaching students to be PhD's); instead, education should be about preparing students to be able to:

1. Identify their goals
2. Pursue their goals
3. Excel

Many educational programs ignore #1 on that list, and instead decide that the education should include what the students' goals should be...

I am sure I'll find professors I don't care for, students I don't see eye to eye with, and administrative hassles which could be improved.

But so far, I couldn't ask for a better culture than what I have encountered in your graduate business department.

Thanks!

Joe

[Mrs. Tonelli]

ANOTHER PROBLEM FOR GRADUATES:

"Posted on Mon, May. 11, 2009

Out of college, out of coverage

Young adults who are ousted from their parents' health plans are among the largest and fastest-growing groups of uninsured....

As commencement ceremonies get under way, graduates have more to worry about than a lousy job market.

Graduation often marks the end of insurance coverage for young adults under their parents' employer-sponsored plans. Even graduates lucky enough to find jobs could end up in positions that don't provide health benefits."

SEE http://www.philly.com/inquirer/health_science/20090511_Out_of_college__out_of_coverage.html

[Peter Johnson]

Only 1 in 5 finding jobs:

Temple U grads go from ceremony to career fair
KATHY MATHESON

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - Some graduating students at Temple University wasted no time beginning their job searches: They went straight from commencement to a school-hosted career fair.

About 7,400 students graduated from Temple on Thursday, including those receiving advanced degrees. Nearly every speaker at the main ceremony referenced the bad economy.

Graduates who later visited the school's career center received a portfolio of job search strategies and employment counseling.

Career center director Rachel Brown says Temple officials thought it was important in this economy to show support for their newest alumni.

A survey by the Pennsylvania-based National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that just 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job actually have one.

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