Comments about ‘Higher education job cuts may hamper quality’

Glad to read that programs were not cut. But I doubt that will be the case next go round. How many administrators are keeping their jobs? Sarcastically speaking, aren't administrators the reason students go to college? How many layers of Deans, Assistant Deans, Associate Deans, Assistant VP's and other administrators does a college need?

If the campus' had true leaders which would follow good leadership principles, the administration would be the first to take a pay cut, eliminate or cut back administration postions and accept furloughs before eliminating staff and faculty positions.

I fear for the survival of many programs which can be arbitrarily cut "in the name of the budget" by administrators with an agenda or an axe to grind against a department.

Don't punish the students. SAVE THE PROGRAMS.

For many years, I have worked both in the private sector and for a number of Utah colleges/universities. The Utah higher education system was and continues to be very inefficient and laggardly. There are too many layers of bureaucracy, and too much timid leadership. Too many side offices are filled with fancy-sounding, cushy jobs. I admit; I have one of them. Deep-down, thought, I realize that in order to compete, obsolete ways need to be trimmed out and new technologies incorporated. Another round of cuts is a good start...just not my position.

Any time you have a recession and depression many things must be cut, especially in education and government. This country and state school systems have already been mortgaged and continue their pace of borrowing and spending as if the economy has not been stressed beyond repair.

Anyone with common sense realizes that when you don't have operating capital it will affect how much you can do. As more lose their jobs and more non tax paying illegals take jobs from americans they also are losing funds. Fewer workers does not justify raising taxes to maintain a system that emerged under false pretenses. Just as businesses close up so it goes that schools and education must face the same cuts and reductions.

Everyone in education seems to think there is a magical fund that arises out of a recession. Cuts means sacrificing in education as well in all government, we must start eliminating what we can't sustain.

Administrators make an obscene amount of money compared to MOST professors. It's disgusting how they justify their existence, yet put programs and faculty on the chopping block when economic hard times hit. I'd like to see Utah's colleges and universities eliminate several admin positions before they cut much-needed faculty. It's the just thing to do.

PS--Colleges and Universities CAN live without the excess number of administrators they have--they can't, however, live without faculty.

One debate at a major university was should student tuition be raised significantly to cover the lost funding from the legislature. On the one hand, it is unfair to the students to bare the cost of lost funding. On the other hand, if the legislature sees that cuts in funding have not impacted core programs, it may see that universities can continue to sustain major cuts as the outcome of student graduation, tuitions, etc., seem to go largely unaffected. Faculty and staff have gotten the brunt of cuts with furloughs, no pay increases, fewer resources, and demands that student programs come first over faculty needs.

Because Utah faculty are significantly underpaid compared to other state-funding universities across the country, Utah has a challenge in retaining star faculty -- particularly non-LDS faculty -- and the universities are seeing a steady brain drain, particularly in engineering, science, and business colleges that drive the education levels of Utah's workforce and drive technology innovation for local economic impact. Some faculty are considering leaving academia altogether, the ones with innovations and talent that is valued in the private sector, so students are left with the less-able faculty and decimated labs and programs.

While programs weren't cut directly, there is much less opportunity with 900 fewer faculty and staff members to oversee the programs. Education in Utah is hurting big time right now. Programs are cut without being cut directly, if that makes sense?

"Adjunct faculty have experience in the field, but lack teaching experience, which could compromise the quality of education."

Not true. Many adjunct have years more teaching experience than some instructors. Frankly, the quality of teaching has little to do with whether or not the instructor is full time or part time and has everything to do with the passion he/she brings to the classroom. I'm against employing adjuncts because it exploits them (they have no benefits; have no office; pay for their own parking; often provide own supplies; have little or no access to meetings/information) NOT because it hurts students.

Someone also asked: "How many layers of deans, assistant deans...etc. does a college need?" I believe there are about seven (7!) on average between the student and the president of the college.

Higher education job cuts may hamper quality....
Maybe, just maybe, it will cause those that are lucky enough to have a job to work harder so that they can keep their job...imagine that!

Budget cuts aren't always bad they often cause efficiencies.

I'd like to know why a tax commision proposed to change the tax code, claiming Utah is losing money, while the state sits on a $413.9 M tax surplus. The two "Rainy Day" funds, so we are told, are for education and general funding. Meanwhile, young people that were promised scholarships are being told those will be cut, and some higher-ups keep their feet on their collectives desks as the real reason for education walks, or gets booted out of the door.

Wake up. It's raining.

While I agree with the premise that the quality can rise by cutting out the inefficient parts, be sure to target the correct ones.

As a premier medical facility I think a medical analogy is in order. Think of the layers of administration as a human body.

The human body can do without certain things, as an adult. Like excess fat, aka "love handles."

Or tonsils, many times removed because they cause nothing but greif.

Even a spleen may be removed before it ruptures and causes more harm than good. The body gets its blood cell production elsewhere.

Working our way up the ladder, there are even those that function perfectly normal with half a brain.

Look at that, we just trimmed the layers from 7 to 3!

As the demand for quality health care goes up, the U of U could be crucial to training more capable doctors and nurses, so cuts that may compromise their training make me exceedingly nervous.

Programs at Utah State University weren't completely eliminated, to my knowledge, but a course I took last semester, one of the best in my undergrad career, has been eliminated indefinitely. Several faculty lost their jobs, and while none of my preferred professors were cut, they lost assistants and secretaries and have much, much less time for me, the student, now that they are juggling all the duties of those who they lost.

bummer.

"Maybe, just maybe, it will cause those that are lucky enough to have a job to work harder so that they can keep their job...imagine that!"

Yeah, because people definitely lose jobs because of not working hard and they keep jobs because of working hard. Nothing to do with who they know, what their names are, what they look like, and random rolls of the dice. You keep telling yourself the american dream actually exists.

One other comment.

Although I've decided to pursue a masters degree in state, and could see myself pursuing a PhD at the university of Utah, I learned my lesson about ever considering teaching in this state when I saw the way the utah legislature dealt with that rainy day fund.

I will never teach at a university in Utah if I have another alternative. Why subject myself to such a legislature. I won't pretend I'm much of a brain, but whatever I am, I'm drained.

This article is written as if straight from a press release from the Commissioner of Higher Education. When was the last time any major Utah newspaper wrote an article on college/university financial waste? All of our colleges have full-time PR staffs who court the favor of journalists. It's hard to resist.

This story is such an example. Where in the article is any counterpoint that public organizations could use a bit of fat trimming? Where does is say that education across the globe is changing, that Utah needs to become more efficient, too?

I understand that as the economy worsens, so does newspaper revenue. Less money is available to pay and retain feisty journalists, and to pay for in-depth investigation. Des News, I implore you to devote more resources to digging deeper and wider on issues so important to Utah.

The trouble with using adjuncts is the pay is so ridiculously low that you have a great deal of difficulty getting ANYONE in the sciences or computers or engineering to take it. I get paid more for teaching just one day of professional seminars in the computer industry than the area schools here pay to teach an entire semester. Then they want you to pay for your own parking permit and you get nothing in the way of clerical help. I keep hearing the politicians in this state speak of the wonders of the "market economy" and then they think they can get around it when it comes to education.

Spoken like a true bureaucratic administrator.

Interesting statistics, but are they really true? What about being taxed less for every job cut, and therefore profiting more from the money we make that is not taxed?

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Since the colleges are Turning Away students, PR/MARKETING Positions should be the first to go. Cut Library hours and staff and encourage more on-line research. Cut 3 layers of administration and delegate responsibilities to Sr Faculty and department chairs. Have governing boards work for a change.

Yes, everything gets cut in a recession, but educational programs should be the LAST thing considered.

IF YOU THINK EDUCATION IS EXPENSIVE...TRY IGNORANCE

Half of them are incompetent cronies who get their jobs via the patronage system.

Too many layers of Deans, Chairs and Vice Presidents. They are more concerned with preserving their kingdoms rather than preserving programs.



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If you want to know where the next rounds of cuts should come from go to "Rate My Professor" and read some of the student reviews!