The Biden Administration and All Things Politics

[Al-O-Meter]

I value academic freedom and tenure. You do not, so far as I can see. Why am I not in the least surprised?

You aren't impacted by any of this in any way so of course you can focus on whatever you want. I have a school aged kid who has college in his future. It affects me. The skyrocketing costs of higher education have been driven by the crazy expansion of administration in these institutions to facilitate the exact things your toxic heroes see as being threatened. Cutting this racist garbage out is the first step to reigning in costs. Get rid of the DEI staff. Get rid of the professors who teach the hate needing administrators to administrate.

I'd personally like to see mandatory SAT/ACT testing as an entrance exam -AND- an exit exam at graduation to see how much the kid learned. Any professors who can't teach need to have their academic freedom expanded by pushing them to seek other employment opportunities.

 

[LogGrad98]

You aren't impacted by any of this in any way so of course you can focus on whatever you want. I have a school aged kid who has college in his future. It affects me. The skyrocketing costs of higher education have been driven by the crazy expansion of administration in these institutions to facilitate the exact things your toxic heroes see as being threatened. Cutting this racist garbage out is the first step to reigning in costs. Get rid of the DEI staff. Get rid of the professors who teach the hate needing administrators to administrate.

I'd personally like to see mandatory SAT/ACT testing as an entrance exam -AND- an exit exam at graduation to see how much the kid learned. Any professors who can't teach need to have their academic freedom expanded by pushing them to seek other employment opportunities.

Yeah the ACT and SAT are generalized knowledge exams. What people learn in college is specialized knowledge for the most part, so the are very likely to improve in some areas of the exams and likely seriously drop off in others. I got a 32 overall on the ACT. No way in hell I'm getting better or even equal to that after college, especially considering I started college a bit later than most (mission and such). Some testing is already required, but it's in that specific discipline necessary for passing the classes.

 

[Bucknutz]

I got a 32 overall on the ACT.

View: https://youtu.be/NxekqhrjxCM


You would have gone to a school for free in the #1 State for Higher Education with that score! (and you were a resident)

No way in hell I'm getting better or even equal to that after college, especially considering I started college a bit later than most (mission and such). Some testing is already required, but it's in that specific discipline necessary for passing the classes.

I got a 25 on the ACT, and wouldn't even come close that now.

 

[One Brow]

Cutting this ... garbage out is the first step to reigning in costs.

How much does the Florida college system spend on DEI initiatives?

Get rid of the professors who teach the hate needing administrators to administrate.

That would remove all the teachers who teach the way you seem to want.

I'd personally like to see mandatory SAT/ACT testing as an entrance exam -AND- an exit exam at graduation to see how much the kid learned.

Mandatory exams were done away with to allow students who excelled at things like research, preparation, organization, and presentation, but performed poorly when filling in dots within ovals, to use their skills and improve our country. Filling in the correct dots within ovals is a meager talent in and of itself.

Any professors who can't teach need to have their academic freedom expanded by pushing them to seek other employment opportunities.

I can't explain the astonishing degree of ignorance you showing here. At a research university, the professors are primarily income sources, some only teaching a class every year or so.

 

[gandalfe]

Yeah the ACT and SAT are generalized knowledge exams. What people learn in college is specialized knowledge for the most part, so the are very likely to improve in some areas of the exams and likely seriously drop off in others. I got a 32 overall on the ACT. No way in hell I'm getting better or even equal to that after college, especially considering I started college a bit later than most (mission and such). Some testing is already required, but it's in that specific discipline necessary for passing the classes.

I also got a 32, about 2 years after HS, and hung-over as hell with no studying.

I do well on standardized testing.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

At a research university, the professors are primarily income sources, some only teaching a class every year or so.

Professors are an expense. Tuition is nearly all of the income. For state schools there is tax payer money via budget allocations that is income. Grants can be considered a tiny contributor to income but even there the professors aren't the ones writing those checks to the universities.

You and Red both seem to have universities completely backwards. He thinks universities are there to serve professors and you think professors are the customer.

 

[The Thriller]

Fantastic


View: https://twitter.com/jtanews/status/1661723546186293248?s=46&t=QT7YFlZ_IlHq81PpZAhKgw


This is why we have a process for challenging books. And it’s also why right wingers want to jump the process and just eliminate books by screaming at librarians and school board members. It’s much easier to scare the **** out of these people and threaten their families than to actually go through the challenging process and present yourself in a calm rational manner. It’s easier to ban books, remove them, change who can read them, in order to avoid angry MAGA folks who don’t even read them.




Again, it’s not that dissimilar from the right’s attacks on elections. Why go through the process of winning them when you can scream at vote counters to try and get the desired results?

 

[One Brow]

Professors are an expense. Tuition is nearly all of the income.

You say that with such confidence, and you are so wrong in the case of research institutions.

Grants can be considered a tiny contributor to income but even there the professors aren't the ones writing those checks to the universities.

I didn't say professors write the checks. I said, "professors are primarily income sources", although it's true those whose research has slowed down or stopped become expenses and get heavier teaching loads.

You and Red both seem to have universities completely backwards.

I have a degree from a research university, my day job is in a research medical school, and I teach math in the evenings at a local community college. I regularly reads about professors experiences on various blogs. On what basis do you say I have it backwards?

He thinks universities are there to serve professors and you think professors are the customer.

For actively researching professors, it's closer to professors are the tenants and the universities are the landlords.

 

[Al-O-Meter]

On what basis do you say I have it backwards?

IRS Form 990

 

[gandalfe]

You say that with such confidence, and you are so wrong in the case of research institutions.


I didn't say professors write the checks. I said, "professors are primarily income sources", although it's true those whose research has slowed down or stopped become expenses and get heavier teaching loads.


I have a degree from a research university, my day job is in a research medical school, and I teach math in the evenings at a local community college. I regularly reads about professors experiences on various blogs. On what basis do you say I have it backwards?


For actively researching professors, it's closer to professors are the tenants and the universities are the landlords.

Also, if you're teaching classes to tuition paying students, aren't you, then, a source of revenue?

 

[Al-O-Meter]

Also, if you're teaching classes to tuition paying students, aren't you, then, a source of revenue?

No. That is not how accounting works. Labor is an expense.

 

[One Brow]

IRS Form 990

At research universities, how much do the faculty contribute to line 8, typically?