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“Equity” Lunacy: The Real Reason College Costs are Skyrocketing

Posted on Thursday, January 20, 2022
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by AMAC Newsline
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Ohio State

AMAC Exclusive – By Andrew Abbott

Last Month, American Enterprise Institute Scholar and Economics professor Mark J. Perry made a startling revelation. While reviewing Ohio State University’s financial disclosure forms, he discovered that the university had over 130 “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) employees. Their combined salary commanded $13.4 million of the university’s budget – enough to fund the in-state tuition of more than 1,100 students. Three administrators alone currently make over $250,000 each. These administrators do not teach classes, coach, or assist in the educational pursuits of the student body. Their sole responsibility is the promotion of “diversity” and “inclusion”– without much of an explanation at all for what that really means. But as controversial as that may seem, Ohio State is far from an outlier among universities, underscoring a far more prevalent problem in higher education.

According to a recent Heritage Foundation report, the average university has more than 45 individuals focused solely on DEI issues. Some schools have even more DEI administrators than Ohio State – the University of Michigan has 163. Overall, in a study of 65 schools, DEI staff outnumbered history professors by 40 percent. For every 100 tenured or tenure-track professors, there were 3.4 people working to promote DEI. At the University of Virginia, that number is 6.5. At the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, there are 13 people devoted to promoting DEI for every one person devoted to assisting people with disabilities – something that is actually required by law. Moreover, these figures don’t even address the astronomical sums spent on so-called “DEI initiatives” at universities each year.

While promoting diversity of thought and supporting historically underrepresented students is a noble and admirable goal, the reality is often far from this ideal. DEI offices in recent years have found a calling in targeting conservative speakers and viewpoints on campuses, in some cases banning them outright. As one current Ohio State student detailed in an article for National Review, the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion has funded a “Black Lives Matter public art initiative” in the form of murals in the school’s library, sent out an email discouraging students from attending a lecture by prominent conservative thinker Ben Shapiro, and advised students not to interact with a gun rights group that came to campus to inform students about the Second Amendment. Last fall, DePaul University banned Shapiro from speaking at all in a pre-scheduled campus event. A Wall Street Journal article from last year further detailed how “DEI monomania” is affecting professors as well. Now, the most important hiring consideration isn’t someone’s research credentials or teaching record, but rather their ability to speak to how they “support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.”

But the worst indictment of the mission creep of college DEI offices might be that they don’t even appear to be helping minority students have a better college experience or even graduate in higher numbers. Several schools with the largest number of diversity administrators report the lowest levels of minority student satisfaction.

One new report even suggests DEI offices are harming minority students far more than they’re helping. According to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, none of these programs substantively moved “the needle on graduation rates at 4-year public colleges.” Ironically, they’ve done the opposite for minority students; these ever-growing diversity administrators constitute a significant expense in the already bloated budget of American colleges. Those expenses get passed down to students via increased tuition costs. These increased costs make college less accessible for minority students who disproportionately face economic challenges. By one estimate, “a $1,000 increase in tuition and fees caused the racial and ethnic diversity of first-time, full-time freshmen to decline by 4.5%.”

Administrators will defend their schools’ high tuition prices by assuring students that they can seek financial aid. However, even those students who do manage to meet the diversity criteria necessary to receive such aid will still likely find themselves saddled by thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, in student loans.

Ironically, as the price of education has increased over time, the value of that education has decreased. A recent study found, in what seems a paradox, that college graduates were less civically intelligent than high school graduates. With a growing shortage of skilled trades, many young people who choose to forego college in favor of trade school or another employment opportunity now find themselves better off than their college-bound peers. With all this in mind, it’s no wonder that college enrollment is on the decline.

College administrators know the value of their degrees is plummeting. Yet, if they raise the academic standards, enrollment will suffer heavily. Perhaps this is why most schools don’t advertise the educational value of their institutions. Instead, they promote the “experience” and the “culture” of higher education. For liberal college administrators, DEI offices are a convenient way to claim their “commitment” to diversity. However, if they actually want to improve the student experience, they might consider following Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s lead in ditching all the “equity” labels in favor of another word that would be a far more admirable and legitimate pursuit – “opportunity.” That is, after all, what higher education is supposed to provide.

Andrew Abbott is the pen name of a writer and public affairs consultant with over a decade of experience in DC at the intersection of politics and culture. 

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DonRS
DonRS
2 years ago

Our colleges and universities are OUT-of-CONTROL. They’ve been allowed to impose far left wing policies, ideologies and propaganda on our NAIVE, IGNORANT children, funded by OUR MONEY. How STUPID IS THAT – ON OUR PART!

Henry
Henry
2 years ago

My Children went to State College. The cost was not near of private College. Besides if parents are paying students just party and not focus on studying. So if our government is going to pay for college. We will be paying for them to party and not studying?

Garye
Garye
2 years ago

Typical marxist democrat hypocrisy and policy of ruining children’s education with their propaganda.
Check out the Pennsylvania school board member who wrote ” I don’t work for the parents in out district and they are ignorant of the best way to teach kids”.
The arrogance and entitlement attitude of these clowns is sickening!
Throw them out now!

BAE
BAE
2 years ago

The universities take advantage of the parents and students. They are BIG money and the leaders and profs call out BIG business, what bulls..t. All they care about is the bottom line. Giving degrees that will never be useful. Students will not be about to find a job. More money and usefulness being a plumber, manager at WaWa, etc. etc…………………

Kevin W
Kevin W
2 years ago

2 years ago my friend told me his daughter, a student at an expensive New England college, had to submit her senior year return to school forms. She had to list what pronouns she wanted to be used for her identification.
I said to him “How much does this college cost?” He said “About $35,000 a year.”
I told him “She could have gotten the same education at a communist reeducation camp with books, classes, room and board for free!”
He laughed, but the last laugh has been on all of us.

Garye
Garye
2 years ago

Just too many so called educators who NEVER work being paid WAY TOO MUCH to encourage hating America.
The education system is a total failure!

Morbious
Morbious
2 years ago

The core problem is cowardice. Everyone involved knows this is all bs but most are scared stiff to say anything. Ever since the sixties when short timer college presidents decided to go along with sit ins and building take overs, radicals have been emboldened.

George Mason
George Mason
2 years ago

There are several other reasons that are driving up higher college tuition costs. The first one is the federal government’s takeover of our country’s tuition loan program. The Obama program gave “no question asked” loans to any student who wanted to have all their living expenses paid for them after their high school graduation and all they had to do was to attend college. Many just partied the first semester. The loans were granted without any consideration of the ability of the student to repay the loan nor any concern for taxpayers who would be forced to cover the default should the student default on their loan. What could go wrong under this policy? (Democrats love to buy votes on taxpayers’ money). Everybody could go to college, and many decided that free living expenses for 4 – 5 years without having to pay it back until they left room, was just too good a deal to pass up. So, what happened? Colleges saw and took the opportunity to raise their costs, hire more staff, etc. It is called supply and demand. The greater the demand the high the price.

The second reason college costs are high has been in existed since the first college was opened in our country. Unfortunately, prior to the 1950s and 1960s, students graduated from high school without an adequate understanding of basic math, science, English, literature, social studies principles. As a result, the first two years of college was set aside to teach basic math, science, English, Literature, Social studies to these students. Colleges was forced to fix the education deficit of its entering students by requiring students to take classes in these subjects before taking classes in their chosen career field. However, public education since the 1960s has corrected this issue. Students now take pre-college classes. Four years of English and literature, sciences, math, and social studies are provided to all their students. Colleges should have adjusted their requirements but that would mean smaller enrollment, firing of teachers, cut in admin pay, etc. Colleges today should be finishing schools that offer only those classes needed by their students to be successful in their chosen career field. Colleges should be working closely with employers of their grads to understand their needs.

Mic J Palazzolo
Mic J Palazzolo
2 years ago

Any person willing to pay for a “college education” provided by institutions of higher indoctrination should have their head examined. Exception: Hillsdale, Liberty, and PragerU. Best choice and price: Vocational skilled trade training.

Robert
Robert
2 years ago

College = A legalized Ponzi type scheme

Wayne Peterkin
Wayne Peterkin
2 years ago

First, as someone who pays their obligations I have zero sympathy for those who freely chose to get into deep debt to finance college, and nothing but contempt for morons who choose educations with no future earnings potential. They borrowed it, they owe it, and they should be forced to pay it back without taxpayer help. Second, college costs are a scandal and the solution is forcing college administrators to sit in front of tough congressional committees and publicly explain the justification for today’s college costs including where all the money goes.

Margaret
Margaret
2 years ago

Fire them all! They are welfare recipient. They drain the colleges they work at. Who needs them?

johnh
johnh
2 years ago

I wonder if the Federal Govt. and some of the protest groups have anything to do with Universities having to have these positions?

Witness Firsthand
Witness Firsthand
2 years ago

I’m a first-hand witness to this. The university my daughter attends is almost a whopping $50,000 / year, with very little value to show for it. I’m so glad she will be graduating soon! The university has created an entire building and staff dedicated to “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion”. Yet they have no decent facilities for her major. She could no longer live on campus because of the garbage she had to endure from the insanity of the “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” mantra crammed down the student’s throats. Genuine learning has taken a back seat to wasteful, over-expensed, propagandist philosophy.

Doc
Doc
2 years ago

Did time in an “honors” college in the early 70’s. Was subjected to “pronoun” indoctrination. Yes, way back when. Left school to get a real education, a real job. Bull stuff free…!

Xtech
Xtech
2 years ago

The “culture” of higher education is rotten to the core in many, if not most, of these liberal colleges!

MariaRose
MariaRose
2 years ago

Hey, they want transparency then they need to explain every dollar spent across the board in every department including those tenured employees who claim exemptions from being fired. And create a better way for grants to be given and utilized without suing fraud claims of need. Any grant has to be used for learning expenses only, to avoid being used for non-school expenses.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
2 years ago

So tuitions are NOT equity based??
Chap 7 the colleges then

sick of the stupid
sick of the stupid
2 years ago

Been saying this for years that these so called higher learning schools are just ripping off the treasury of the USA with student loans and these kids get scammed and come out with a worthless degree but plenty of loans. Now the Dems through build back stupid who have supported this diversity racism crap in these schools have only increased racism and now want the rest of the population to pay for their bloated salaries their junk degrees their bloated system and mismanagement. No Way. Start teaching what the country needs, Math , science, engineers etc. things that will benefit the nation not thise social justice crap.

Philip Hammersley
Philip Hammersley
2 years ago

Many of the “great” colleges have multi-billion dollar endowments, yet charge exorbitant tuitions! How about they absorb some of the cost. Or better yet fire the professors who don’t teach at all or teach useless topics like Latino studies, black studies, LBTGQ studies, and all the other crap!

Fred Rose
Fred Rose
2 years ago

The article details my simplified thoughts. Higher education, much like the medical field, has become more about profits than production!

Richard P Wildhirt
Richard P Wildhirt
2 years ago

Easy to see why Charlie Kirk discourages college degrees.

Phyl
Phyl
2 years ago

What a huge waste of money. I’m glad I was in college and went to one that care about the students.

FedUp
FedUp
2 years ago

The Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity staff are not there to help students. The DIE staff is there to participate in the killing of everything that has made America a great country.

On an Equity related side note, I watched the Pittsburgh Steelers final game and noticed most the Steelers wore the DIE winter caps while on the sidelines. Interestingly enough, the Equity component of DIE means equality of outcomes. I wonder how many of these multi-millionaires will distribute their multi million dollar salaries to the vast numbers of those with less equitable outcomes so that, for example, everyone (including them) has, for example, a $50K outcome. Rough guess, but I’ll bet it’s zero. Bottom line, they don’t believe this crap.

Carol
Carol
2 years ago

Seems these DEI offices don’t do anything for the students! Why even have them? A college education is about learning not protesting or becoming some ideologue! It’s about obtaining the skills to debate, research, experiment, solve problems and become a civil, mature adult in society! Those opportunities are open to anyone willing to do the work it takes! Today we get too many spoiled, immature, ignorant, selfish and hedonistic young people that have no concept of reality and don’t want to participate in society but tear it down cuz some Marxist professor indoctrinated them!

Carol Fowler
Carol Fowler
2 years ago

I believe this it is more about brain washing than learning history, Necessary life skills and individual of thinking of right and wrong

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