The PC Behind the Bloat
26th December 2013
Administrative bloat is not a new story, but there are two aspects of the causes of bloat that I seldom see discussed. First, how much of the growth in administrative ranks is driven by political correctness along with federal mandates? Most larger universities not only have large offices policing “diversity,” sexual harassment, and so forth, but often have deans and vice chancellors for these programs, usually paid at dean and vice chancellor salary levels. Any many colleges now have administrative officers for “sustainability”—ironic since the cost model of higher education is clearly unsustainable. (And insofar as any sensible notion of “sustainability” refers chiefly to simple resource efficiency, why isn’t this a prime candidate for outsourcing?) The point is, liberals who moan about the high cost of college education today need to look in the mirror, for much of this cost expansion is probably the result of catering to the pressure groups who demand special programs to scratch their itch. It would be good to see a detailed study—perhaps from our friends at the Center for College Affordability and Productivity—into this phenomena. And it might be nice to break out the cost into line items; that is, include separate charges for “diversity” services at universities, and watch the backlash grow.