Here is a NYT article posted last week regarding athletic spending vs. academic spending:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/07/education/colleges-increasing-spending-on-sports-faster-than-on-academics-report-finds.html?hpw&rref=education&_r=1
Is this a good or bad thing?
This article provides figures for the increase in spending on athletic programs, however gives no information about the return on investment for this spending. Revenue from athletic events can be used to support academic program and stronger athletic programs can attract more applicants (the article mentions this fact but neglects to provide any statistics to support it). It is very possible that the spending on athletic programs outweighs the benefits received as a result of the spending, but the article is incredibly incomplete. I would be interested to see some analysis looking at the costs AND benefits to a university of athletic expenditure...not just an article highlighting the costs. This is not a complete picture.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Joe. I would like to see more of an actual analysis of the benefits of such a move. I also am interested in why.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the article is slightly one-sided (it is written by the American Association of University Professors after all) and a more balanced presentation of the data is merited. Overall, though, I believe that university's should use the strength of their academic programs as recruitment tools. As such, I would rather more money be spent on academics. Especially at smaller schools, I think this is the case because the benefits of an athletic program at a small school are likely far smaller than those at a large school.
ReplyDeleteIn case people were interested, here is the report that the NYT article discussed: http://www.aaup.org/file/zreport.pdf.
There are lots of figures, so it's worth perusing.
the article should have gone further to show the benefits that those colleges receive from spending on athletic program. i think further research should be done in order to find the reasons why colleges have been increasing their spending.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sanjay on the note that the article is one sided and the small schools should focus on academic programs to attract student. However, the article makes a very good point that spending on academic program has been flat while the athletic spending has increased approximately by 25%. I would rather see increase in academic spending along with athletic spending.
ReplyDeleteI am particularly interested in the last paragraph of the article which mentions that college administrators salaries have increased at a much faster rate than professors. I find this interesting considering our discussion in class on CEO and executive salaries.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree with the sentiment that schools, especially smaller ones, should focus spending on academic programs (and the article needs to be more comprehensive).
ReplyDeleteOne issue that hasn't been raised yet though is that athletic spending has been a major contributor to soaring tuition costs in the past few decades. The types of costs associated with expanding athletic programs tend to be much higher than those associated with expanding academic ones. Take for example our fine new athletic complex, cost ~$16M to renovate fields, and expected to cost another $20M-$25M to do up the natatorium and fitness center. How many new professors could those funds have hired, or how many faculty salaries could be increased to raise our employment competitiveness? Either way, all of us students feel that spending hit our wallet come the quarterly billing period.
I really don't think this could be a good thing. I see the importance of sports in an academic institution but i don't think sports departments should be getting priority in funding. The money could be invested in Sporting academy's which are the right institutions that support sports.
ReplyDeleteSpending should be done in a balanced way so as to fund the schools' operations in order of first priority to last. If the first priority is to provide a great education, the spending should reflect that. However, sports do provide fun for students/alumni as well as advertising and promoting the school. Sports can instill a sense of comradery around campus, and in the alumni community. Keeping in these positive benefits of sports, the schools should decide how important a sports program is relative to other priorities, and adjust spending to reflect their overall plan.
ReplyDelete