The Facts
* In the last two years, a dozen Texas universities have launched $10,000 Bachelor’s degrees. As a result, the governor of Florida recently called on his state’s universities to do likewise.
* THECB reports that from 2003-09, statewide average academic charges for a student taking 15 semester credit hours at a public university increased 72%.
* “Forty years ago,” reports Benjamin Ginsberg, “U.S. colleges employed more faculty than administrators. But today, teachers make up less than half of college employees.”
* According to the Higher Education Employment Report, “colleges and universities continued to focus more on hiring administrators and executives over faculty in Q1 2012, although the rate of change has slowed.”
Recommendations
* Require all Texas public university systems to institute a 10% cut in their administrative budgets.
* Require all Texas public universities to submit to THECB feasibility studies for crafting $10,000 degrees in their four most popular degree plans as well as for all degrees they offer in STEM subjects.
* Expand the online-degree rider that was added to HB 1 in 2011. The rider requires colleges and universities to submit cost studies of the four most popular degree plans that can be offered online. These studies should be expanded to include all STEM courses not covered by the first study, plus all lecture courses in all fields.
* Place a two-year moratorium on all new building projects in light of the increasing popularity of online courses.
* Require all non-Tier I public institutions to submit to THECB feasibility studies for changing the academic calendar to three semesters a year. Employing campus facilities year-round will reduce the relative per-student cost.