Finally, university spending habits are making headlines, as new investigative reporting has uncovered outrageous spending at one of our state’s public universities – the University of Houston.
ABC 13 News in Houston recently reported that administrators at UH were spending millions of dollars on exotic trips, alcohol, and more. And people wonder why tuition has increased so much in the last three decades?
University operating costs have skyrocketed. Between 1991 and 2007, the statewide average operating cost per student increased 64.1 percent. Where is all this extra money going? Well, beyond paying for cushy salaries for university administrators, it’s apparently being used for cocktails in India. How does this frivolous spending help university customers?
Students and parents should demand more accountability for the use of their money. Surely these funds, regardless of if they originate from donations, could be spent better elsewhere.
Similarly irresponsible spending could be occurring at other state universities as well, and Texas needs better transparency measures to keep them accountable.
Senator Dan Patrick is absolutely right when he says, “Universities have to remember that they have customers, and those customers are students and parents.”
– Elizabeth Young