Quote:
Originally Posted by DARISC
Do you believe it's "the real culprit for much of the downfall in higher education"?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Noah930
no
I haven't read the Paterno thread, but sticking just to the topic you raised: What percentage of students are NCAA athletes in big money sports?
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IMO, these are the two questions around which this discussion should revolve.
To say that there is a
downfall of our higher education system is too broad a statement and requires an identification of the
elements of higher education, which define quality, that can be agreed upon so there can be a rational discussion. Otherwise, everyone enters the arena with a hazy, amorphous "feeling" that higher education has either plunged down hill or is better than ever.
This ties into the second question as students are certainly a part of the important elements that define higher education. How many are actually directly involved in big money sports is one factor but a student does not have to be directly involved to be negatively affected by by the corrupting influences. What about "special" treatment many athletes receive on campus--private tutors, preferential enrollment into easy classes, leniency in disciplinary matters--that regular students do not get? These things do have an effect on the educational
climate and culture of a campus and that may be
one element which defines the quality of higher education.
There can be no doubt that sports affect the climate and culture of any campus, large or small. Small colleges and universities with sports programs that are a financial drain (read a budget item) rather than a revenue stream still rally around their teams with pride but the administrative decisions made by the deans, regents, and board of directors are rarely influenced by what impact they may have on the sports programs. The same cannot be said for big money sports schools and that, IMO, is where the corruption of the campus culture lies.
Money is power, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The more that a school depends on the revenue from its sports program, the more power that program has and
the more diligent the administration must be to prevent the corrupting forces from permeating the campus culture. This is an old story that we have seen may times which leads to the conclusion that there is a "downfall in higher education" and by that standard, there is. Penn State is the current and most criminally corrupt shining example. Penn State's corruption extended beyond the campus, into the surrounding community, and eventually into lives of innocent young victims. The culture of the campus (Paterno, et al) was corrupted by the power of the sports program and the sports program corrupted the community. Any school, large or small, is open to this danger especially
if the draw of their athletics is the most significant identifier of the school .
Is this indicative of a "downfall of higher education?" I would say, no, not entirely.
It is a collapse of administrative responsibility to maintain the quality of education of students as the main focus. It is a problem that has spread wider across the higher education scene due to the need for revenue. It is a problem that should be addressed by the public, students, faculty, administrators, coaches, athletes, and any who support big money sports. The horrors of Penn State should not be forgotten, it's just the latest and most extreme example of absolute corruption.