They're Locked in the Ivory Tower for a Reason
Earlier this spring, I had the chance to give a presentation on the future of procurement and supply chain technologies to a bunch of procurement executives from the Ivy League and Big Ten schools. It was a cordial gathering, yet I could tell from the group that in general, most of these non-profit institutions did not feel the same pressure to reduce costs and do more with less like their counterparts in the private sector. Nevertheless, ever since that night, I've been paying closer attention to procurement-related headlines coming out of academia. And one that Tony Poshek passed along to me a couple of weeks back is absolutely hilarious.
Apparently, MiraCosta College "has been charged almost $200,000 by [an] investigator hired to probe [a} campus palm-tree scandal that began in February 2006." What's the issue you ask? It turns out that the college's only loss from the scandal was $305. That's right, three hundred bucks and someone in the administration -- and procurement, by extension -- has managed to run up bills with a private investigator for more than what it costs to license a solid e-sourcing platform for years. I suppose that it's no surprise that MiraCosta is not looked at in the same light as Arizona State, Michigan State, or Georgia Tech when it comes to its procurement and supply chain academic programs ...
- Jason Busch
Apparently, MiraCosta College "has been charged almost $200,000 by [an] investigator hired to probe [a} campus palm-tree scandal that began in February 2006." What's the issue you ask? It turns out that the college's only loss from the scandal was $305. That's right, three hundred bucks and someone in the administration -- and procurement, by extension -- has managed to run up bills with a private investigator for more than what it costs to license a solid e-sourcing platform for years. I suppose that it's no surprise that MiraCosta is not looked at in the same light as Arizona State, Michigan State, or Georgia Tech when it comes to its procurement and supply chain academic programs ...
- Jason Busch
1) The benefit of those degrees cannot possibly be justified by the expense (roughly $180,000 each).
2) The two college administrations I've dealt with have no concept of what the rest of us would term a "budget." Each year, the "budget" is balanced with alumni and parent fund drives. The volume of frantic funds solicitation calls and letters is directly proportional to the degree of budget mismanagement in any given year.
3) The amount of money spent on glossy college magazines -- with zero content of interest to anyone -- is staggering. For short-run high-quality pieces of this type, the cost has to be astronomical.
4) The rate of tuition increase in these two institutions during those eight years was criminal. Nothing on planet Earth can justify that kind of price inflation.
If there are no constraints on budget -- and there are none -- and there are no constraints on tuition and living costs increases -- and there are none -- then there can be no incentive to save.
Oh, and one more thing: You two colleges out there (you know who you are) -- don't even think about asking me for money. Based on the financial mismanagement I've seen, you don't deserve to be given a nickel. For anyone thinking about contributing to a college or university, DON'T GIVE THEM UNRESTRICTED FUNDS. Make sure that your gift is forced to be spent on something tangible, else you might as well take the money outside and burn it. At least that way you may generate some useful BTUs (assuming it is winter time).