Andrew Kerr of the Daily Caller details disturbing findings about American higher education.
Universities that offer less faculty compensation, perform less research and have lower tuition rates are more likely to have engaged and effective professors, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis. …
… The Daily Caller News Foundation analyzed the expenditures of 40 public universities across the country in an effort to discover why some institutions can keep their costs down while others break the bank. TheDCNF analyzed the 20 most expensive and the 20 most affordable public universities that enroll more than 15,000 students, as identified by College Board. …
… The 20 most affordable universities analyzed charge between $12,426 and $18,881 in out-of-state tuition and fees in 2017, far below the nationwide average of $25,620, according to College Board. The out-of-state tuition rates at the 20 most expensive universities were much higher, clocking in between $34,661 and $47,476 in 2017. …
… The largest area of growth came in the form of instructional expenditures. The 20 most expensive universities spent $11,346 more on instruction per student than the 20 most affordable universities.
But it would be incorrect to say those extra dollars were actually going towards instructing students. Rather, the growth in instructional spending can be attributed more to the fact that expensive universities devoted $11,153 more per student in research.
As previously reported by TheDCNF, an accounting trick at public universities allows institutions to “disguise” research as an instructional expense.
