The University Wave of Firings: Ten Possible Solutions

By Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D., J.D.

Author of Scammed: Learn from the Biggest Consumer and Money Frauds and How Not to Be a Victim and Preventing Credit Card Fraud: A Complete Guide for Everyone from Merchants to Consumers

          What can be done to resolve the crisis brought about by threatening to fire tenured professors because of the university budget crunch described in my previous two articles in the series?  Here are some suggested solutions offered by several university professors who have been following the story.   

As these university professors explain, most administrators come from the ranks of the faculty, but they tend to be much more highly paid and generally stop their faculty duties.  At most universities, the numbers of administrators have been growing far faster than the number of faculty. That has contributed to the rise of an adversarial relationship, one that becomes more heated at times of financial crises, when administrators try to make savings by reducing the faculty size and/or salaries, as documented in the first two articles in this series.

Here are ten suggested solutions proposed by these professors: 

1. Certain faculty could take on more administrative responsibilities without an increase in salary.  In the current climate, many professors would be willing to do so because it would provide them with more job security and enhance their bond to the institution.  This is the way universities used to run, with very few pure administrators, and savings could come about by reducing the number of more highly paid administrators, who generally have a high turnover anyway.  Another reason this approach would work well is that tenured senior faculty with higher salaries are often targeted for retirement by administrators if they are past their prime in productivity in their profession.  These faculty may no longer be as concerned to enhance their competitive standing in their field and be more willing to devote greater effort toward improving their institution.
2. Senior tenured faculty uninterested in taking on administrative responsibilities could enter into negotiations regarding their retirement.  Presently administrators use more sticks than carrots in such endeavors, but that need not be the case. Institutions hampered by their current legal inability to force retirement could determine what might induce individual faculty to retire, such as a significant severance package, continued healthcare insurance, or other perks.  While this might increase short term costs, the long-term savings would be substantial.
3. Rather than suffering the inherent stress of potential layoffs, faculty and administrators together could agree to across-the-board salary reductions.  The sacrifice inherent in such an accommodation would result in a greater sense of investment in the institution and a willingness to work together toward a common goal instead of the two groups working at odds.
4. Increase graduation rates at all four year institutions. The current student debt crisis is worse for those who fail to obtain a degree or who take more than four years to obtain a degree without part-time or full-time work.  The faculty should be encouraged to engage in more student mentorship and tutoring to increase graduation rates.  Another possibility is to consider closing those institutions with a graduation rate less than 50%.  They are not serving their communities or students well, and closing them would result in considerable cost savings. The faculty could apply to or be reassigned to other institutions.
5. Institutions in financial crisis should examine their entities and assets and consider selling any that operate in the red.  This could include campuses, conference centers, and other venues, even hospitals.
6. Institutions with significant endowments should consider sponsoring low-cost student loans. This might increase enrollment and simultaneously reduce student debt.
7. Institutions should partner with local businesses and corporations who would sponsor student scholarships or low-cost student loans for study in their areas of underemployment.
8. Institutions should partner with local businesses and corporations who would pay for a percentage of individual faculty salaries for their professional assistance.  The partners would benefit from the advice of this highly thoughtful assistances from knowledgeable professors without having to hire a full-time person.
9. Conduct a crowdfunding campaign to gather local or national support for the cause of helping to pay tenured teachers, so they can be retained at a time of declining budgets.  Promote this campaign as part of a campaign to protect teachers locally or nationally.
10. Appeal to some of the billionaires such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, who are putting money into worthy causes.  Explain why there is a need to support these schools by helping to pay these faculty members to prevent the decline in U.S. higher education.  As an incentive to contribute, the schools could provide publicity for these billionaires when they make their contributions.

Higher education is necessary to generate badly needed leaders for business and government, as well as for creating an educated citizenry that is vital to maintaining a democracy.

Hopefully, these suggestions from the professors will help to get a national conversation going about the need to save professors' jobs and the reputation and authority of the universities where they teach.  To this end, the professors are planning a comprehensive campaign to save the teachers and the schools, and this is just the beginning of a national educational campaign to help individuals, companies, and political leaders understand their need to support this campaign.

Since the professors involved need to preserve their anonymity to avoid any retaliation from their respective universities, I will be assisting in coordinating this campaign for them.  You can write to me at the contact information at the end of this blog, and I will pass this information on to the professors and respond to you on their behalf.